Military
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William Beaumont General Hospital opened in 1921 and was named for Major and Surgeon William Beaumont, who distinguished himself as an army surgeon during the War of 1812 and later made lasting contributions to the understanding of human digestion through his observations of Alexis St. Martin's gunshot-exposed stomach. Biggs Air Force Base, formerly Biggs Field, became a powerful arm of the U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command; it was first used in March 1916 by the U.S. Army First Aero Squadron en route to Columbus, New Mexico, after the Pancho Villa raid, was officially named in 1925 for Lieutenant James B. Biggs, and during World War II trained bombing crews. The post of El Paso was created in 1848 and, after four moves, reached its present location in 1893; named Fort Bliss in 1854 for Lieutenant Colonel W. W. S. Bliss, whose remains are buried there, it protected caravans and settlers, served in the Spanish American War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean conflict, and is now home to the U.S. Army Air Defense Center.
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El Paso, Texas · United States
