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Camp Claiborne


Coordinates: 31°04′14″N 92°32′56″W / 31.07056°N 92.54889°W / 31.07056; -92.54889

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 (93 km²). The camp was just north of the town of present-day Forest Hill, near the intersection of U.S. Highway 165 and Louisiana Highway 112.

It was established June 10, 1930, as Camp Evangeline, named for the Evangeline District of the Kisatchie National Forest, where it was situated. It was later renamed for the Governor of the Territory of Orleans and first governor of the State of Louisiana, William C.C. Claiborne. In 1939, construction crews were sent to expand the camp, and it was activated in 1940.

From 1939 to 1946, over half a million men went through Camp Claiborne. The camp was mainly used for basic training and artillery practice, which included the nearby Winn District-Kisatchie Precision Bombing Range. It was also home to the Engineering Unit Training Command (EUTC). Special service forces training was also conducted there, including railroad battalion training. The 34th Infantry Division (United States) came to Claiborne for its basic training and would be the first American force sent to the European Theater of Operations (ETO).


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