US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort Leonard Wood, MO)

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. A PRODUCTIVE FU Lt. Col. Leo Crabbs was the first Post Commander, with his Head- quarters at 11th and Colorado..Avenue. The Post then cfisted of four bar- racks for enlisted men and one for officers. No modern facilities were avail- able and baths could only be obtained in local towns. Construction of build- ings continued and early in the spring of 1941 there was enough housing for the first cadres. The Engineer Replacement Training Center was organ- ized under the command of' Brigadier General U. S. Grant, III. More and more barracks were being built and the railway was extended from the town of Newburg, 21 miles away. The 6th Infantry Division arrived from Minnesota by train in May, 1941 and the 72nd Field Artillery Battalion came by motor convoy from Fort Knox. B-1743 ' . --4 WW' VV , ,sf ', 'l V- , of ' 9 ar. Q , In ' ,i lf. 'Y . .f , I A - TURE

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llllll HHNHHU Wllll Fort Leonard Woodis history began with a modest ground-breaking ceremony on 3 December 1940. From that moment until May, 1941 workers by the thousands, together with their tools and equipment sprawled across the budding army camp - to be one of the largest in the country. Work pro- gressed through one of the wettest seasons the area had known and the muddy conditions attracted great publicity. The new Camp was designated the VII Corps Training Area at first, When the administrative officers arrived it was named after Major General Leonard E. Wood. He had gained fame in the campaign against Geronimo and during the Spanish-American War. He was chief of Staff, United States Army from 1910 to 1914.

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After the 6th Division Cnot to be confused with the 6th Armored Divi- sion? came the 8th, the 75th, the 97th and the Toth, all of which trained one after the other prior to either maneuvers or overseas shipment. The ERTC continued to function and was later called the ASFTC tArmy Serv- ice Forces Training Centerl. The Post trained more than 300,000 men between 1941 and 1946. At one time the population was around 50,000. In 1946 the Post was inactivated. Some 50 civilians and about 5 officers remained to safeguard the build- ings and property. Soon the buildi s began to fade and grass grew wild over the once busy training areas. r four years the Post lay dormant. The Korean conflict brought demand for more trained troops and Fort Leonard YVood sprang to life once more. It was reactivated in August, 1950, and the 6th Armored Division was designated as a replacement training division. On 16 March 1956, after more than five years of training the divi- sion was deactivated and Fort Leonard VVood became the home of the United States Army Training Center, Engineer. The program now includes