Sunday, January 29, 2012
Photos of Camp Forrest, Tenn.
From Wikipedia:
"The camp, named after Civil War Cavalry Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, was originally named Camp Peay. Camp Peay was named after the Tennessee Governor Austin Peay and built in Tullahoma as a National Guard Camp in 1926. Camp Peay covered 1,040 acres (4.2 km²). Camp Forrest covered 85,000 acres (340 km²) located just beyond the old Camp Peay.
The camp was a training area for infantry, artillery, engineer, signal organizations, and cooks. It also served as a hospital center and temporary encampment area for troops during maneuvers. Maj. Gen. George Patton brought his 2nd Armored Division from Fort Benning, Georgia for maneuvers.
William Northern Field, an air training base, was an addition used as a training site for crews of four-engined B-24 bombers of the Army Air Forces.
Incoming troops had the normal amenities such as service clubs, guest houses, library, post exchanges, post office, hospital, religious services, theaters, showers, Red Cross, and Army Emergency Relief facilities. Recreation facilities include swimming, archery, tennis, a sports arena and a nine-hole golf course.
Camp Forrest officially became a prisoner of war camp May 12, 1942. The camp housed Italian and German POWs. Prisoners became laborers at Camp Forrest in the hospitals and on farms in the local community. Initially the camp held civilian detainees who were arrested at the outbreak of the war under a program called "Alien Enemy Control." Many of these internees were incarcerated without legal process. Official government documents made available in the late 1990s indicate that over 25,000 Alien Enemies were held at various locations throughout the United States. Camp Forrest's population was over 700. In 1943 they were transferred to other Internment Camps to make room for actual POWs captured on the field of battle."
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