Pelham Bay Naval Training Station was a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

-era

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

training facility located on

Rodman's Neck Rodman's Neck (formerly Ann Hook's Neck) is 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 Department; t ...

, a peninsula at

Pelham Bay Park Pelham Bay Park is a municipal park located in the northeast corner of the 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 size of Manhattan's Central Park. The p ...

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York City. Located near City Island and

Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...

, 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 Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

, the Y.M.C.A., and other organizations including the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

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. History 19th century ...

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. Often they may be superior to a seaman, and subordinate to more senior non-commissioned officers, such as chief petty officers. Petty officers are usually sailors that have ...

's School, Radio school,

Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...

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, or the third hand on a fishing vessel, is the most senior Naval rating, rate of the deck department and is responsible for the ...

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 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest document ...

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 United States Secretary of the Navy, secretary of the Nav ...

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 James Francis Duffy Jr. (June 3, 1892 – February 23, 1961) was an American football player and coach. A Massachusetts native, Duffy played college football as a quarterback at Colgate University. He was the head coach of the University of Det ...

- served at the naval station. *

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

- The actor was one of the trainees. * Edward G. Robinson - The actor was one of the trainees.