Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma

Camp Doniphan was a military base adjacent to Fort Sill, just outside Lawton, in Comanche County, Oklahoma, that was activated for use in World War I for artillery training.[1] The post was closed in 1918 and incorporated into Fort Sill.[2]

Soldiers line up for Typhoid Inoculation, Camp Doniphan, ca. 1917-1918.

History

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 embarkation to France. The camp contained 1,267 buildings, the majority of which were tents, over a 2,000-acre (8.1 km2) area.[3]

The camp was home of the 35th Infantry Division, made up of the National Guard of Kansas and Missouri.[4][5][6][7] It 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.[8][9][10][11] Harry S. Truman was stationed at Camp Doniphan from September 1917 until March 1918, and he was assigned to run the regimental canteen.[9][12][13][14] It was here that he made Edward Jacobson his business partner.[15]

References
  1. | "Camp Doniphan part of Fort Sill" World War 1 Centennial Commission Website
  2. | "The WW1 Era: Camp Doniphan" history.army.mil
  3. Topographic map, Camp Doniphan, Fort Sill, Okla. Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine - Oklahoma State University Digital Library
  4. History of the 35th Infantry Division (ID) "Santa Fe" Archived 2008-05-30 at the Wayback Machine - at Army.mil
  5. History of the 35th Infantry Division Archived 2007-12-23 at the Wayback Machine - at KFOR 9
  6. Fort Sill search Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine - at the Kansas City Public Library
  7. The 35th Infantry Division in the Great War Archived 2008-05-17 at the Wayback Machine - at the Museum of the Kansas National Guard
  8. 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.
  9. Chronological Record of the 129th Field Artillery 1917-1919 - the Truman Library
  10. 2Lt. Erwin Russell Bleckley Archived 2008-04-17 at the Wayback Machine - at the Museum of the Kansas National Guard
  11. 1st Battalion - 158th Field Artillery (MLRS) - at GlobalSecurity.org
  12. McCullough, David (1992). Truman. New York: Simon and Schuster, p.105-110. ISBN 0-671-86920-5
  13. Gilwee, William J. Capt. Harry Truman Artilleryman and Future President - at the Doughboy Center
  14. Oral History Interview with Ted Marks - at the Truman Library
  15. McCullough, p. 107

Further reading

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