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

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FORT LEONARD WOOD covers 71,000 acres of the Mark Twain Na tional Forest in the Missouri Ozarks, south west of S t. Louis. Activa ted in 1 940, the Fort was named in honor ofMajor General Leonard Wood who won the Medal ofhonor for action in the campaign against the Apache Indian Chieftain, Geronimo. Only a handful of officials were on hand December 1940 to witness the ground breaking ceremonies. On that day, an un- known soldier ofa huge construction Arm y turned the first shov- eIful of dirt for the construction of the na tion 3 largest engineer training center, a post that has trained thousands of fighting men. The Story of , FOR T LEONARD WOOD ' The mud was terrificaso bad as to give the budding camp nationwide publicity. But the excavators and the wielders 0f hammer, trowel and saw surged on in their work. Almost all workers lived off the post. In spite ofaII the difficulties the work proceeded at a furious pace and was Virtually completed the middle of May. With the completion of the $40, 000, 000 fort and the 22 mile railroad leading to it, trainees began coming in full speed. 7 From the earlypart of1941 until the post closed in I 946, Fort Leonard Wood trained some 300,000 fighting men. Such fa- mous divisions as the 6th, 8th, 75th, 97th and the 70th trained here during World War II.

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UNITED S TA TES ARM Y ENGINEER CENTER Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

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During the years the fort lay dormant, only a handful of groundkeepers were on the premises. The business ofactiva ting an Arm y post started all over again for Fort Leonard Wood in I 950, shortly after the American troops began fighting in Korea. This time, Fort Leonard Wood supported the 6th Armored Division engaged in replacement training ta ther than a proces- sion of divisions being trained for comba t. On 16 March 1956 the 6th Armored Division was inactiva ted and repla ced With the United S ta tes Arm y Training Center, En- gineer. The Secretary of the Arm y signed the order 21 March 1956 making Fort Leonard Wood a permanent installation. In February, 1985, the Secretary of the Army announced plans to move the US. Arm y Engineer Center from Ft. Belvoir, Virginia to Ft. Leonard Wood. The colors of the US. Arm y En- gineer School and regiment were transferred to Fort Leonard Wood June 1, 1988. Training at the post ranges from initial en try training to com- mon and engineer specialist training, such as construction; ma- chinery and earth moving equipment operation and mainte- nance; structural steel and sheet metal working, and plumbing. In addition, as the headquarters for engineers for the US. Army, both officer and enlisted engineers also attend a variety of courses on post.