US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort McClellan, AL)

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HISTORY OF FT the Military Police Corps The area known today at Fort McClellan first attracted interest among military circles around 1898, during the Spanish-American War, when it was discovered that the Choccolocco Mountains formed an excellent background for artillery firing. From 1912 through 1916, high officials and Army officers from Washington were sent to Anniston to study the possibilities of the location as a camp site. The War Department issued an order establishing Camp McClellan, Ala., July 18, 1917. The camp was named in honor of Major General George B. McClellan, general- Vin-chief of the US Army from 1861 to 1862. Newly activated, the 29th National Guard Division from the Mid-Atlantic states, commanded by Major General Charles G. Morton, arrived in August 1917. Two months later there were 27,753 men training at the camp. The 29th went to France in June 1918 and took 5,570 casualties in Meuse-Argonne offensive. Camp McClellan was redesignated Fort McClellan, a permanent post, July 1, 1929. New construction went up at a rapid rate. The cornerstone of the first group of permanent barracks was laid September 11, 1929. From 1933 through 1936, under the government's relief program, almost two million dollars was spent on permanent construction and improvements to already existing structures. srrrf A 7 'f f 1 . . .iff-51-Lf 5 . ' ' ,. 1 ' 4 A Q ' 'G fififf, ' :5fi':'fM?3i2' f .. t 'f , I .... P -1 ,- .f ' i - ' 'V tg ff- r ' 774 , V if 1' T ,VVVVVVVVVSVVVVVVVVM ' 1' K .i 5 . K W-kk F :Y -mt, - ' . ,. '1 af, , 5 ' . V , .. 5 l 'QV 9 . , . V, V . V, in .N .,, ., . ,, ,gy , V , M . W , ,ft V gr W ,V,'., 1 V V r V , M tt' , .j , 5 QW- , ' .,r.,..., -'f-zwmikffs 1 V af' 1 if ? f W 5 x t .2 r- 72. it M- -V, ,V , MVMLV , , ,VV wh- l., 1252121 VV V .V,V V . V' ...M 1 N-f-M--3 l :J . . ' . www 9' f ' ' .iz , . ' W K 'W , e A I 1131729 , 7 ' The 27th National Guard Division arrived from New York in October 1940. One of the first units to depart for war, the 27th had overseas orders 12 days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The 27th fought in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, Saipan, Guam and the Philippines and later was on occupational duty in Japan. A 3,000-capacity Prison internment Camp for prisoners of war was completed in 1943. Reminder of this era is a memorial cemetery where 26 Germans and three Italians who died while in prison are buried.

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Approximately 500,000 men were trained at Fort McClellan during World War ll. Included among these was a company of Japanese-Americans stationed at the post to familiarize American troops with the fighting style and methods ofthe Japanese soldier. Many individuals and units which trained here during the war years later received some of the highest military honors and decorations. During the war years more than S17 million was spent on permanent and temporary buildings, roads and streets. ln 1943 the Branch immaterial Replacement Training Center at Fort McClellan was replaced by the Infantry Replacement Training Center which gave recruits basic and combat training. At the war's end the center trained soldiers for occupation duty and in November 1946 it became the Recruit Training Center. After the war, the Recruit Training Center was inactivated and the number of personnel at the post dwindled rapidly. The installation was placed on inactive status with only a maintenance crew June 30, 1947. Plans were made in January 1950 to use the post for National Guard annual training and facilities were rehabilitated. M A replacement training center for the Chemical Corps was activated with Fort McClellan as its permanent home in 1951. ln 1962 the name of the activity was changed from the Chemical Corps School to the US Army Chemical Center and School. lt was disestablished in 1973. The Women's Army Corps School was founded at Fort McClellan on September 25, 1952 and approximately two years later official ceremonies were conducted to establish 3 , i 8 Y - -f-. A 1' I'-sb.. l - 5 . 'mg-Jann-u '--. ...wa t 'mfg .ar--5 L '5? '.i . ., r -Y T' .. McClellan as the first permanent home of the U. S. Women's Army Corps Center. A new activity, the U. S. Army Combat Developments Command Chemical - Biological - Radiological Agency, moved to Fort McClellan in 1962. It was disestablished in 1973. Noble Army Hospital, a three-story, 100-bed facility, was dedicated May 4, 1962. The summer of 1966 was a busy one for this Southern installation. The mission was changed and the fort was renamed U. S. Army School!Training Center and Fort McClellan. To meet requirements for the Vietnam War, an Advanced individual Training Infantry Brigade was activated here in 1966. Because of continued force reductions in Vietnam, the brigade was deactivated in April 1970, after training more than 30,000 men. The Third Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy called Fort McClellan home from 1967 to 1972. Leadership courses were taught to noncommissioned officers from throughout the Third Army Area. Official ceremonies were held July 11, 1975 marking the move of the U. S. Army Military Police School from Fort Gordon, Georgia to Fort McClellan. A major reorganization of the post began in the fall of 1976 and was completed on May 13, 1977 when the colors of the WAC Center and School were retired during ceremonies on Marshal Parade Field. Less than two months later, on July 5, One Station Unit Training was initiated. 4 1 ,3 yn. , - W W.. 'A 1, I ' Y 41,2 W ' 1 - If. I 1 ' Qi t 's 'J'- LJ, CEU' was J 7' QP' JF V uv 3 ,hw-v-'Q R . ' V 7 Job- T'