Camp Kilmer
40°31′00″N 74°26′45″W / 40.51667°N 74.44583°W Located in
Origins and history
The camp was named for Joyce Kilmer, a poet killed in World War I while serving with 69th Infantry Regiment. His home was in nearby New Brunswick, New Jersey.[1]
The site was selected in 1941 by the
The post was activated in June 1942[1] and the first unit to arrive at Camp Kilmer was the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment, a complement of 1,239 enlisted men and 52 officers. The unit arrived July 22, 1942 on three separate trains from Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. The buildings were constructed of wood and were painted bright contrasting colors for a camouflage effect. This was similar to the dazzle camouflage used for ships in World War I. The camp primarily consisted of ten "Disposition Areas", or sets of barracks in which units and soldiers were assigned while awaiting transportation to Europe.[2]
At Camp Kilmer troops sent personal effects home, received medical injections and the supplies needed before loading onto transport ships for travel to the European Theater of Operations. After
Post-war use and closure
In the fall of 1950, with
During the
In 1963, most of the 1600 acres was auctioned and sold to local governments, and Rutgers University. The Livingston College campus currently sits on 540-acres acquired by Rutgers in 1964. By the 1960s much of the Camp's properties and land were dispersed. Today, there is a Vocational Training Center located at the site as well as housing and schools.Camp Kilmer
The concentration camp scenes for the 1964 movie The Pawnbroker were filmed in the section of Camp Kilmer which had been used for the movement of prisoners-of-war.
Throughout the 1980s and 90s, the remnants of Camp Kilmer, then known as the Sergeant Joyce Kilmer Reserve Center, was the location for Headquarters, 78th Division (TS) and for the Division's 1st Brigade (BCST) headquarters, both units of the US Army Reserve. The 78th Division (TS), nicknamed the "Lightning Division" or "Jersey Lightning", is the lineal descendant of the 78th Division of World War I and the 78th Infantry Division of World War II. The current 78th Division (TS) is responsible for conducting simulations exercises and field training for US Army Reserve and Army National Guard units across 14 states from North Carolina to the Canada–US border.
In the immediate aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Federal Emergency Management Agency created a temporary headquarters at the facility.[5]
As of October 2009 the Sergeant Joyce Kilmer Reserve Center was closed as per the recommendation of the
. In Fall 2014 the last section of Camp Kilmer was occupied by the Edison Township Public Works Department.Areas surrounding the former base now belong to
Notable people
- New York Yankee star Joe DiMaggio and comedian Red Skelton, both serving with the Army, were temporarily assigned to the Camp. DiMaggio autographed baseballs for wounded soldiers and gave hitting and fielding lessons, while Skelton made unannounced visits to the hospital for his version of "laugh therapy." Numerous celebrities visited the camp to put on shows for the troops including Betty Grable, Benny Goodman and others.
Environmental hazard
The former environs of Camp Kilmer, and the current Kilmer Reserve Center, are soiled with numerous contaminants including
References
- ^ a b Camp Kilmer Pamphlet, p. 1.
- ^ Camp Kilmer Pamphlet, p. 2.
- ^ Camp Kilmer Pamphlet, pp. 3, 28.
- ^ "Welcome to Adobe GoLive 5". rutgers.edu. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
After 1956 and the Hungarian Uprising, 30,000 refugees were resettled through Camp Kilmer in nearby Piscataway. About a thousand of these refugees settled in New Brunswick.
- ^ Graff, Garrett (May 2, 2017). Raven Rock. 9911: Simon & Schuster.
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: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Enclosure - High Value Asset List" (PDF). Public Buildings Reform Board. United States Government. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ "US ARMY CAMP KILMER". Environmental Protection Agency, United States Government. Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
Bibliography
- "Camp Kilmer" pamphlet. Camp Kilmer, NJ: Special Services Branch, 1945.
External links
- Camp Kilmer overview at GlobalSecurity.org
- Digital recreation of pamphlet issued to troops billeted at Camp Kilmer
- Digital Archives of New Jersey History, Camp Kilmer information
- EPA report 2005
- Postcards from Camp Kilmer
- Camp Kilmer Online Exhibit from the National Archives at New York City from the National Archives and Records Administration
- Map of Middlesex County, New Jersey shows the location of Camp Kilmer straddling the border between Edison Township (then known as Raritan Township) and Piscataway Township
- The short film Big Picture: Operation Mercy is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
- National Archives at New York City, Camp Kilmer
- History: Camp Kilmer