Friday, June 26, 2009

About Camp Crowder


Camp Crowder is located on the edge of the picturesque Ozark mountain region, five miles south of Neosho, a thriving community with a pre-war population of 5,000. Joplin is 25 miles to the north. It was named for General Enoch Herbert Crowder, a native Missourian, who authored the Selective Service Act of World War I.

Fort Crowder was built in 1941 as a training center for the U. S. Army Signal Corps and at its peak had nearly 47,000 troops stationed there. Camp Crowder was activated shortly after the beginning of WWII and served as the temporary home of thousands of male, female, white and black soldiers. The construction of Camp Crowder, one of the largest army installations in the Midwest, doubled the population of Neosho in a matter of weeks. Camp Crowder received most of the Army's signal recruits, each of whom spent three weeks learning the basics of soldiering: drill; equipment, clothing, and tent pitching; first aid; defense against chemical attack; articles of war; basic signal communication; interior guard duty; military discipline; and rifle marksmanship.

In July 1942, the Midwestern Signal Corps School opened its doors at Camp Crowder with a capacity of 6,000 students. The following month, the Signal Corps' first unit training center also opened there. The headquarters established in October 1942 to administer this group of schools was designated the Central Signal Corps Training Center. The 800th Signal Training Regiment was located at Camp Crowder in the 1940's. This unit provided technical training in radio operations, radio repair, high power station operation and maintenance. The camp, a U.S. Army Signal Corp Training Center, flooded the area with an average population of 40,000 uniformed men and women.

By 1943, the War Department had acquired a total of 42,786.41 acres of land that made up Camp Crowder. In order to establish this camp, major improvements had to be made in roads, utilities, railroad spurs, sewage system, and numerous buildings including barracks, mess halls and training facilities. It’s hard to imagine a post the size of Crowder. The Post Exchange had twenty-two branches, with three beauty parlors for WACs and female civilian employees. The post also had two cafeterias for civilian workers. Camp Crowder had its own post newspaper called the Camp Crowder Message with a circulation of 15,000. There were also four service clubs on post along with guest houses for soldier’s guests. Crowder had six movie theaters on post. There were sixteen chapels with a chaplain for each providing regular Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Christian Science services. Camp Crowder had its own large well-staffed hospital and in addition had 15 infirmaries throughout the camp and three dental clinics. There was a field house for athletic events and other activities that could seat 5,000 persons.

The 43rd Signal Construction Battalion (Colored) was activated at Camp Crowder, Missouri on 7 February 1944. Between December 1942 and May 1946, Missouri was home to more than 10,000 German and Italian prisoners of war who lived in 32 camps scattered throughout the state, including at Camp Crowder. The Blacks had WWI barracks, outside latrines and dilapidated facilities. Even the German POW's had nicer facilities than the Blacks.

Mort Walker used his experiences at Camp Crowder as the model for "Camp Swampy" in his comic strip "Beetle Bailey." The character “Rob Petrie” played by Dick Van Dyke was stationed at Camp Crowder, as was Van Dyke himself.

10 comments:

  1. One can only imagine the impact of tens of thousands of men (and some women) descending upon a quiet community like Neosho. I suppose the first result was 100 percent civilian employment for an area that undoubtedly suffered during The Great Depression. And the Army needed more people to help build and maintain the post. Where did they live? Anywhere I suppose, spare rooms, attics, barns, trailers.

    I would imagine that Bill's first reaction to the new post would be to thaw out a bit.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I imagine the Neosho experience was duplicated in numerous sleepy communities during the war. For sure the war ended the depression in Neosho.

    As for the weather, I'm sure we will hear from Bill on that subject as it is one of his favorites. Bill's preoccupation with the weather is inherited from his mother. Growing up I recall that she talked about it endlessly.

    A quick check of Wunderground Weather shows that the average temperatures for early-mid March is not that different from Bend; about 2 deg. higher day and 7 deg. higher night. I remember hearing once that a meterologist's survey named Springfield, Missouri as having the worst overall weather in the U.S. Springfield is about 50 miles N.E. of Camp Crowder.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Is there a list of servicemen 33rd signal battalion
    about June 1943?
    reb2002etc@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sorry, I'm not aware of any such list. I checked my research files and the only document or artifact of Camp Crowder is I have is an original publication entitled "Souvenir Booklet Depicting the Construction of Camp Crowder" which was issued in 1942.

    ReplyDelete
  5. My father, William J Tegeder Jr of Minneapolis, Minnesota 1920-2008, was at Camp Crowder in 1942. He ended up with the Army 348th Combat Engineers. He landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day and fought in the Battle of the Bulge among other assignments.

    Jay Tegeder

    ReplyDelete
  6. I salute your father and all other veterans on this veteran's day. I'm sure you are proud of him just as I am proud of my dad. My father originally trained as a combat engineer but was re-assigned to Camp Crowder as a radioman. Ultimately he ended up carrying an M-1 as a dogfaced infantryman.

    ReplyDelete
  7. My parents met and were engaged at Camp Crowder in 1945: Dad a Signal Officer, Mom an Army Nurse serving as a ward nurse for the POW ward. They later married at West Point where Dad served as an instructor.

    Mom spoke little of her life, but did open up on the POWs, who she said were good folks, treated well, and some of whom chose to live in the U.S. after the war. She lost some to disease (tetanus, rabies, trichinosis, etc.). Growing up, I was frequently treated with tetanus shots and pork chops that put shoe leather to shame (but for the copious amounts of butter and lemon pepper).

    I have never been there, but would be interested to visit the POW cemetery, some of whom I'm sure my Mom cared for before their demise.

    ReplyDelete
  8. My dad, Frank Fay, was Signal Corps instructor at Camp Crowder, most of that time he was a tech Corporal. He taught telephone and switchboard. Mom moved from Illinois and lived in an apartment in Joplin. My older brother was born there in Nov. of '44.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think my father was an instructor as well from 43' to 44'.

      Delete
  9. Camp Crowder is located on the edge of the picturesque Ozark mountain region, five miles south of Neosho, a thriving community with a pre-war population of 5,000. Joplin is 25 miles to the north. It was named for General Enoch Herbert Crowder, a native Missourian, who authored the Selective Service Act of World War I.

    Fort Crowder was built in 1941 as a training center for the U. S. Army Signal Corps and at its peak had nearly 47,000 troops stationed there. Camp Crowder was activated shortly after the beginning of WWII and served as the temporary home of thousands of male, female, white and black soldiers. The construction of Camp Crowder, one of the largest army installations in the Midwest, doubled the population of Neosho in a matter of weeks. Camp Crowder received most of the Army's signal recruits, each of whom spent three weeks learning the basics of soldiering: drill; equipment, clothing, and tent pitching; first aid; defense against chemical attack; articles of war; basic signal communication; interior guard duty; military discipline; and rifle marksmanship.

    ReplyDelete

If you receive an error message when posting a comment or preview please hit "Post Comment" or "Preview" a second time and it should go through.--Greg