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844th AAA AW Battalion Camp Stewart, GA. 6/5/43-9/13/43 |
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My Father.... Little is known about my father's military career. What is known has been passed on to me by my mother, oral history is indeed treasured. My father entered the military in 1943. He was part of what Tom Brokaw calls "The Greatest Generation". Clearly, due to an extreme case of asthma, he should not have been accepted in the military. His desire to serve his country was strong, so he volunteered and somehow passed the physical. Through research we were able to find out that he was with the 844th AAA AW Battalion at Camp Stewart, GA. His time was short in the military as he succumbed to the heat of the south. He was honorably discharged(medical) after serving his country and fulfilling his committment. Though not a combat veteran, he was a veteran who volunteered to serve. Clearly, he was eligible for VA benefits. However,like other men of this era, he never claimed any benefits that may have been available to him... He was a man that embodied the army values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. I wish I knew more(and maybe in the future I will) about his service record, but I don't. I may not know everything about his military life...but I do know that he was a man of integrity and a great father. KHM AUG 2004
History of Camp Stewart.... In November of 1940 the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Training Center was officially designated as Camp Stewart, in honor of General Daniel Stewart, a native of Liberty County who had fought with Francis Marion during the Revolution and became one of the county’s military heroes. An announcement of the new post’s name was made in Jan. 1941. During the early months, training was done on wooden mock-ups since real anti-aircraft guns were in short supply. Live firing exercises were conducted on the beaches of St. Augustine and Amelia Island, Fl. since the necessary ranges and impact areas had not been completed at Camp Stewart. This live fire training over the ocean continued until Sept. 1941 while at Camp Stewart practice firing and searchlight training progressed. In Fall of 1941 the Carolina maneuvers were held and all the anti-aircraft units from Camp Stewart anticipated. As these maneuvers drew to a close, a feeling of restless anticipation pervaded the ranks of the National Guard soldiers who were looking toward their impending release from active duty after completion of their year of training. But the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7th ended these dreams. Now the U.S. was in the war and Camp Stewart set about accomplishing the mission it was intended for. The National Guard units departed and new units came in for training. Facilities were expanded and improved. Anti-aircraft artillery training was upgraded and soon a detachment of Women’s Air Service Pilots (WASP’s) arrived at the air facility on post, Liberty Field, to fly planes to tow targets for the live fire exercises. Eventually radio-controlled airplane targets came into use as a more effective and safer means of live-fire practice. As the war progressed, Camp Stewart’s training programs continued expanding to keep pace with the needs placed upon it. Units were shipped out promptly upon completion of their training and new units received in their place. The camp provided well-trained soldiers for duty in Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Pacific theaters. By late 1943 Camp Stewart assumed a new responsibility as one of many holding areas designated in this country for German and Italian prisoners of war who had fallen into Allied hands during fighting in North Africa. These men were held in two separate prisoner-of-war facilities on post and used as a labor force for base operations, construction projects, and for area farmers. Beside its initial purposes as an anti-aircraft artillery training center, Camp Stewart also served as a Cook and Bakers School and as a staging area for a number of Army postal units. By Spring 1944 the camp was bulging at its seams as more than 55,000 soldiers occupied the facility during the build-up for the D-Day invasion. However, almost overnight, the post was virtually emptied as these units shipped out for England. With the D-Day invasion and Allied control of the air over Europe, the need for anti-aircraft units diminished and in response the anti-aircraft training at Camp Stewart was phased out. By Jan. 1945 only the prisoner-of-war camp was still functioning. With the end of the war, Camp Stewart came to life briefly as a separation center for redeployed soldiers, but on 30 Sept. 1945 the post was inactivated. Only 2 officers, 10 enlisted men, and 50 civilian employees maintained the facilities and the GA National Guard did the only training during summer months. It seemed as if Camp Stewart had served its purpose. |
