- Historical Date: December 2, 1940
- Location:Camp Beauregard, Alexandria, Louisiana
Photo (left to right): George Borgeson, Frank Hutta and other unidentified soldiers at Camp Beauregard. The original photo had a faded caption that appeared to say “2nd squad 2nd Plat”.
Population of Area is Doubled, Business Booms
No Fatal Accidents in Traffic, Housing at Premium, Ban on Gambling.
By Ralph Brewer
Alexandria, La., Dec. 2 – Your Uncle Sam and 250 state police are taking good care of the 32nd division troop at Camp Beauregard. No lives were lost in traffic accidents during the first month of training by 12,000 men and only two minor accidents involved soldiers in the congested Alexandria area.
With the community’s normal 45,000 population doubled in less than 60 days, 29,000 persons were employed on army camp construction and highways are jammed with automobiles and trucks of soldiers and army camp workers.
Arrival of the 32nd division about the time army camp construction began in earnest touched off the biggest boom ever experienced by any Louisiana city. Influx of workmen and families of Wisconsin and Michigan soldiers has packed Alexandria, but there are still a few vacant rooms, apartments and houses.
Despite labor shortages, high wages of increased cost of material, private construction has more than doubled and more houses are being completed almost daily. Some of the soldier families brought their own homes – trailers.
Plan Housing Unit
Every business has felt the boom as a result of the $1,000,000-a-week national defense payroll of 40,000 soldiers and workers. Army camp construction will cost more than $13,000,000 including a $1,000,000 airport. Principal work on the flying field hasn’t started and a contract for a 300-unit, low-cost army housing project will be let.
Camp Livingston, to be the home of the 32nd division, is 43 per cent complete. Camp Claiborne, where the 34th division of Minnesota, Iowa, North and South Dakota will train, isn’t that far advanced.
Assignment of 250 state police to the Alexandria area received the approval of army officials and camp contractors. State police cooperate with military police, city and parish (county) officers.
The officers have enforced an army ban on gambling, making a few arrests, while city police have rounded up 50 undesirables in one day.
Form Morale Division
A “morale division” is in the process of being organized at Beauregard and army officials, civic, business and church leaders have held a series of conferences regarding plans for recreation and entertainment for the men.
At the close of the first month’s training, camp officials said health conditions were excellent. Of the 12,000 men only about 200 were receiving treatment but none were regarded as seriously ill. There have been no epidemics and so far only four days in which the temperature dropped below freezing.
The citizen-soldiers are becoming adjusted to army life and conditions. The percentage of leaves to visit Alexandria is regarded as low with about 2,000 coming to town nightly, but they must be back in their tents by 10:30 p.m.
Physical condition of the men has greatly improved with five to six hours spent daily in the field training. This is called the intensive period of training and muscles are being hardened, the men are becoming acclimated and as a whole are well and happy.
Rents have soared and there have been a few complaints of repeated increases. Some workers have camped out, others are sleeping in railroad stations. The problem of feeding these thousands hasn’t been entirely solved even with new restaurants and rooming houses opening.
Reserve Room First
If you are planning to come to Alexandria, reserve a room first. Otherwise it will be best to come as part of the army and you will want for nothing.
The 32nd division, and also the 34th when it arrives, will be filled to war strength with draftees but nobody knows where the men will come from.
Guardsmen in camp have no idle moments. After shaking down camp, they began their training grind. Camp athletics, softball and touch football, entertainments and first run movies have shared interest.
New equipment, including the Garand rifle, has been issued and the men have been studying new guns, large and small. They are looking forward to their first visit to the rifle range in a few days.
Half of the 700 officers have their families and their automobiles here. No passes are necessary for civilians to drive into camp and many load their cars with boys coming to town after 4:30 p.m. A bus line also operates between town and camp and charges 10 cents. To the artillery range airport camp, which is 11 miles from town compared with Beauregard’s four, the fare is 15 cents. Taxicabs also visit the camps.
There are stoves in every tent, 100 tons of coal and 10,000 cords of wood have been ordered, and every man has sufficient blankets.
The water is perfect, the food is good – so why worry about a little rain?1
Reflections
This article paints a picture of the boom that was happening in Alexandria, LA and all the work that was being done to accommodate the influx of soldiers and working. There is mention of the training and that the men are growing strong, and also about their leisure time. There is a strong focus on the things they do for entertainment and how they can get to town. The newspaper articles from this time all make this seem like the boys are off at scout camp, not preparing for war. But war was coming, and it would only be just over a year later that the the Japanese would attack Pearl Harbor.
Despite the rosy glow from the article, there are a few details to note. They had been there for about a month, living in tents. They had four days that were below freezing. Their tents were heated with coal stoves. The last line of the article, “The water is perfect, the food is good – so why worry about a little rain?” suggests that maybe that had more than a little rain. But undoubtedly the difficult conditions were preparing them for what was yet to come, though they didn’t know it now as they watched their first run movies and hopped a bus to town for 10 cents.
- Unknown newspaper clipping, probably Muskegon Chronicle, Dec. 2, 1940
2 comments
The man next to Borgeson is my Great Uncle Frank Hutta. Passed away 2003 in Muskegon. I was delighted to see his face, but also sad to know that when this pic was taken—those men had no idea what was ahead of him
The soldier laying on the ground is my uncle George Sepsey of Croswell Michigan. George died November 26, 1942 at the first roadblock north of Soputa, New Guinea. George is still listed as missing. There is another picture of what looks like the same guys in the jungle along with Chaplain Dzienis, regimental Chaplain.