Camp Mackall is an active

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Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

training facility located in eastern

Richmond County Richmond County may refer to places: Australia *Richmond County, New South Wales, a cadastral division Canada *Richmond County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Richmondshire, the original Richmond County in Yorkshire, England United States ...

and northern Scotland County,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, south of the town of

Southern Pines Southern Pines is a town in Moore County, North Carolina, Moore County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 12,334 as of the 2010 United States Census. History Southern Pines was founded as a winter health resort for Northeastern U ...

. The facility is in close proximity to and is a sub-installation of Fort Bragg (home to the

XVIII Airborne Corps The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is referred to as "America ...

, the 82nd Airborne Division and the

U.S. Army Special Operations Command The United States Army Special Operations Command (Airborne) (USASOC ( )) is the command charged with overseeing the various special operations forces of the United States Army. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, it is the largest ...

Headquarters). Camp Mackall is the setting of primary training to become a member of

U.S. Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal m ...

History

Originally named Camp Hoffman, on February 8, 1943, General Order Number 6 renamed the facility Camp Mackall in honor of Private John Thomas (Tommy) Mackall. He was born May 17, 1920 in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and grew up in

Wellsville, Ohio Wellsville is a village in southern Columbiana County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. Its population was 3,113 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Salem micropolitan area, north of Steubenville and south of Youngstown. In its he ...

. He served in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment. During the Allied invasion of North Africa in the airborne segment called Operation Torch, he was mortally wounded in an attack by French

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...

aircraft on his aircraft as the aircraft landed near Oran. Seven paratroopers died at the scene and several were wounded, including Mackall. He was evacuated by air to a British hospital at

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

where he died on November 12, 1942. He had been wounded on November 8, the day that construction began at the camp. He is buried in Glenview Cemetery in East Palestine, Ohio. Historian Stephen E. Ambrose described the camp as a "marvel of wartime construction", having been converted from 62,000 acres of wilderness to a camp "with 65 miles of paved roads, a 1,200-bed hospital, five movie theaters, six huge beer gardens, a complete all-weather airfield with three 5,000-foot runways, and 1,750 buildings" in just four months.

Facilities

The Mackall Army Airfield has three

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...

s: 4/22 is 5,001 by 150 feet (1,524 x 46 m) with an

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

surface and 12/30 (originally designated 11/29) is 4,740 by 150 feet (1,445 x 46 m) with a

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

surface. A new runway 16/34 was constructed in 2016, and is restricted to use by

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controll ...

s. It is 5500 by 150 feet (1676 x 46 m) and has a concrete surface. The Colonel James "Nick" Rowe Training Compound hosts SERE, SFAS, the Q Course and other training courses. It is named for Col. James N. Rowe. The obstacle course at the camp, arguably the hardest obstacle course in the U.S. Army, is named the "Nasty Nick" in honor of Rowe.

References

External links

*
{{Authority control Airports in North Carolina Military installations in North Carolina Buildings and structures in Hoke County, North Carolina Buildings and structures in Richmond County, North Carolina Buildings and structures in Scotland County, North Carolina Mackall Mackall Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in North Carolina

History

Facilities

See also

References

External links