After the United States entered World War II, prisoner-of-war camps were established to hold those who were captured fighting Allied forces. Here on the High Plains, we had two POW camps: Camp McLean and Camp Hereford. According to the Texas State Historical Association, the War Department authorized the building of Camp Hereford in June 1942, and construction began in July.

The first POWs arrived in April 1943, with most of them captured during the invasion of North Africa in battles near Tripoli and southern Tunisia, according to the book “Deaf Smith County 1876-1981: The Land and its People”.