Camp White

Last updated
One of the concrete pillboxes on Upper Table Rock designed to simulate Nazi fortified coastal regions of Europe Camp White at Table Rocks (22896938583).jpg
One of the concrete pillboxes on Upper Table Rock designed to simulate Nazi fortified coastal regions of Europe

Camp White was an Army training base located in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, during World War II. It was also the site of a prisoner-of-war (POW) camp. The camp was named in honor of George A. White, who served as adjutant general for Oregon starting in 1915. [1]

Contents

History

On December 12, 1941, five days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Congress appropriated $27 million to transform the Agate Desert into Camp White. A portion of Upper Table Rock was also used for training.[ citation needed ] The camp was dedicated September 15, 1942. Many of the troops trained at Camp White participated in the Oregon Maneuver combat exercise in the fall of 1943. [2] [3] At its peak, the camp occupied nearly 50,000 acres and contained nearly 40,000 people, making it the second-largest city in Oregon at the time. [4] The camp was deactivated in April 1946. [1] There was a Camp White post office from 1942–60, when the name was changed to White City, the name of the civilian community that took Camp White's place. [1]

Documentary

The Camp White Story: Southern Oregon Goes to War is a documentary program produced by Southern Oregon Public Television (SOPTV) chronicling the transformation of rural Southern Oregon during World War II and focusing on the Camp White military facility. It is one of several programs produced by SOPTV documenting the history of Southern Oregon. The documentary chronicles the stories of the troops that were trained in this "Alcatraz of Boot Camps" and the impact of the military base on the Southern Oregon economy. This program was produced in cooperation with the Camp White Military Museum. It was written by Ashland freelancer John E. Darling.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaniko, Oregon</span> City in Oregon, United States

Shaniko is a city located in Wasco County, Oregon, United States, on U.S. Route 97 and about 8 miles (13 km) north of Antelope. The population was 30 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bataan Death March</span> 1942 march moving prisoners of war

The Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war (POW) from the municipalities of Bagac and Mariveles on the Bataan Peninsula to Camp O'Donnell via San Fernando.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire Phillips</span>

Claire Maybelle Snyder, also known as Clara Fuentes, Clara Phillips, Dorothy Fuentes as well as High Pockets, was an American spy, entertainer, club owner, and writer most noted for her exploits in the Japanese-occupied Philippines. She was portrayed by Ann Dvorak in the 1951 movie I Was an American Spy. She was also the author of Manila Espionage, a book about her wartime experiences. In 1951, she was awarded the Medal of Freedom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Dalles</span>

Fort Dalles was a United States Army outpost located on the Columbia River at the present location of The Dalles, Oregon, in the United States. Built when Oregon was a territory, the post was used mainly for dealing with wars with Native Americans. The post was first known as Camp Drum and then Fort Drum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bull Run, Oregon</span> Unincorporated community in the state of Oregon, United States

Bull Run is an unincorporated community in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. It is located about 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of Sandy, near the Bull Run River and the powerhouse of the defunct Mount Hood Railway and Power Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military Intelligence Service (United States)</span> Military unit

The Military Intelligence Service was a World War II U.S. military unit consisting of two branches, the Japanese American unit and the German-Austrian unit based at Camp Ritchie, best known as the "Ritchie Boys". The unit described here was primarily composed of Nisei who were trained as linguists. Graduates of the MIS language school (MISLS) were attached to other military units to provide translation, interpretation, and interrogation services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Adair</span> United States Army division training facility

Camp Adair was a United States Army division training facility established north of Corvallis, Oregon, operating from 1942 to 1946. During its peak period of use, the camp was home to approximately 40,000 persons — enough to have constituted the second largest city in the state of Oregon. The camp was largely scrapped as government surplus following termination of World War II, with a portion of the site reconstituted as "Adair Air Force Station" in 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Tulelake</span> American isolation camp during World War II

Camp Tulelake was a federal work facility and War Relocation Authority isolation center located in Siskiyou County, five miles west of Tulelake, California. It was established by the United States government in 1935 during the Great Depression for vocational training and work relief for young men, in a program known as the Civilian Conservation Corps. The camp was established initially for CCC enrollees to work on the Klamath Reclamation Project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Abbot</span>

Camp Abbot was a military training center in the northwest United States, located in central Oregon south of Bend. Active for less than sixteen months, the U.S. Army camp was used to train combat engineers during World War II and was named for Henry Larcom Abbot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Warner</span> Former military outpost in Oregon, USA

Camp Warner was a United States Army outpost in south-central Oregon, United States. Camp Warner was located at two different sites approximately 35 miles (56 km) apart. The Army called both sites Camp Warner. However, the first site became known as Old Camp Warner. It was used as winter quarters in 1866–1867 and then abandoned. The second, more developed site is generally known as Fort Warner, although the Army never officially designated it as a fort. Fort Warner was used as a supply depot and administrative headquarters from 1867 to 1874 during a protracted Army campaign against Northern Paiute bands in Eastern Oregon and Northern California. Today, nothing remains of either Old Camp Warner or Fort Warner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warner Valley</span> Valley in south-central Oregon

