Page Twelve
A BBO T ENGINEER
Camp Abbot, Ore., May 27, 1944
Pioneers’ Triumph Over Adversity
Revealed in Camp’s Early History
This week. Camp A bbot’s first annivers ary is being observed. But the story of this
military station begins almost two years ago— August 14, 1942. F or on that day Col.
Richard I'ark, district engineer from the Partland area, arrived in Bend in search of
an appropriate site or a new engineer training camp.
In his prelim inary routine work, the co'onel met Robert W . Sawyer, publisher of
the Bend Bulletin, who suggested the site of the present camp, then known locally as
the Shonquest ranch. The publisher also suggested the name in honor of Brig. Gen
Henry Lareom Abbot, the distinguished engineer general of the last century. On Sep-
tember 2, 1855, Abbot, then
a Second Lieutenant in com- dust began to blow. The rough his present command as Post
i land of a p a rty engaged in lanes, now s m o o t h l y paved Commander on May 12, 1943,
oae of the projects of the Pa-
streets, were thick with vehicles af,er havin^ 8erY.ed as. ERTC
Commander
at ____
Fort ________
Leonard
c'fic Railway Survey, camped
___________
_
oa the spot we now occupy.
scurrying here and there on ur- w ood( ¡yj0 Col. Besson’s orig-
About eighteen months
ago, gent mlssloas’
Dui|np trUPks inal staff included Major Paul
aooui
eignt en monins
ago were
everywhere, unloadtng ton
L Diedekor> adjutant; L t. Col.
° her arm>' engineers arrived after
ton of lava rock as a base M A p imental, chief, supply
from the Portland district,
and for what were to become streets. and servdce and
£ol Russell
saon afterward construction be-
Wild creatures were reluctant D Turrin (then a major), direc-
g in on what was soon to be- to abandon their habitat in favor tor
personne]
come a modern military installa- of man. Deer could be seen most
_
. .
. ,, . , .
t on, fully equipped with tactical frequently, and chipmunks were
" _ R
f .
a eas floating bridge and river all over the place. At night, when * ffic eP (now S lva g e ° o f f i ^ r ) ;
crossing train ng sites, anti-tank all was quiet, strange sounds
:>Iarvin p. cooper, intelU-
demolition facilities, fixed bridge floated in on the nocturnal
r
...
...
__ A hit of Gotham in the Oregon woods north of Camp Abbot. Corps
.
. . * .
i
.
gence officer; Mai. William H. of Engineers trainees of 31st battalion, utilizing local plant life, de­
locations, d e m o l i t i o n ranges, breeze. There were tales of cou *
chanlain and CaDt signed garden spot and named it “ Central Park,” as sign at right of
f .rtification obstacles, bayonet gar and timber wolves, of bob- * „
P°
chaplain and Capt. man emerging from foxhole shows. Photo by Signal Corps Photo Lab.
.
’
,
. ,,u-
■
T. B. Fulkerson, supply officer,
courts, weapon and grenade cats big as dogs.
L t H L Hansen. now athletic
ranges, obstacle courses, a largo
One of the first units to as- ofiicer> was ^
director of per. Nice W o rk— and Do They
i “View field, and many other sume active duty was the Mili- sonnel.
c„ „ no|
MORE ABOUT
G et It
training facilities.
tary Police Section, under com-
BY BF.KTON BRALEY
Camp Abbot, originally desig­
It was on March G, 1943 that mand of Lt. T. E. Pennington,
"The Engineers
nated an Engineer Replacement
General Order number 30, Head- who is still company command-
Have hairy ears”
Training Center, but now known
n larters, Ninth Service Com- er. Seriously handicapped by an
—and hairy, harried faces;
(Continued from Page 5)
officially as an Arm y Service
r. and, directed that a Service acute manpower shortage, MPs
Robust and tough
Forces Training Center, \vas
Command Unit be activated, nevertheless were faced with the
They do their stuff
religious service. As hundreds of
formally dedicated at a colorful
Original post headquarters was responsibility of guarding the
In all the toughest places.
men, still in field clothes, and
, . .
ceremony on September 2, 1943.
located at 9 0 Wall street in new eamp Th.s resulted in long, Thp pvpnt
J tended by Unit.
with gun holsters well secured
Bend the budding now occupied almostundeard-of tours of duty, e(J S(ates Senator Rufus c Hol. For they’re the babes who take about their waists, sang such
./ the U.S.O. While awaiting and other hardships.
man. Maj ^
Alexander M
time-honored favorites as “The
the raps,
t le arrival of office furniture
Everyone worked hard in Patch Jr
Maj Gen Thomas The boobs who probe for the Old Rugged Cross.” "Col. F. S.
and equipment, local merchants those early days. The Quarter- M Robbins. Brig. Gen. Warren
Beeson, commanding officer of
booby-traps,
loaned the army necessary office masters, in command of Maj. y Hannum, Robert W. Sawyer, The scouts ahead of the scout­ Camp Abbot, and Mrs. Beeson,
fixtures. The first contingent of Emil L. Mosheim (then a cap- and a host
other distinguished
Col. Charles S. Baish, command­
ing lines
e ilisted men a master sergeant tain) were faced with the tre- guests
Cutting the wire and hunting er of the 11th Group, and Mrs.
ui three privates
arrived mendous task of u n l o a d i n g ___________________
Baish; Major and Mrs. Lil-
mines.
