Camp Shanks was a

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 ...

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 ...

installation in the

Orangetown, New York Orangetown is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States, located in the southeastern part of the county. It is northwest of New York City, north of New Jersey, east of the town of Ramapo, south of the town of Clarkstown, and west of th ...

area. Named after Major General David C. Shanks, it was situated near the juncture of the

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and the

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. The camp was the largest U.S. Army embarkation camp used 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 ...

History

Camp Shanks served as a staging area for troops departing the New York Port of Embarkation for overseas service during

. Dubbed “Last Stop USA”, the camp housed about 50,000 troops spread over and was the largest World War II U.S. Army embarkation camp, processing 1.3 million service personnel. including 75% of those participating in the D-Day invasion. In 1945, Camp Shanks also housed German and Italian prisoners of war. After the war, old barracks buildings at Camp Shanks were converted into housing for veterans with families attending colleges and universities in the New York City area under the

GI Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

; the settlement, then known as Shanks Village, closed in 1954, and the land Camp Shanks once stood on was returned to civilian control. Today, the expanded

Palisades Interstate Parkway The Palisades Interstate Parkway (PIP) is a limited-access highway in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. The parkway is a major commuter route into New York City from Rockland County, New York, Rockland and Orange County ...

passes through some of the land that was once Camp Shanks A small museum opened near the site, at the intersection of New York State Routes

303 __NOTOC__ Year 303 ( CCCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. It was known in the Roman Empire as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, y ...

and

340 Year 340 (Roman numerals, CCCXL) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Acindynus and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1093 ...

in June 1994.

Construction

On the evening of September 25, 1942, over 300 Orangeburg residents met at the Orangeburg School (now the city library) to learn that their homes, lots, and farms (amounting to approximately west of the museum) were being seized for the immediate construction of a military camp. One hundred thirty families lost their homes. If the United States was to transport troops and equipment to Europe, it had to expand its military facilities around New York City. Colonel Drew C. Eberson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was the Chief Engineer during construction. Camp Shanks was a rush job, completed between September 1942 and May 1943 at a cost of $44,391,335. Charges of corruption, petty theft, and disorderly behavior by workmen plagued the project. In June 1946, a federal grand jury cleared the military and the contractors of charges of graft, but acknowledged major problems among some of the labor unions, primarily consisting of a gigantic kickback system. Camp Shanks officially opened 4 January 43 under the command of Colonel Kenna G. Eastman. The barracks in which the transient soldiers lived measured 20 feet by 100 feet and consisted of two rows of bunks and three coal-burning pot-belly stoves which provided the limited heat. Two WAC detachments, consisting of over 400 women, were assigned to the camp, and filled positions ranging from clerk to mechanic to warehouse staff to armorer. Their freedom of movement on the installation was restricted.

Active years

Camp Shanks comprised one of three staging areas on the eastern seaboard. The other two,

Fort Hamilton Fort Hamilton is a United States Army installation in the southwestern corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, surrounded by the communities of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights. It is one of several posts that are part of the region which is ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, and Camp Kilmer in

New Brunswick, NJ New Brunswick is a city in and the seat of government of Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Piermont Pier Piermont is the name of two places in the United States of America: * Piermont, New Hampshire * Piermont, New York See also * Piedmont * Piedmont (United States) The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the Eastern United States. It i ...

where they boarded troopships.

Prisoner of war camp

Camp Shanks also housed 1200 Italian and 800 German prisoners of war between April 1945 and January 1946, with the first Germans arriving in June 1945. At the close of the war, 290,000 POWs passed through Camp Shanks as they were processed for return to their native countries. The last German to leave was on 22 July 1946. Camp Shanks closed in July 1946. Some of the buildings were converted to housing for veterans returning to school and the former camp was renamed Shanks Village.

Units passing through Camp Shanks

''(Partial Listing)''

Ground Forces

* 35th Engineer Combat Battalion

Army Air Forces

Other

USCGC Eagle (WIX-327) USCGC ''Eagle'' (WIX-327), formerly the ''Horst Wessel'' and also known as the Barque ''Eagle'', is a barque used as a training United States Coast Guard Cutter, cutter for future officers of the United States Coast Guard. She is one of only t ...

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

* 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion

References

External links

Archives for ''The Palisades'' (1943-1946)
bi-weekly newspaper for Camp Shanks, at Hudson River Valley Heritage Newspapers
Archives for ''The Shanks Villager'' (1946-1953)
newspaper for post-war Shanks Village, at Hudson River Valley Heritage Newspapers {{coord, 41, 02, 10, N, 73, 57, 30, W, display=title Installations of the United States Army in New York (state) Military and war museums in New York (state) Museums in Rockland County, New York World War II museums in the United States World War II prisoner of war camps in the United States