The Warner Valley is a valley in south-central Oregon in the United States. It is a remote valley at the northwestern corner of North America's Basin and Range Province. The valley is home to a chain of lakes and wetlands known as the Warner Lakes. Native Americans were present in the Warner Valley for thousands of years before European explorers arrived in the 19th century. It is the site of Fort Warner, built by the United States Army in 1867. The fort was used as a supply depot and administrative headquarters during a protracted Army campaign against Northern Paiute bands in eastern Oregon and northern California. Today, livestock ranching is the main commercial activity in the valley. The Warner Valley offers a number of recreational opportunities including hunting, fishing, bird watching, and wildlife viewing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Harney</span>

Fort Harney was a United States Army outpost in eastern Oregon in the United States. It was named in honor of Brigadier General William S. Harney. Fort Harney was used as a supply depot and administrative headquarters from 1867 to 1880 during the Army's campaign against Northern Paiute bands in Eastern Oregon and the Bannock uprising in the same area. Today, nothing remains of Fort Harney except a small cemetery.

During World War II, it was estimated that between 19,500 and 50,000 members of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces surrendered to Allied servicemembers prior to the end of World War II in Asia in August 1945. Also, Soviet troops seized and imprisoned more than half a million Japanese troops and civilians in China and other places. The number of Japanese soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen who surrendered was limited by the Japanese military indoctrinating its personnel to fight to the death, Allied combat personnel often being unwilling to take prisoners, and many Japanese soldiers believing that those who surrendered would be killed by their captors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susanville, Oregon</span>

Susanville is an unincorporated community in Grant County, Oregon, United States, in the Blue Mountains about two miles up Elk Creek from Galena. The place was started as a gold mining camp in 1862 or 1864 and is now considered a ghost town.

Wyeth is an unincorporated locale in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. It is the site of a campground area in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area off Interstate 84 (I-84).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McCredie Springs</span> Unincorporated community in the state of Oregon, United States

McCredie Springs are hot springs and a former resort in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located near Oregon Route 58, 10.7 miles (17.2 km) east of Oakridge, and 50.7 miles (81.6 km) east of Eugene, within the Willamette National Forest. It is known for the nearby natural hot springs along Salt Creek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles S. Drew</span> Union Army officer

Charles Stewart Drew, also known as C.S. Drew, was a representative in the legislature of the Oregon Territory of the United States and quartermaster general of the territorial militia in the 1850s. During the American Civil War, he was a Union Army officer, serving in the 1st Oregon Cavalry regiment. He eventually reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1864, he led an Army reconnaissance party into southeastern Oregon. The expedition, known as the Owyhee Reconnaissance, traveled through uncharted country from Fort Klamath to Fort Boise and back. Drew was the author of two historically important military reports; one documented Indian attacks on American settlers in the Oregon Territory and the other was his report of the Owyhee Reconnaissance.

Camp Castaway was a military encampment at what is now Coos Bay, Oregon, United States. It was established by the survivors of the wreck of the Captain Lincoln, a U.S. transport schooner, on January 3, 1852. The ship began taking on water during a storm while en route from San Francisco to Fort Orford at the town of Port Orford. To avoid sinking, the captain decided to beach the ship north of Cape Arago. All of the roughly 30 troops on board, and the ship's crew, survived the wreck and most of the cargo was salvaged. At the time no U.S. settlement was present at Coos Bay, so commanding officer Lt. Henry Stanton decided to establish the camp to protect the cargo until it could be transported to Fort Orford, some 50 miles south on the Oregon Coast. The troops and crew used spars, booms and sail cloth from the schooner to build tent structures for housing and for protecting the cargo from winter rains and blowing sand. They named the temporary post Camp Castaway. The camp endured for four months in the open dunes with help from Native Americans of the Coos tribe who traded fresh foods to the soldiers for silverware, biscuits and other nonlocal goods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catlow Valley</span>

The Catlow Valley is a basin in Harney County, Oregon, United States. It is a remote valley at the northwestern corner of North America's Basin and Range Province. The valley is named after a pioneer rancher, John Catlow. The area was used by Native Americans for thousands of years before European explorers arrived in the 19th century. Today, cattle ranching is the main commercial activity in the valley. The public land in the Catlow Valley is administered by the Bureau of Land Management. This public land offers a number of recreational opportunities including hiking, hunting, fishing, bird watching, and wildlife viewing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment was a military regiment recruited in the U.S. state of Oregon during the Spanish–American War. As the first foreign war in U.S. history, it was the first time members of the Oregon National Guard had fought on foreign soil. The regiment also served with distinction in the Philippine–American War. At full strength, it was composed of 50 officers and 970 enlisted men. The regiment's last company was mustered out of service in August 1899.

References

  1. 1 2 3 McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. ISBN   0-87595-277-1.
  2. Kramer, George, "Camp White", The Oregon Encyclopedia, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, 23 October 2010.
  3. Brogan, Phil F., East of the Cascades (Third Edition), Binford & Mort, Portland, Oregon, 1965, pp. 272-275.
  4. "Camp White at Table Rocks". Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington. Retrieved 9 December 2015.

42°26′15″N122°51′30″W / 42.4375°N 122.85833°W / 42.4375; -122.85833