1917 * CAMP GORDON * 1919 – GHM 044-91 – DeKalb Co., GA
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Lat34North
N 33° 52.585 W 084° 18.436
16S E 749063 N 3751716
Quick Description: Camp Gordon State Historical Marker located inside the main entrance to DeKalb-Peachtree Airport near the intersection of Airport and Clairmont Roads.
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 10/18/2007 1:05:10 PM
Waymark Code: WM2E37
Views: 150
Long Description:
1917 * CAMP GORDON * 1919
Constructed during America's rush to mobilize for World War I,
Camp Gordon was one of 16 temporary training camps, the largest in
the southern states and the focus of Atlanta's wartime patriotic
spirit. It served as birthplace and training ground for the
legendary 82D "All American" division and based hospital No. 43,
the Emory University Medical Unit.
Built under the supervision of Major J.N. Pease, QM Corps, and
engineered by Lockwood-Greene & Co., Camp Gordon was the
largest construction project in Atlanta history to that time. Ready
for troop occupancy in just five months, the camp's 2,400 acres
included 1,635 buildings with barracks for 46,612 men and corral
space for 7,688 horses and mules. The November 11, 1918 armistice
ended "The Great War" and the need for Camp Gordon. It was salvaged
and abandoned by 1921.
The Emory Unit served in France and was reactivated for World War
II. Atlanta's own 82D Division fought with distinction in the St.
Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives, suffered 8,077 casualties and
produced the most decorated hero of the war, Sgt. Alvin York. It
was reactivated for World War II as the 82D Airborne
Division.
GHM 044-91 - Georgia Historical Commission - 1988