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

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By June, 1940, the population of the Post had increased to 5,400 men living a normal peacetime army life which was not to continue for long. Events in Europe, notably the defeat of France and the subjugation of most of Europe by the ,Germans led to measures to increase the security of our country and as a result the first peace-time conscrip- tion for military service was in effect in our nation. Even before the Selective Service Act became law, prepar- ations were under way throughout the nation and at Fort Bragg to house our expanding Army. Construction was under way on the new Recruit Reception Center that was to process the thousands of men to be called for service from this area. Begun on August 16, 1940, construction work on the Reception Center was completed in 75 days and by November 18, 1940, the Center was ready, to re- ceive the first men to be inducted thereat. Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Earle C. Ewert, the center was ready to process 1,000 men daily. The completion of the Reception Center heralded the vast program of expansion which hit Fort Bragg like a tornado and which in nine months converted Fort Bragg into one of the largest military installations in America. The original plans were enlarged time after time and the pro- ject, one of twenty such, was easily the largest of its type. Notwithstanding, each phase was completed on, or ahead of, schedule. From a strength of 5,400 in June 1940, the num- ber of troops here increased to 67,000 by the summer of 1941. f Some idea of the size and speed of the project may be obtained from statistics gathered during the period. More than 31,544 men were employed on the project. More than 700 lumber mills throughout North and South Carolina were kept busy working overtime to furnish the more than one million board feet of lumber used daily. The payroll dur- ing this period averaged more than 35100,000.00 a day, the highest figure having been il5174,000.00 for a single day. The Finance Office at the Post paid out funds at the rate of 3140.00 per minute for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1941. The cost of the entire expansion project reached the sum of 344,681,309.00iin August, 1941, with the work practically completed. Seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, these thou- sands of men, most of whom lived within a radius of ninety miles, worked steadily at the big program. Day and night huge trucks laden with building material crept along the highways, which were already clogged by thousands of vehicles of every description. The two railroads that serv- iced the Post, the Cape Fear and the Atlantic Coast Line, delivered an average of 65 carloads of supplies daily. The timely procurement and delivering of building material con- tributed largely to the phenomenal speed with which the work was accomplished. For nine months the work of expanding Fort Braggis housing facilities had continued unabated. Everywhere workmen were pushing roads through pine forests and, at one period during the project, buildings were being erected at the rate of one building every 32 minutes. Sights of soldiers in training, carpenters working, guns and construc- tion equipment, crowds and general upheaval, all presented a crazy patch-work of pictures. But there was method in this madness, because, by August, 1941, 2,739 new buildings were in use and several field units had progressed rapidly with their mobilization training. 'f A WTS, Pictures taken during construction period H940-4lj

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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

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GENERAL JOHN T. KENNEDY AND GENERAL ALBERT J. BOWLEY The project constitutes a tribute to the workmen involved and to their directors. lt was a thorough test of the planning organization, and operating ability of the United States Army. Special tribute should be paid to Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers, who at that time was Commanding General of the Post. The actual organization and supervision of this tremendous construction program was under the personal direction of Colonel Lawrence L. Simpson, the Constructing Quartermaster. By far the largest area of expansion and construction undertaken during this period was that of the Field Artillery Replacement Center, which became the largest center of its kind in the country. Rivaling the Replacement Center project was the construc- tion ofthe cantonment for the Ninth lnfantry Division, the largest unit at lfort Bragg at that time. Covering approxi- mately 500 acres. the Division Area was completed in ex- actly l07 days. Upon completion the entire Division was comfortably housed in the 623 buildings of the area. Hospitals, chapels, libraries, exchanges and service clubs were all built during this period. Two laundries the largest in North Carolina, a bakery with a production capacity of 40,000 pounds of bread daily, a Post Office building and three large cold storage units, each with sufficient capacity to supply 12,500 men for four days, were also built. Communi- cation facilities were established and miles of road were built. Sewage lines and water mains were established. Power lines and filtration plants were built. ln short Fort Bragg was ready to play its vital role in the war which was to come. During the summer of 1941 this nation saw the largest peace-time maneuvers ever engaged in by our Army. More than 4-00,000 men participated in the Carolina maneuvers. The officers and men of Fort Bragg played a large and suc- cessful part in these maneuvers and gained much valuable experience. When the Japanese attacked us on 7 December 194-1, the Station Complement under its newly appointed commander, Colonel John T. Kennedy, was ready to carry on with but one thought-Victory!