Pelham Bay Naval Training Station was a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

-era

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

training facility located in

Pelham Bay Park Pelham Bay Park is a public park, municipal park located in the northeast corner of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. It is, at , the largest public park in New York City. The park is more than three times the siz ...

Rodman's Neck Rodman's Neck (formerly Ann Hook's Neck) refers to a peninsula of land in the New York City borough of the Bronx that juts out into Long Island Sound. The southern third of the peninsula is used as a firing range by the New York City Police Depart ...

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. Located near City Island, and

Westchester county Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

, it was operational from 1917 to 1919.

History

Prior to the creation of the Pelham Bay Naval Training Station, a national guard base was set up in the heart of Pelham Bay Park. The 280 acre site was designed by the architectural firm of Ewing & Allen and included a ninety acre hospital. The camp also featured entertainment facilities provided by the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

, the

Y.M.C.A. YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, and other organizations including the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

and the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

Curriculum

The camp offered a number of sequential training courses, with mastery of a given course being required to advance to the next one. * First: Inoculation period of 21 days in the Isolation Camp (also known as the "Probation Camp"). During this time, the trainee also learned about naval regulations and some basic seamanship topics. * Second: Month-long seamanship course. * Third: If qualified - Three weeks of either

Petty Officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be superior ...

's School, Radio school,

Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

School, Gunnery School, or

Boatswain A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervi ...

Mate schools. * Fourth: If qualified - Two months of Officers' Material School or the Naval Auxiliary School.

Influenza pandemic of 1918

The camp suffered from the

Influenza pandemic of 1918 The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

from late 21 September through late 21 October 1918, and again in December 1918. There were 2,399 cases of influenza, with a total of 145 deaths.

Personnel

Commandants

* Commander William B. Franklin until 25 February 1919 * Captain

Julian Lane Latimer Julian Lane Latimer (1868–1939) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. He served in World War I as a station commandant, and after World War I, as Judge Advocate General of the Navy. Naval career Julian Lane Latimer was born in 1868 ...

, captain of USS Rhode Island, assumed command of the Pelham Bay Naval Training Station New York, 25 February 1919 - later

Judge Advocate General of the Navy The Judge Advocate General of the Navy (JAG) is the highest-ranking uniformed lawyer in the United States Department of the Navy. The Judge Advocate General is the principal advisor to the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations o ...

1921 - 1925

Librarians

A number of

Queens Borough Public Library The Queens Public Library (QPL), also known as the Queens Borough Public Library and Queens Library (QL), is the public library for the borough of Queens, and one of three public library systems serving New York City. It is one of the largest li ...

staff members took a leave of absence, and were placed at the Naval station via the efforts of the

. The station's library staff included: * Blanche Galloway - Librarian. Queens Borough Public Library Jamaica Branch Librarian. *

Wilhelmina Harper Wilhelmina Harper (April 21, 1884 – December 23, 1973) was a children's librarian, and a children's author. She was a supervisor of children's work for the Kern County Free Library. Early life Wilhelmina Harper was born on April 21, 1884, i ...

- Assistant librarian. Queens Borough Public Library Jamaica Branch Children's librarian. * Amy E. Doncourt - Hospital librarian. Queens Borough Public Library Flushing Branch assistant librarian.

Other personnel

World War I Pelham Bay Park Navy Second Class Patch of Fred Dedert

* Richard W. Dorgan - served at the naval station. * James F. Duffy - served at the naval station. *

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

- The actor was one of the trainees. *

Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films duri ...

- The actor was one of the trainees.