Associated Press State & Local Wire September 8, 2003
History of Camp Shelby
By The Associated Press
A history of Camp Shelby Army National Guard Training Site:
1917: Camp Shelby activated as training camp for World War I troops. Named in honor of Isaac Shelby, Indian fighter, Revolutionary War hero and 1st Governor of Kentucky, by the first troops to train there, the 38th Division.
1918: Camp Shelby deactivated at end of World War I.
1934: State of Mississippi acquires Camp Shelby for use as National Guard summer camp.
1940: Camp Shelby reopens as federal installation, with its population exceeding 100,000 troops at one time during World War II. The base also housed a prisoner of war camp for members of the German Afrika Corps. Camp Shelby is closed at conclusion of war.
Korean War: Camp Shelby becomes emergency railhead facility.
1956: Continental Army Command designates Camp Shelby as a permanent training site.
1958: Congress allocates money for first permanent-type barracks at Camp Shelby.
Source: GlobalSecurity.org, Camp Shelby
© Copyright 2003 The Associated Press State & Local Wire
