Next, drive toward2100 S Mobberly Ave, home of LeTourneau University, founded on the former site of Harmon General Hospital. During World War II, this location became a major U.S. Army hospital, authorized in 1942 and named for Colonel Daniel Warrick Harmon. From 1942 to 1945, it treated thousands of wounded soldiers returning from Europe and the Pacific.
At the center of the hospital complex was a small ecumenical chapel that opened in January 1943, welcoming Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish patients alike. After the war, the hospital closed, and in 1946 the LeTourneau Foundation purchased the property to establish what would become LeTourneau University. The chapel survived years of neglect and was even used for storage, but it was restored in the 1950s and again in 1983, when it was renamed Speer Chapel in honor of donor and supporter Mrs. R. G. LeTourneau Speer.
Today, Speer Chapel is the last remaining World War II era building on campus. With its white wood siding, simple gabled roof, and steeple reaching skyward, it remains a meaningful landmark where generations have come to pray, marry, and reflect, surrounded by the enduring legacy of faith and service that helped shape Longview.
