Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma

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Camp Doniphan was a military base adjacent to Fort Sill, just outside of Lawton, in Comanche County, Oklahoma, that was activated for use in World War I for artillery training.

The camp was named for Alexander William Doniphan, a hero of the Mexican-American war from the Missouri Volunteers of Northwestern Missouri.

It was from this camp that thousands of soldiers, from Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, were given basic training prior to being sent to Camp Mills, Mineola, Long Island, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; or Camp Merritt, Dumont, New Jersey, for disembarkation to France. The camp contained 1,267 buildings, the majority of which were tents, over a 2,000-acre (8.1 km²) area.[1]

The camp was home of the 35th Infantry Division, made up of the National Guard of Kansas and Missouri.[2][3][4][5]

The camp became part of the United States Army Field Artillery School, and included the 128th Field Artillery Regiment and 129th Field Artillery Regiment of Missouri, 130th Field Artillery Regiment of Kansas, and the 158th Field Artillery Regiment of Oklahoma.[6][7][8][9]

Harry S. Truman was stationed here, from September of 1917 until March of 1918, and was assigned to run the regimental canteen.[7][10][11][12] It is here that he made Edward Jacobson his partner.[13]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Topographic map, Camp Doniphan, Fort Sill, Okla. - Oklahoma State University Digital Library
  2. ^ History of the 35th Infantry Division (ID) "Santa Fe" - at Army.mil
  3. ^ History of the 35th Infantry Division - at KFOR 9
  4. ^ Fort Sill search - at the Kansas City Public Library
  5. ^ The 35th Infantry Division in the Great War - at the Museum of the Kansas National Guard
  6. ^ Connelley, William E (1928). "The 35th Infantry Division in the Great War" - History of Kansas: State and People, Volume II. Chicago: The American Historical Society. pp. 889-893.
  7. ^ a b Chronological Record of the 129th Field Artillery 1917-1919 - the Truman Library
  8. ^ 2Lt. Erwin Russell Bleckley - at the Museum of the Kansas National Guard
  9. ^ 1st Battalion - 158th Field Artillery (MLRS) - at GlobalSecurity.org
  10. ^ McCullough, David (1992). Truman. New York: Simon and Schuster, p.105-110. ISBN 0671869205
  11. ^ Gilwee, William J. Capt. Harry Truman Artilleryman and Future President - at the Doughboy Center
  12. ^ Oral History Interview with Ted Marks - at the Truman Library
  13. ^ McCullough, p. 107