Carrabelle Beach WWII D-Day Plaque - Carrabelle, Florida, USA.
N 29° 49.750 W 084° 41.609
16R E 722868 N 3302088
Carrabelle Beach was a World War II US Army amphibious training area. A Historic Marker stands as a monument to the Men & Women who served & trained for the Normandy D-Day invasion, on 6/6/1944. The Plaque located at Carrabelle Beach, Florida.
Waymark Code: WMXJTR
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 01/21/2018
Views: 1
Two Florida Historical Markers commemorating those who served at Camp Gordon Johnston have been placed in the area. This Historic Marker is at the Carrbelle Beach Car Park, located alongside the Big Bend Scenic Byway - Coastal Trail, Carrabelle, on the forgotten Florida panhandle Gulf Coast.
The Historic Marker Reads:
"In late 1943, Carrabelle Beach and Dog Island, while they were a part of Camp Gordon Johnston, were used by the U.S. Army 4th Infantry Division to train for the Normandy Invasion on D-Day, June 6th, 1944. The Amphibious Training Center had been officially closed, but it was reopened and staffed for the purpose of training for this important mission. Although the troops had trained for over three years, the amphibious training conducted on this site was the last step before shipping out to England for the invasion. On D-Day, the first amphibian infantry assault teams to arrive on French soil were from the 4th Infantry Division at Utah Beach. On June 6, 2000, the Camp Gordon Johnston Association extracted a small amount of soil from this site and delivered it to the National 4th Infantry Division Association to be placed in the Association's monument in Arlington, VA. The U.S. Department of Defense's World War II Commemoration Committee in 1995 named the Camp Gordon Johnston Association an official 'Commemorative Community.'"
The site's history is featured at the Camp Gordon Johnston Museum:
"Camp Johnston opened in September 1941 as Camp Carrabelle and was later named after Colonel Gordon Johnston, a well-decorated soldier who served in the Spanish–American War in Cuba with the Rough Riders, in the Philippine–American War, and in World War I.
The camp at 165,000 acres (670 km2) served as an amphibious training base housing around 10,000 troops at one time and rotating between 24,000 and 30,000 soldiers from 1941 through 1946. The nearby islands of Dog Island and St. George Island were used as landing points for exercises.
The Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum, located in Carrabelle, Florida, was established to honor and preserve the heritage of the men and women who trained at the camp during WWII. Camp Gordon Johnston opened in 1942 for the sole purpose of training Infantry Divisions and their support units in amphibious operations by U. S. Army Engineer Special Brigades [ESB]. This camp trained a quarter of a million men, closing in June of 1946. Three infantry divisions and two special brigades left here after receiving amphibious training to confront tyranny both in Europe and the Pacific. Learn about their dedication, fears and heroism at our museum.
The sacrifices and achievements of our WWII era citizens have led historians to label these individuals as the best generation America has yet produced. We feel it would be a tragedy not to display their accomplishments as a worthy lesson for today’s citizens. To this extent the museum promotes not only the history of WWII, but also portrays the gigantic effort that our nation poured into this conflict. The CGJ Museum has compiled an extensive history of the various units that trained here, as well as a photographic display of the area and life as it existed at the camp. Furthermore, the CGJ veterans have contributed the artifacts brought back from battles overseas, along with uniforms, equipment, and all sorts of souvenirs, too numerous to name."
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