Camp Livingston
Encyclopedia
Camp Livingston was a U.S. Army military camp
during World War II
located on the Rapides Parish
and Grant Parish
line in north Louisiana
, north of Pineville, Louisiana
.
. It was home to the 28th Infantry Division, 32nd Infantry Division, 38th Infantry Division, 86th Infantry Division, 327th Military Police Escort Guard, 93rd Engineer General Service Regiment, 7th Transportation Battalion 240th Quartermaster Battalion, 846th Tank Destroyer Battalion, 46th Field Artillery Brigade, 350th Field Artillery Group, 351st Field Artillery Group, 353rd Field Artillery Group, 1692nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 1693rd Engineer Combat Battalion, 1694th Engineer Combat Battalions, 527th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion,510th Ordnance, Heavy Mechanized Field Artillery Company, and others during the war.
In 1941 there was an aviation squadron of 250 African American men in the Army Air Corps performing service function.
Camp Livingston was designated as an infantry replacement training center, as well as a garrison for these infantry divisions. The 38th Division was known as the "Avengers of Bataan" and the 86th Division was the first American unit to cross the Danube River into Germany. Over 500,000 troops trained on the 47000 acres (190.2 km²) base during the war. On some old concrete walls in the site, beautiful artwork and graffiti has been discovered and is thought to have been drawn by Italian POWs.
In 1941, prior to the United States
declaring war, the camp was part of the Louisiana Maneuvers
, a 400,000-man training exercise involving two imaginary countries fighting each other. The two armies faced each other across the Red River
, over 3400 square miles (8,806 km²) of land, including part of East Texas.
During World War II, thousands of Japan
ese, German
and Italian
prisoners of war were kept in internment camps at Camp Livingston and Camp Claiborne
. In 1942, the first Japanese POW to arrive at Camp Livingston was one who was captured at Pearl Harbor
, the survivor of the two-man crew of a mini-submarine which attacked the American fleet on December 7, 1941. The internees at the camps were used to supply logging and farm labor in the area. There was a P.O.W. cemetery located within Camp Livingston and in 1947 the headstones were relocated to Fort Sam Houston and the bodies of the P.O.W.s were left in the ground unmarked where they remain today.
Camp Livingston was deactivated in late 1945 and is now part of the Kisatchie National Forest
.
Military camp
A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent facility for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large campsites. In the Roman era the military camp had highly...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
located on the Rapides Parish
Rapides Parish, Louisiana
-Military Installations:*Camp Beauregard *Esler Airfield *England Air Force Base *Camp Claiborne *Camp Livingston -Demographics:...
and Grant Parish
Grant Parish, Louisiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 18,698 people, 7,073 households, and 5,276 families residing in the parish. The population density was 29 people per square mile . There were 8,531 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...
line in north Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, north of Pineville, Louisiana
Pineville, Louisiana
Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is adjacent to the city of Alexandria, and is part of that city's Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,829 at the 2000 census....
.
History
Camp Livingston was open from 1940 to 1945 and was first known as Camp Tioga. It was renamed Camp Livingston in honor of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, negotiator of the Louisiana PurchaseLouisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
. It was home to the 28th Infantry Division, 32nd Infantry Division, 38th Infantry Division, 86th Infantry Division, 327th Military Police Escort Guard, 93rd Engineer General Service Regiment, 7th Transportation Battalion 240th Quartermaster Battalion, 846th Tank Destroyer Battalion, 46th Field Artillery Brigade, 350th Field Artillery Group, 351st Field Artillery Group, 353rd Field Artillery Group, 1692nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 1693rd Engineer Combat Battalion, 1694th Engineer Combat Battalions, 527th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion,510th Ordnance, Heavy Mechanized Field Artillery Company, and others during the war.
In 1941 there was an aviation squadron of 250 African American men in the Army Air Corps performing service function.
Camp Livingston was designated as an infantry replacement training center, as well as a garrison for these infantry divisions. The 38th Division was known as the "Avengers of Bataan" and the 86th Division was the first American unit to cross the Danube River into Germany. Over 500,000 troops trained on the 47000 acres (190.2 km²) base during the war. On some old concrete walls in the site, beautiful artwork and graffiti has been discovered and is thought to have been drawn by Italian POWs.
In 1941, prior to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
declaring war, the camp was part of the Louisiana Maneuvers
Louisiana Maneuvers
The Louisiana Maneuvers were a series of military exercises held all over north and west-central Louisiana, including Fort Polk, Camp Claiborne and Camp Livingston, in August and September 1941...
, a 400,000-man training exercise involving two imaginary countries fighting each other. The two armies faced each other across the Red River
Red River (Mississippi watershed)
The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in the southern United States of America. The river gains its name from the red-bed country of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name...
, over 3400 square miles (8,806 km²) of land, including part of East Texas.
During World War II, thousands of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese, German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
prisoners of war were kept in internment camps at Camp Livingston and Camp Claiborne
Camp Claiborne
Camp Claiborne was a U.S. Army military camp during World War II located in Rapides Parish in central Louisiana. The camp was under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Eighth Service Command, and included 23,000 acres ....
. In 1942, the first Japanese POW to arrive at Camp Livingston was one who was captured at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, the survivor of the two-man crew of a mini-submarine which attacked the American fleet on December 7, 1941. The internees at the camps were used to supply logging and farm labor in the area. There was a P.O.W. cemetery located within Camp Livingston and in 1947 the headstones were relocated to Fort Sam Houston and the bodies of the P.O.W.s were left in the ground unmarked where they remain today.
Camp Livingston was deactivated in late 1945 and is now part of the Kisatchie National Forest
Kisatchie National Forest
Kisatchie National Forest, the only National forest in Louisiana, USA, is located in the state's old growth piney hills and hardwood bottoms of seven central and northern parishes. It totals more than of public lands....
.