Camp White was an

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 base located in Jackson County,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was also the site of a prisoner-of-war (POW) camp. The camp was named in honor of

George A. White Major General George A. White (18 July 1880 – 23 November 1941) was an American journalist, magazine editor, and senior officer of the Oregon National Guard, who helped organize The American Legion. He commanded the 41st Infantry Division, m ...

, who served as

adjutant general An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

for Oregon starting in 1915.

History

On December 12, 1941, five days after the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

appropriated $27 million to transform the

Agate Desert The Agate Desert is a prairie located near White City, Oregon, of which is protected as the Agate Desert Preserve. The area is not in fact a desert as its name suggests; it is so named because of the abundance of agate, petrified wood, jasper, and ...

into Camp White. A portion of Upper Table Rock was also used for training. The camp was dedicated September 15, 1942. Many of the troops trained at Camp White participated in the Oregon Maneuver combat exercise in the fall of 1943. At its peak, the camp occupied nearly 50,000 acres and contained nearly 40,000 people, making it the second-largest city in Oregon at the time. The camp was deactivated in April 1946. There was a Camp White post office from 1942–60, when the name was changed to

White City White City may refer to: Places Australia * White City, Perth, an amusement park on the Perth foreshore * White City railway station, a former railway station * White City Stadium (Sydney), a tennis centre in Sydney * White City FC, a football clu ...

, the name of the civilian community that took Camp White's place.

Documentary

''The Camp White Story: Southern Oregon Goes to War'' is a documentary program produced by

Southern Oregon Public Television Southern Oregon PBS (SO PBS, formerly Southern Oregon Public Television or SOPTV) is the PBS network affiliate#Member stations, member network for most of the southwest region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It operates KSYS (channel 8) in Medford, ...

(SOPTV) chronicling the transformation of rural

Southern Oregon Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range, excluding the southern Oregon Coast. Counties include Douglas, Jackson, Klamath, and Josephine. It includes the Southern Oreg ...

during World War II and focusing on the Camp White military facility. It is one of several programs produced by SOPTV documenting the history of Southern Oregon. The documentary chronicles the stories of the troops that were trained in this "

Alcatraz Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pris ...

of Boot Camps" and the impact of the military base on the Southern Oregon economy. This program was produced in cooperation with the Camp White Military Museum. It was written by Ashland freelancer John E. Darling.

References

External links

Camp White Military Museum
located in the

United States Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...

Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center & Clinics (SORCC) in White City
SOPTV presents ''The Camp White Story: Southern Oregon Goes To War''History of Camp White Station Hospital
from the SORCC * Buildings and structures in Jackson County, Oregon 1942 establishments in Oregon Closed installations of the United States Army World War II prisoner of war camps in the United States White City, Oregon Military installations in Oregon 1946 disestablishments in Oregon {{US-Army-stub

History

Documentary

See also

References

External links