It was night time, when something came thumping by. I was watching through the darkness at a level from my shoulders because I actually though it might be a horse. By moonlight, and as the object came by below knee level, I recognized it as a jack rabbit. These strange members of the rabbit family were as big as dogs, with scraggly coats.
Texas had a weird assortment in its menagerie - coyotes, armadillos, an occasional coral snake, and epidemics of insects. I can still see the large, flying cockroaches which invaded the barracks. In desperation, the guys would climb into bed and cover up their heads for protection.
The rains came in torrents and soaked into the ground in an instant. However, there were times when, what seemed like a raging river one day, would revert to a dry sandy bed the next.
He would like to go back there again, just for the aromas and atmosphere of Texas. Some of the 86th Battalion members have traveled to the site of Camp Swift and that is all it is, because the old WWII camp is no longer there.
Art Pranger
(2/12/98)
