Members of the military and veterans have long left their mark on Corpus Christi, home to a naval air station and army depot.
Corpus Christi has served as a training ground for generations of naval aviators. After their service, prominent Corpus Christi veterans like Dr. Hector P. Garcia shaped not only the local community, but also civil rights in the state and country. Today, many visitors are drawn to Corpus Christi to visit the USS Lexington to learn about World War II and the U.S. Navy.
Thousands of veterans and active-duty military members reside in the city and surrounding areas.
Corpus Christi and the surrounding Coastal Bend area were designated as an American World War II Heritage City by the National Parks Service. Only one American World War II Heritage City can be designated in each state or territory.
Here’s highlights of Corpus Christi’s military connections, past and present:
World War II sparks growth in Corpus Christi, military ties
Back in World War I, Corpus Christi hosted Camp Scurry, where soldiers in the National Guard and U.S. Army troops trained. During World War II, Corpus Christi was chosen for an even larger operation, a naval air station that operates to this day.
Camp Scurry as seen in this 1916 photo by Doc McGregor from the collection at the Corpus Christi Public Libraries. During the 1918 influenza pandemic, the camp was under strict quarantine.
The Naval Air Station Corpus Christi was commissioned in 1941. At the time, it was the largest naval training facility in the world.
More than 35,000 student pilots graduated from Naval Air Station Corpus Christi during World War II, including former President George H.W. Bush and astronaut and former U.S. Sen. John Glenn, as well as longtime “The Price Is Right” host Bob Barker, actor Tyrone Power and baseball player Ralph Kiner. Training occurred in Corpus Christi and auxiliary air fields in surrounding areas.
An instructor and a student, a member of the first class of cadets, prepare for takeoff in a Stearman trainer with double wings and open cockpit at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in 1941. The first training flight was made May 5, 1941, two months after the station was commissioned.
During the war, 20,000 civilians enlisted through the National Youth Administration were employed at the naval air station.
At the end of World War II, the U.S. Army established a camp for German prisoners of war at the naval air station.
Additionally, a top-secret radar school operated on Ward Island, which today hosts Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
The influx of workers and military personnel led to population growth in the Coastal Bend.
“Corpus Christi jumped into high gear in 1940,” the late historian Murphy Givens wrote in a December 2005 column. “The city’s population had doubled from the last census 10 years earlier to 57,301. Within a year, it was estimated it had gained 30 percent — to 75,000. The 14-year-old port was handling 14 times more tonnage than it did in 1930. Everywhere, the city was one vast construction site.”
Naval Air Station Corpus Christi and Corpus Christi Army Depot
After World War II, Naval Air Station Corpus Christi continued training naval aviators. Famous students include former U.S. Sen. John McCain; former U.S. Navy Vice Adm. James Stockdale; the U.S. Navy’s first female carrier-based fighter pilot, Kara Hultgreen; and astronauts Neil Armstrong and Alan Shepard.
President George H.W. Bush greets Corpus Christi Mayor Mary Rhodes at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in December 1992.
About 600 aviators earn their Wings of Gold each year, according to the installation website.
The naval air station contributed at least $4.6 billion to the Texas economy in 2023, according to the Texas Comptroller’s Office.
A tenant of the naval air station, the Corpus Christi Army Depot was established in 1962 in Corpus Christi. The army depot is a large industrial employer.
The facility contributed at least $1.6 billion to the Texas economy in 2023.
How many veterans and military members live in Corpus Christi?
According to U.S. census data from 2023, 8.4% of the civilian population 18 years and older in the city of Corpus Christi are veterans. That amounts to close to 21,300 veterans.
Of these veterans, only a small portion — less than half a percent — are World War II veterans. About 3.5% served in the Korean War. Close to 34% are Vietnam War veterans. About 23.5% served between 1990 and 2001. The most common period of service for local veterans is the current era, post-2001, which accounts for 35.4% of Corpus Christi veterans.
Patriot Guard Riders form a line bearing American flags as they approach a Memorial Day ceremony at the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery in Corpus Christi on May 26.
The majority of Corpus Christi veterans are male, close to 90%. But that still leaves more than 2,000 female veterans.
Additionally, many active-duty members of the U.S. military service reside in Corpus Christi.
The Naval Air Station Corpus Christi employs active-duty members of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, as well as National Guard members.
A 2023 report from the Texas Comptroller’s Office estimated there to be the equivalent of more than 2,000 full-time Department of Defense employees at the naval air station, as well as nearly 4,000 full-time civilian personnel.
The Corpus Christi Army Depot had about 20 full-time active-duty Army and National Guard employees and more than 2,500 full-time civilian personnel, according to the 2023 report.
In this 2022 file photo, kindergarten student Alec Bae, 5, and Yohan Bae, a captain in the Marines, watch speakers at Kolda Elementary School’s 10th anniversary and Veterans Day celebration.
Many local children have a parent who is serving in the miliary on activity duty. This includes about 18% of the students — more than 1,000 — at the Flour Bluff Independent School District.
The Corpus Christi Independent School District serves more than 2,200 military-connected students. Across Nueces County, more than 4,100 students are considered military-connected.
Veterans Memorial High School is home to the first U.S. Coast Guard JROTC unit in Texas. Flour Bluff High School’s U.S. Navy JROTC has earned 27 state championships and 12 national titles.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: How has military shaped Corpus Christi? Learn more here