March 15. The camp opened and mountains of equipment and
And they are the playboys, gay burn P. Stamon, and several
New York (C N S )— Eleazor
began operation May 1 last year, supplies from freight cars.
other members of the command­
and bright,
Skeleton units arrived first.
Capt. John C. Burgeson, pres- Morrison, V e n e z u e l a n Con- Who crack pillboxes with dyna­ ing officer’s party arrived for a
Buildings were still in the pro- ent salvage officer, was Camp su* General, at lived at a hotel
visit and joined in the service.
mite,
cess of construction; there were Abbot's first postal officer. Post wbere be was scheduled to ad- And they are the fellers who fell At the same time Captain Elliot
was receiving a message from
no paved streets, no sidewalks, office personnel fashioned equip dress a dinner given by the Com-
the trees,
A j merce and Industry Association.
There was no water, except that ment from scrap lumbe;
While the bullets hum like a the Commanding General of the
IV Corps that his troops were
hauled in. When soldiers moved though facilities were not avail- * ,idd tbe bead " a' tel his name
hive of bees.
planning an attack on the en­
into barracks, sawdust and scrap, able immediately for handling was Morrison and was escorted
emy and that the 51st Battalion
The Engineers!
lumber had to be cleared out to monp-v ° rdprs“ CaP‘ Burgerson
Throat a n d '^ k ^ a t
would assist in the preparations
They grease the gears
make room for bunks. There and pOS,al employees ob,ainpd .
-
™ and f ' (‘ked at.
stamps from personal funds and his nofps' But nobody asked
That Arm y transport runs on, by constructing floating bridges
at certain sites along the river.
v ere no mattresses, no pillows. made thom available to soldiers. him to sPeak Influiry disclospd
And foot by foot
Mess sergeants and cooks The captain also made arrange- that he was attendlnK the wrong
Following the church service
Build roads they put
' ere hard pressed to prepare ments to receive and send regis- dinnel • He finally arrived at the
the men invited the command­
The trucks and tanks and
r lea Is. In addition to the water tered mail. Enlisted men as- rigbt one in time for a second
ing officer and his party to com­
guns on.
shortage, there was a lack of signed to the post office were dessert and his speech-
munity singing in the bivouac
equipment. There was no PX; Sgt. Ed Purcell, Cpl. R. What
They are the bucks who buck area. The church organ again
was set up and men identified
ro theater; no Service Club; no ford and Pfc. Sidney Resnich.
New Haven, Conn. (CNS) —
away
• nest House. There were no
In the midst of this prepara- Two roistering fellows paid a Through stubborn granite and by names printed on their hel­
mets as Privates Behmer, Gill,
I it lines. Most of them had been tory period, the W AC company social call to a friend in the New
sticky clay.
( unpleted but their pipes con- arrived, and operated under Haven jug. Denied admission, With pick and shovel they break Hautala, and S l o e n e c k e r ,
brought forth musical instru­
( lined only dust.
similar pioneer conditions in the they battered down the pokey
their backs
It was colil in thoiie early area now occupied by Casual doors. Once inside, they stayed After (and under) the bomb at­ ments, and with Private Brayer
at the organ, swung into such
soring days. Snow covered the Company until the present quar- there -locked up on charges of
tacks.
ground almost constantly. And ters were completed.
drunkeness, breach of the peace They drill for water through sentimental songs as “ Sweet­
heart of the Mountain,” and
t hen the snow did disappear. Col. Frank S. Besson assumed and damaging public property.
desert dunes
And over the rivers they toss “ Road to Mandalay,” with a large
group of soldiers and guests
ontoons.
They sla down runways in fields joining in.
Monday morning the 51st Bat­
of mud
(And some of the ooze is the talion broke camp for a ten-mile
march south along the Des­
ooze of blood).
chutes. Arriving at its destina­
tion at 2:30 in the afternoon, it
The Engineers
began c o n s t r u c t i o n of foot
Are cavaliers
bridge®, an infantry support
Who joust with logs and
raft, and a ponton bridge. These
boulders
operations were interrupted by
A task that’s done
enemy air activity. This opera­
With half a ton
Of junk upon their shoulders. tion was abandoned, equipment
was recovered, and the battalion
For they are the lugs who lug withdrew to bivouac in the near­
by woods.
the most
The following day the battal­
Of loads that land on a hostile
ion was successful in establish­
coast.
And they are the guys, when ing a river crossing ten miles
south of Camp Abbot, over
equipment fails.
Who scratch out a ditch with which supplies and troops then
moved toward the front. Upon
their finger nails.
You find them up in the moun­ completion of this assignment,
tain crags
the battalion was ordered to . r-
And down in the jungle clearing turn to the Post.
snags
Toledo. O. (CNS) — Arthur
Where the moccasins coii and
Fleesher put over a canny deal
the snipers lurk
• t
-Engineers, doing the dirty the other day. He swapped his
1941 Ford station wagon even
work!
up for a 1924 Model T touring
Pvt. Charles S. t nvnwn of ( iHnpuy C. 33nd battalion, points out a detail in N s design for a Service
Pass The ENGINEER To An­ car. Reason for the trade: The
Clnh mural. Pi Irate Freeman Pvt. W illard F. ¡shekel-. also of ( ' .1!. and Pvt. Frank A. lackner of
Company A, 34Ui battalion, will execute Uw work depicting the history of the Camp Abbot site on other Abbotman—He’ll Appreci­ Model T has four good tires. The
ate It.
the wall over the eutrance to the lounge and adjacent to the stairway.
station wagon has none.
"Let Us Try"