Here are some of the views from a circa 1940 folder of military camps around Savannah, Georgia. War is ugly, but somehow these images of Camp Stewart and Savannah Air Base manage to appear charming.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
U.S. Military Camps - Savannah, Georgia
A lot of postcard collectors shun postcard folders for reasons I completely understand. For one thing, you have to unfold them to look at the images. Then you have to fold them up again. They're also printed on lighter paper. On the other hand, you often get the views that are available on regular postcards, except you get 18 of them!
Here are some of the views from a circa 1940 folder of military camps around Savannah, Georgia. War is ugly, but somehow these images of Camp Stewart and Savannah Air Base manage to appear charming.
Here are some of the views from a circa 1940 folder of military camps around Savannah, Georgia. War is ugly, but somehow these images of Camp Stewart and Savannah Air Base manage to appear charming.
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That is so neat to see these cards. I didn't even know that type existed. I suppose it was like a tourist interest because when you visited Savannah you could drive by the place. I really liked the air planes too.
ReplyDeleteVery nice souvenir postcard! I like the old airplane postcards especially. I've got a big box full of linen postcard folders and I run into the same dilemma of what to do with them. You can't enjoy them without opening them up and they are pretty hard to deal with scanning and showing folks. I've had some folders go up to 24 images. Geez! BTW -- that Marine hospital looks more like a resort.
ReplyDeleteYes, don't mean to sound unpatriotic, but these cards are a wonderful piece of propaganda. One would think that joinging the army is more like being a boy scout and going off to summer camp from the looks of these postcards.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Trishia. It reminds me of the Sally, Dick, and Jane books.
ReplyDeleteTrishia, Christine, we-e-e-l-l-l, yes and no. Larger military bases are towns in their own right, with hospitals (as above), libraries, guest houses, recreational facilities, etc. The guest house at Cherry Point, NC and library at the former Roosevelt Roads (Puerto Rico) Naval Station, e. g., were architectural charmers back in the 1970s.
ReplyDeleteThe business end of military camp life, especially for the lower ranks, is, I suppose, still regimentation and drudgery, and, in 1940, something around $50 a month in pay. How many of those lined up in the strange-smelling woods for mess, listening to the barking of Southern sergeants, would really rather be back in their NYC tenements?
BTW-Can anyone read the sign, 5th card down? Jack/Youngstown
Both the air base and army base still stand. Hunter Army-Air Field is named after a WWI local aviator, Gen. Frank Hunter. The air strip is 2 miles long and is (or was) the East Coast's alternate landing strip for Space Shuttles. Stewart is home of 3rd Infantry and is the largest military base east of the Mississippi.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. Marine Hospital building was taken over by a local art school. My grandfather was a patient at the Marine Hospital and passed away there in 1957. It was for mariners.
I had no idea Savannah was the site of so much military activity. The boys in the mess hall line look like babies!
ReplyDeletefirst let me thank you for a job well done I grew up in Savannah in the 40's and 50's and these post cards flood me with pleasant memories of the past. A year or so prior to the Korean Conflict I had a cousin who broke a leg in training and was in the hospital at Savannah Air Base, 48 or 49 and we would go out there on weekends and pick him up and take him home for the weekend. My granddaddy's office in downtown Savannah was about three blocks from the Marine Corps Hospital and we would go by there all the time and see the guys sitting at the outdoor pavilion on nice days – some of these men were wounded in WWII which had only ended a short three or four years earlier. My daughter also went to school there as it was taken over by the Savannah College of Arts and Design in the late 70’s. We had other members of the family who had returned from WWII and were still in the Georgia Nationals Guards and would do their summer training at Camp Stewart and we would visit them at the camp which was always an exciting outing. So as you can tell you have opened up a whole memory bank for old man and I forever grateful As a twenty plus year retired military veteran and a son of the fairest city in the south you have done us an honor finding and publishing these post cards, God Bless you , Joeb
ReplyDeleteJoeb
ReplyDeleteThanks so much. I always enjoy hearing first-hand accounts of the places shown on the cards. Also, knowing that people appreciate the posts makes the work involved very worthwhile. Your comment made my day.
Christine
Christine H
DeleteMy name is Gerry Kersey. I am the web master for http://www.3rdattackgroup.org/ In my research for the web site, I came across the post card images of Savannah Air Base. Prior to February 1941, the airfield had its origins as Savannah Municipal Airport. In honor of Frank Hunter it was renamed Hunter Municipal Airport. If you go to the main site, you will see a link for Savannah Air Base which was the post for the 3rd Bomb Group before their departure to Australia in January 1942. May I have your permission to post these post card images on this web page? I would of course credit them back to your blog. My email is: gerrykersey@gmail.com.
Regards,
Gerry Kersey
Active military bases in ga is an amazing site where Georgia military information are given. I have found interesting is the Fort Gillem is part of the wide category of small and satellite bases. It is run by the US Army and located in Forest Park. Its “mother” base is Fort McPherson.
ReplyDelete