Camp Lee, VIRGINIA

Description: Camp Lee, VIRGINIA - BIRDSEYE: Just 18 days after a state of war with Germany was declared, the first Camp Lee was selected as a state mobilization camp and later became a division training camp. In June 1917, building began and within sixty days some 14,000 men were on the installation. When construction work ended, there were accommodations for 60,335 men. On 15 July 1917, the War Department announced that the camp would be named in honor of General Robert E. Lee, the most famous of the Confederate Civil War commanders. After World War I, Camp Lee was taken over by the Commonwealth of Virginia and designated a game preserve. Later, portions of the land were incorporated into the National Military Park of Petersburg. In 1920 Camp Lee was active, as the US 1920 Census showed many soldiers still stationed there. In October 1940, the War Department ordered the construction of another Camp Lee on the site of the earlier installation. Built as rapidly as the first, construction was still ongoing when the Quartermaster Replacement Training Center (QMRTC) started operation in February 1941. Their number grew to 25,000 in 1942 and peaked at 35,000 in 1944. Camp Lee was also the home of a Medical Replacement Training Center (MRTC), but as the Quartermaster training increased, it was decided to relocate the MRTC at Camp Pickett. Later, the QMRTC was re-designated as an Army Services Forces Training Center, but it retained its basic mission of training Quartermaster personnel. While the QMRTC was getting underway, the Quartermaster School was transferred to Camp Lee. A full program of courses was conducted, including Officer Candidate School. By the end of 1941, Camp Lee was the center of both basic and advanced training of Quartermaster personnel and held this position throughout the war. When World War II ended, the fate of Camp Lee was in question. In 1946, the War Department announced that Camp Lee would be retained as a center for Quartermaster training. Official recognition of its permanent status was obtained in 1950 and the post was re-designated as Fort Lee. This White Border Era (1915-30) postcard shows the camp when originally constituted. It importunes on its reverse "Defend Your Country - Join the U.S. Army." The card is in good condition. W. R. Thompson & Co. Richmond, VA. No. 417.

Price: 9 USD

Location: Brooklyn, New York

End Time: 2025-01-24T02:53:30.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD