Line up for Typhoid Inoculation, Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma (20852005054)

Camp Doniphan was a

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

adjacent to

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...

, just outside Lawton, in Comanche County,

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

, that was activated for use in World War I for

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sie ...

training. The post was closed in 1918 and incorporated into Fort Sill.

History

The camp was named for

Alexander William Doniphan Alexander William Doniphan (July 9, 1808 – August 8, 1887) was a 19th-century American attorney, soldier and politician from Missouri who is best known today as the man who prevented the summary execution of Joseph Smith, founder of the Church ...

, a hero of the Mexican–American War from the Missouri Volunteers of Northwestern Missouri. It was from this camp that thousands of soldiers, from Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, were given basic training prior to being sent to

Camp Mills Camp Albert L. Mills (Camp Mills) was a military installation on Long Island, New York. It was located about ten miles from the eastern boundary of New York City on the Hempstead Plains within what is now the village of Garden City. In September 1 ...

, Mineola,

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

;

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

; or Camp Merritt,

Dumont, New Jersey Dumont is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 17,479,France. The camp contained 1,267 buildings, the majority of which were tents, over a area. The camp was home of the 35th Infantry Division, made up of the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. N ...

of Kansas and Missouri. It became part of the

United States Army Field Artillery School The United States Army Field Artillery School (USAFAS) trains Field Artillery Soldiers and Marines in tactics, techniques, and procedures for the employment of fire support systems in support of the maneuver commander. The school further develo ...

, and included the 128th Field Artillery Regiment and 129th Field Artillery Regiment of Missouri,

130th Field Artillery Regiment The 130th Field Artillery Regiment is a United States Army field artillery regiment, represented in the Kansas Army National Guard by the 2nd Battalion, 130th Field Artillery, part of the 130th Field Artillery Brigade at Hiawatha, Kansas. The re ...

of Kansas, and the 158th Field Artillery Regiment of Oklahoma.Chronological Record of the 129th Field Artillery 1917-1919
- the Truman Library

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

was stationed at Camp Doniphan from September 1917 until March 1918, and he was assigned to run the regimental canteen. It was here that he made Edward Jacobson his business partner.McCullough, p. 107

History

References

Further reading