Camp Blanding - Starke, FL
N 29° 58.877 W 081° 59.054
17R E 405052 N 3317118
Camp Blanding, located in Starke, Florida, USA, was a German Prisoner of War Camp from 1942-1946. Today, Camp Blanding is the primary military reservation and training station for the Florida National Guard.
Waymark Code: WMCJ6B
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 09/11/2011
Views: 4
"In 1940, Camp Blanding was leased to the United States Army as an active duty training center. The post was originally used by New England and Southern troops preparing for deployment overseas. However, during the course of the war, Camp Blanding served as an infantry replacement training center, an induction center, a German prisoner of war compound, and a separation center. At the height of the war, the Army leased acreage from local landowners, raising the total to 170,000 acres (690 km2). From 1940 to 1945, more than 800,000 soldiers received all or part of their training here.
At one point during the war, the camp contained the population of the fourth largest city in Florida. There were 10,000 buildings, 125 miles (201 km) of paved roads, the largest hospital in the state. It was one of the largest training bases in the country."
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"Camp Blanding was a major U.S. Army training facility during the Second World War. It was originally established as a state-owned training reservation in 1939 for the Florida National Guard. However, as war clouds materialized, the mobilization of reserve forces and the rapid expansion of the entire United States Army required Camp Blanding to be converted to a federal reservation. It was subsequently enlarged to house two complete infantry divisions along with many separate units.
Prior to turning Camp Blanding into an Infantry Replacement Center (IRTC) in 1943, dozens and dozens of army formations comprising hundreds of thousands of troops trained at Camp Blanding. Included were formations of Infantry, Cavalry, Tank Destroyer, Field Artillery, Engineer, Medical and other specialist troops. Nine entire Infantry Divisions trained at Camp Blanding: 1st ID (Big Red One), 29th ID (Blue & Gray), 30th ID (Old Hickory), 31st ID (Dixie), 36th ID (Texas), 43rd ID (Winged Victory), 63rd ID (Blood and Fire), 66th ID (Panther) and the 79th ID (Cross of Lorainne).
For most of 1944 and 1945, a very large percentage of the individuals sent to replenish the ranks of America’s combat infantry formations trained at the Camp’s IRTC. In Addition, the Camp was the site of a 2800-bed hospital, a German Prisoner of War Compound and at the war’s end, a Separation Center.
Following the war, Camp Blanding reverted to state control, and today is a Joint Training Site for the National Guard and other Reserve Components and some Active Component training.
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