Military

See how Fort Lesley J. McNair withstood the trials, tribulations and test of time and continues to protect our nation's capital today.

From southeast Washington, DC, where the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers meet, Fort Lesley J. McNair still protects America's capital. In 1791, Pierre L'Enfant designated it as a military reservation. The post is the third oldest in continuous operation—as an arsenal, a penitentiary, a hospital, and now, a military education center. It was renamed in 1948 to honor Lt. Gen. Lesley J. McNair, who was killed in World War II. Over the course of two centuries, the fort has borne witness to the British ransacking during the War of 1812; a Civil War explosion that killed female arsenal workers; and the incarceration, trial, and hanging of Lincoln assassination conspirators.

Over time, it became the home of several artillery commands, the first federal penitentiary, the US Army Engineer School, the US Army Music School, the US Army War College and the US Army Band (Pershing's Own). Today, it has evolved into the National Defense University, Inter-American Defense College and the headquarters of the Military District of Washington.

Image of America: Central Florida's World War II Veterans portrays the courageous people of Central Florida who fought for freedom.

From those who were witness to that date which will live in infamy to those who served in the Allied occupational forces following the victories in Europe and Japan in 1945, Images of America: Central Florida's World War II Veterans pays tribute to the courageous men and women who sacrificed and endured through this phenomenally patriotic time in American history. Represented within these pages is just a small number of the vast roll call of patriots who at one time called Florida home. Heroic, humorous, and heart-warming stories are featured through these vintage photographs of the brave men who landed on the beaches of France and on the shore of Iwo Jima, who marched at the Battle of the Bulge and at Anzio, who flew in the Doolittle Raid, and who were engaged at the pivotal Battle of Midway, as well as those who were prisoners of war and protected the home front. Also featured are the women who served as nurses, worked in the factories, encouraged people to purchase war bonds, and who joined the WAC, the WAVES, and the SPARS.

Inside are views of Rockford's bustling downtown, including rare glimpses of long-gone landmarks like the Grand Opera House and Orpheum Theater. Witness history in the making with Rockford's first recorded airplane flights in 1911 and experience U.S. Army doughboy life at Rockford's Camp Grant. Be there for Teddy Roosevelt's historic visits to Rockford, and marvel at the intrepid companies that turned Rockford into a national manufacturing power.

Once a place of war, then a place of health, and finally, preservation, Fort DuPont has had a long and interesting history.

Fort DuPont is named in honor of Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont and located on the Reeden Point tract, land initially granted to Henry Ward in 1675. The first fortification built was the Ten Gun Battery during the Civil War, a heavily armed earthwork fortification dedicated to protecting the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal--as Sgt. Bishop Crumrine wrote in 1864, "These guns command the channel and could blow to atoms any vessel rash enough to attempt to pass.'? In the decades to follow, the battery at Delaware City was gradually modernized into a formidable military post that remained active through World War II. Declared surplus in post-war peacetime, the site reopened in 1948 as the Governor Bacon Health Center, and by 1996, over 300 acres were reestablished as Fort DuPont State Park.

World War II enthusiasts and Colorado history buffs alike will delight in this insightful photographic narrative of Colorado's contribution during the momentous global conflict. Beginning in 1940 as an inland state safe against enemy attack, Colorado became crucially important in supporting the worldwide struggle against Nazi Germany, fascism in Italy, Imperial Japan, and their allies. The Centennial State housed some of the largest ammunition factories, medical facilities, and training camps for both land and air forces in the nation. The unique 10th Mountain Division trained for winter warfare in the Colorado mountains. After the United States entered World War II, massive numbers of prisoners of war were interned or worked in Colorado fields and forests. Japanese Americans were unjustly held in the Camp Amache internment camp. The huge influx of war workers fueled the expansion of Colorado’s population, sparking the baby boom and creating today’s urban and suburban Colorado.

John Steinle, a native of Hamilton, Ohio, served as director at several Ohio museums before moving to Colorado in 1992. In 1994, Steinle became the administrator of the Hiwan Homestead Museum in Evergreen, Colorado, working for Jefferson County Open Space. He was later promoted to history education supervisor and region supervisor for the Bear Creek Region. He retired in 2016. 

In 1944, as the Allied forces advanced across the vast Pacific Ocean toward Japan, the US Army could not relocate the large aircraft repair depots fast enough to keep up with the front line. Thus, Operation Ivory Soap was the Army’s secret project to deploy ships capable of repairing and maintaining bombers and fighters at sea. 

A specialized group of approximately 3,000 Air Corps soldiers underwent unique training for their new, nautical lifestyle. They jokingly referred to themselves as “sailjers.” The capabilities they brought to the Pacific proved vital to Allied success in World War II. These men served in Guam, Tinian, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, but their journey began at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama. This is their story.

Thomas Key grew up in Point Clear, Alabama, just one mile south of the Grand Hotel. He spent his summers running barefoot around the property and hearing the stories of the hotel’s secret operation during World War II. In 2013, after 10 years in the Marine Corps, Key moved back to Point Clear. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Vanderbilt University and a doctorate in history from Liberty University. Thomas and his wife, Elizabeth, are raising their four children in Point Clear.

Arkansas has always been among the leading states whose people stepped up to defend the nation in times of war.

On a few thousand acres of land across the Arkansas River from the capital city of Little Rock, this dedication is evident. Images of America: Camp Robinson and the Military on the North Shore traces the area's military history from the founding of Fort Logan H. Roots in the late 1800s through the training for World War I and World War II, when as many as 50,000 men and women were stationed at Camp Robinson at any one time. This book pays tribute to the Arkansas National Guard, which is still based at Camp Robinson and has served countless times in times of war and natural disasters. Illustrated with rare photographs spanning more than a century, Camp Robinson and the Military on the North Shore commemorates one of the proudest military training grounds in the nation's history.