Camp Crowder

Basically, there were 3 reasons I wanted to see Camp Crowder: (1) the importance it had at the start of the Women's Army Corps, (2) it was the home of the carrier pigeon unit, and (3) it was the inspiration for Mort Walker and the Beetle Bailey cartoon. The weather was not cooperating, but I did have a chance to 'eyeball' the place as I drove by and stop and see some memorabilia.   The pics posted here are from the memorabilia. 

Built in 1941-42 as a  US Army Signal Corps Training Center, Camp Crowder was named for General Enoch Crowder, a military lawyer born on April 11, 1859, in Grundy County, MO. The Army selected the Neosho site for the post due to its of its proximity to water, a cross roads to two major railroads (Kansas City Southern and the Frisco railroads), and two major U.S. highways (US 71 running north-south and US 60 and US 66, running east-west). Originally it was to serve as an armor training center.

During World War II, the camp trained thousands of men to be clerks, radio operators, photographers and telegraphers. Most of those trained at Camp Crowder went overseas, serving in both the European and the Asian theaters. For a time, the camp was home to the pigeon corps which used carrier pigeons as messengers on the battlefields. 

During the war years, Camp Crowder housed and trained about 45,000. This included a contingent of about 1,000 WACs, the single largest group of WACs in the military at that time. 

Approximately 66,000 acres and 1600 buildings, besides the usual barracks, mess halls and classrooms, Camp Crowder had churches, a brig, hospital, theater, gymnasium, ball fields and a prisoner of war camp. Captured from Rommel's North Africa troops, the POWs came on Oct 6, 1943. 

With the end of the war in 1945, Camp Crowder began to wind down. For a short time, the camp was active as soldiers were sent there to be mustered out of the service. During the Korean Conflict, the camp saw a small increase in activity. Eventually the military moved out and the land was either returned to those farmers who had given up land for the camp or was turned over to other government entities. 

 Cartoonist Mort Walker was also stationed there and drew inspiration for Camp Swampy of his Beetle Bailey comic strip. Today, the camp is a training site for the National Guard.