This map was included in the official program of the Camp Abbot Dedication on September 2, 1943. The program included 4 phases: 1. Observing the Training Activities 2. Tour of the Cantonment Area 3. Parade of the Troops 4. The Dedication Ceremony proper. Bill's sketch of the Camp is very close to this rendition, but with enough differences to imply that his map was made without reference to the Official Map
I think that's interesting that the Army has accommodated visitors with ladies' rest rooms and a public relations office at the front gate. Imagine the pagentry and muscic of the opening ceremonies against the beauty of September in the high desert country around Camp Abbot; blue sky, pine scented air along with the smell of new construction, and Mount Bachelor and the bucolic Deschutes River in the background. Who wouldn't want to be stationed there?
ReplyDeleteFast forward to December: hundreds and hundreds of men in the hospital with upper respiratory diseases, mud splashed up on every wall, and amublatory soldiers inadequately bundled against the cold.
Camp Abbot would not see a second winter.
I think that one of the most fascinating aspects of Bill's letters is comparing the "official" Army viewpoint of life at Camp Abbot with the "real" story as documented in the letters. I have on microfilm the entire issue of "The Camp Abbot Engineer", the weekly camp newspaper. It is quite hilarious to read Bill's description of camp events or situations and compare it with the official corresponding newspaper report. I find Bill to be the more credible of the two.
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