US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort Bragg, NC)

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FROM CAMP TO FORT Une of the most important dates in the history of the reservation is September 30, 1922, for on that date it be- came Fort Bragg and the work of making it a permanent Army post got under way. Under the leadership of General Bowley, the development of the Post progressed rapidly. Parade grounds and training facilities were furnished. Baseball diamonds and other athletic facilities were con- structed. Thus the various features of the Fort developed and the fruits of this work are well in evidence today. Because Fort Bragg was the only reservation in the United States sufficiently large to test the latest in long range artil- lery weapons, the Field Artillery Board was transferred here from Fort Sill, Oklahoma on February 1, 1922. From 1923 to 1926 Field Artillery regiments at Fort Bragg were recruited up to peace time strength mainly from the ranks of men who had served in World War l. Motor- ized regiments of the Field Artillery made considerable progress in learning how to operate in deep sand, heavy mud, swamps, streams and forests. For each type of Field Artillery weapon there was an organization stationed at Fort Bragg armed with that particular weapon. This was done in order that the War Department might have within easy reach of Washirigtoii a practical Field Artillery Labo- ratory where every new item of Field Artillery equipment and each new procedure might be tested under actual service conditions. Thus Fort Bragg became an experimental laboratory as well as a training camp. The training was made even more thorough since the soldiers could obtain first hand knowledge of the latest weapons of war. By that time, 1923, buildings used in World War I were reduced to a state of decay and, as a result, permanent structures began to appear on the reservation. During the four-year period which followed, four of the permanent brick barracks buildings were constructed, as well as 53 offi- cers quarters, 40 non-commissioned officers quarters, maga- zines, motor and materiel sheds. All of the unoccupied tem- porary buildings of the early period were torn down. Streets and sidewalks were built. l.awns, shrubs, and trees were planted. Fort Bragg took on the appearance of one of the hnest of all Army posts. Realizing the value of friendly relations between the mili- tary personnel and the surrounding civilian population, a series of developments were started to build up the desired friendship between Fort Bragg and its neighbors. A new highway was built connecting the center of the Post with the limits of the reservation, making the Fort more acces- sible to the outside world. ln 1932 was erected the beautiful Post Hospital in the main area of the Post. Additional brick barracks were also built then as were most of the permanent buildings which are standing today. The number of troops at the Post was increased by the arrival of the 4-th Field Artillery from Camp Robinson, Arkansas, June 9, 1931. Units of the National Reserve Olli- cers Training Corps, Officers Reserve Corps and Citizens Military Training Corps of the state used the facilities of the Post for their annual encampments. Fort Bragg, as head- quarters for District A of the Civilian Conservation Corps, supervised the work and administration of approximately thirty camps in the two Carolinas. rv ,, -. . . .2 ?-Eggiai , ' gf? N, Pictures taken during construction period H940-4l

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C 03? Pictures taken during construction period 11940-4I During the first year of its existence 356,000,000 was spent in purchasing land and erecting cantonments for six bri- gades. Although cessation of hostilities came in November 1918, work was rapidly pushed to conclusion and February 1, 1919, saw the completion of Camp Bragg. As soon as the war was over, the artillery personnel and materiel of Camp McClellan, Alabama, was transferred to Camp Bragg in order that the Field Artillery might have adequate facilities for testing the long range weapons developed during the war. Because demobilization had be- gun, the War Department decided to reduce the size of Camp Bragg from a planned six brigade cantonment to a two brigade cantonment. in order to provide a garrison for Regular Army units and a training center for National Guard Artillery units. lV1i1itary personnel then took over all the work at the Camp. a large part of which had been done by wartime civilian employees. The year 1920 found little military training in progress. 12 A large tract of land on the reservation had been set aside as a landing field to be used in connection with observation of Field Artillery firing. Here were stationed various air- craft and balloon detachments to serve the Field Artillery Board, by carrying out experiments in conjunction with the Board. On April 1, 1919, the landing lield was named Pope Field in honor of First Lieutenant Harley H. Pope, who was killed in an airplane accident near Fayetteville. Early in 1921 two Field Artillery units began training in the camp, the 13th Field Artillery Brigade and the lfth Field Artillery Brigade. Although training was being con- ducted according to schedule, the War Department decided to abandon Camp Bragg on August 23, 1921. Through the efforts of Brigadier General Albert J. Bowley, Commanding General of the Camp, and various civic organizations in the nearby community, the Secretary of War inspected the facilities of the reservation and on September 16. 1921, orders directing the abandonment of Camp Bragg were rescinded. h... x ' ' 'Q S- ' ..-f -

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From September 16, 1918 Muy16, 1919 . . July 1, 1919 . August 16, 1919 . October 10, 1919 . February 5, 1920 . April 20, 1920 . August 16, 1920 . October 4, 1920 . November 25, 1920 February 2, 1921 . - February 16, 1921 July 5, 1921 . March 28, 1928 . July 4, 1928 . August 20, 1929 . October 5, 1930 . .January 2, 1931 . April 29, 1931 . June 3, 1931 . May 1, 1938 . May 11, 1938 . April 10, 1940 . June 15, 1940 . . September 13, 1940 September 20, 1940 November 4, 1940 July 4, 1941 . . September 29, 1941 December 2, 1941 PUST EUMMA IJERS COLONEL MAXWELL MURRAY .... BRIGADIER GENERAL LUCIUS R. HOLBROOK COLONEL GEORGE R. GREEN . COLONEL FRANK E. HOPKINS . . . MAJOR GENERAL WILLIAM S. MCNAIR . COLONEL LEE J. AHERN . . COLONEL WILLIAM S. MCNAIR . . . LIEUTENANT COLONEL CHARLES R. LLOYD . COLONEL ALBERT U. FAULKNER . . . COLONEL ALBERT J. BOWLEY . MAJOR E. L. GRUBER .... LIEUTENANT COLONEL ROBERT C. FOY . . BRIGADIER GENERAL ALBERT J. BOWLEY . COLONEL THOMAS E. MERRILL . . . COLONEL HENRY W. BUTNER .... BRIGADIE-R GENERAL LUCIUS R. HOLBROOK . COLONEL ALBERT U. FAULKNER . . . BRIGADIER GENERAL HERBERT J. BREES . COLONEL ALBERT U. FAULKNER . . BRIGADIER GENERAL MANUS MCCLOSKEY . COLONEL GEORGE R. ALLIN . . . BRIGADIER GENERAL WILLIAM BRYDEN . . LIEUTENANT COLONEL MILTON H. TAULBEE COLONEL JOHN P. STARKEY .... BRIGADIER GENERAL FRANCIS E. HONNEYCUTT . . BRIGADIER GENERAL RENE E. D. HOYLE . MAJOR GENERAL JACOB L. DEVERS . . COLONEL CHARLES B. ELLIOT . . COLONEL EDWIN P. PARKER, JR. . . BRIGADIER GENERAL JOHN T. KENNEDY . 14 To . May . July . August October February . April . August October November February February . July . March . July . August October Januiafy . April .A June . April . May . April . June September September November . July September December 15, 1919 11, 1919 15, 1919 9, 1919 4, 1920 19, 1920 15, 1920 3, 1920 24, 1920 1, 1921 15, 1921 4, 1921 27, 1928 3, 1928 19, 1929 4, 1930 1, 1931 28, 1931 2, 1931 30, 1938 10, 1938 9, 1940 14, 1940 12, 1940 19, 1940 3, 1940 3, 1941 28, 1941 1, 1941 Present