Camp Gordon Johnston | |
---|---|
Big Bend, Florida | |
Type | Military training base |
Site information | |
Controlled by | United States Army |
Site history | |
Built | 1942 |
In use | September 1942 – 1946 |
Garrison information | |
Past commanders | Brig. General Frank Keating |
Camp Gordon Johnston was a World War II United States Army training center located in Carrabelle, Florida, United States. The site's history is featured at the Camp Gordon Johnston Museum.
Camp Gordon Johnston [1] opened in September 1942 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. [2] [3]
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 1942 through 1946. The nearby islands of Dog Island and St. George Island were used as landing points for exercises.
Units stationed at Camp Gordon Johnston:
In 1946, many buildings, facilities and the land was sold as war surplus. Officers quarters later became the retirement community of Lanark Village. 165,000 acres (670 km2)
Carrabelle is a city in Franklin County along Florida's Panhandle, United States. It is located east of Apalachicola at the mouth of the Carrabelle River on the Gulf of Mexico. The population was 2,606 as of the 2020 census.
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Gordon Johnston was an American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient and football player and coach. He played at the tackle position for Princeton University and served as the head coach of the University of North Carolina football team in 1896. He served as an officer in the United States Army during the Spanish–American War, the Philippine–American War and World War I, and received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Philippine–American War.
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