Fort Leonard Wood, MO
Posted by: Jhwk
N 37° 46.260 W 092° 06.840
15S E 578030 N 4180777
The Home of the U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center, as well as the Army Schools for the Chemical, Military Police, and Engineer Corps.
Waymark Code: WM106
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 09/07/2005
Views: 157
The history of one of the Nation’s largest military reservations began with a ground breaking ceremony in December 1940. Fort Leonard Wood was constructed as part of the Army’s Expansion Program. The 71,000 acre fort was named in honor of Major General Leonard Wood. He was a graduate of Harvard Medical School and later commanded the Rough Riders during the Spanish American War. Wood also served as the Governor of Cuba and as the Chief of Staff of the Army from 1910 until 1914.
Between December 1940 and the spring of 1941, enough buildings had been erected to house the new Engineer Replacement Training Center, but when the United States entered the Second World War in December, 1941, the post was turned into a major basic training facility to support the War.
Between 1941 and 1946, over 300,000 soldiers trained at Fort Leonard Wood. At its peak, the post held over 50,000 soldiers at a time. Fort Leonard Wood was also a Prisoner of War (POW) camp for captured German and Italian POW’s.
The Home of the Engineer School, during the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure process, the Department of Defense decided to close Fort McClellan, AL and relocate the US Army Chemical and Military Police Schools to Fort Leonard Wood. Today the Fort is home to the Army's Maneuver Support Center and the three associated schools. Another interesting note is that one of the only live chemical agent training facilities in the world is here at the Fort. The Chemical School uses the Chemical Defense Training Facility to train chemical soldiers and service men and women in an actual live nerve agent environment.
The Fort also has an extensive museum associated with each of the three Army branches who call Fort Leonard Wood Home.
Era: WW II
Related web site: [Web Link]
General Comments: Not listed
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