1920 - 1930

FROM CAMP DIX TO JBMDL – 1920 – 1930

1920 – 26 men, eight officers and eighteen enlisted men sent to England for training on British airships.

1920 – Congress approves military budget that includes construction of two rigid airships, one to be built in this country and the other in UK, along with a “station in which to erect and operate a dirigible.” With this directive the US Navy took over the Army’s Camp Kendrick.

31 July 1920 – Commander Hale promoted to Brigadier General.

1 August 1920 – Thomas Buchanan McGuire, Jr. born in Ridgewood, N.J. 

3 September 1920 Brigadier General William S. Graves assumes command of Camp Dix

1 October 1920 Brigadier General Clarence R. Edwards assumes command of Camp Dix

1 November 1920 Major General Charles C.P. Summerall assume command of Camp Dix

10-11 1920 – 1st Infantry Division observes first anniversary of end of WWI at ceremony presided over by Gen. John J. Pershing.

1920 – Camp Dix used as a training center for Army Reserves, National Guard and the Citizens Training Camp.

1920-21 – Design studies initiated for the construction of airship – ZR-1 – Zeppelin, Rigid #1. Basic parts constructed in Philadelphia. Commander Ralph Weyerbacher named project manager, assited by Anton Heinen, a German airship expert.

1921 – Navy establishes Lakehurst Naval Air Station 

June 1921 – ZR-2 completed in England. 695 feet long, 85 feet in diameter, and six engines, the airship was designed by the British, who basically followed the German design. Design flaws resulted in buckling, and with American Naval Commander A. H. Maxfiled, broke apart on a test flight and crashes into the Humber River in the City of Hull, England. Maxfiled and 43 crew killed. Crewman Charles Broome of Toms River, was not aboard, witnessed the crash and took a boat to the scene, swimming into the sinking ship in an attempt to rescue survivors. Broome awarded a medal for heroism, but died in the crash of the Shenandoah four years later. July 1921 – Major General David C. Shanks assumes command of Camp Dix

November 1921 – Major General Charles T. Meneher assumes command of Camp Dix.

December 1921 – Major General Harry C. Hale returns to command of CampDix

November 1922 – Brigadier General William S. Graves returns to command of Camp Dix

17 January 1923 – Captain Noe C. Killian commander of Camp Dix

16 May 1923 – Brigadier General William S. Graves returns to command Camp Dix

4 September 1923 – First test flight of ZR-1, Frank R. McCrary and Anton Heinen joint commanders.

5 September 1923 – Captain Noe C. Killiian commander of Camp Dix

1923 – Camp Kendrick is open at Lakehurst Proving Grounds

11 September 1923 – ZR-1 makes publicity flight over New York city and Philadelphia, huge crowds watched and cheered from thestreets.

10 October 1923 – ZR-1 officially christened the Shenandoah by Marion Denby, wife of the Secretary of the Navy, Edwin Denby.  “Shenandoah” is an American Indian term meaning, “Daughter of the Stars,”

16 January 1924 – Shenandoah breaks away from the mooring mast at Lakehurst during a storm and sustains nose damage.

8 April 1924 – Lieutenant Colonel James T. Watson commander of Camp Dix

19 May 1924 – Brigadier General William S. Graves returns to command Camp Dix

21 June 1924 – Colonel Charles Gerhardt commander of Camp Dix

26 June 1924 – Colonel John J. Bradley commander of Camp Dix

3 July 1924 – Brigadier General Frank Parker assumes command of Camp Dix

26 July 1924 – Lieutenant Colonel James T. Watson commander of Camp Dix

8 August 1924 – Shenandoah makes the first mooring to a Navy vessel, the USS Patoka, a tanker ship outfitted with a mooring mast. Lt. Charles Rosendahl was in command.

7 October 1924 – Shenandoah begins trip across the USA flying over the Rocky Mountains.

October 15 1924 – ZR-3 Los Angeles delivered to Lakehurst from Germany as part of post-war reparations agreement, carrying highly volatile hydrogen fuel, declared unsafe by Navy standards. The hydrogen fuel vented off into the pinelands air and refitted with helium from the Shenandoah. The transoceanic flight of 5,000 miles took 81 hours with an average speed of 61 mph.

27 April 1925 – Colonel Stanley Ford commander of Camp Dix

21 May 1925 – Brigadier General Preston Brown assumes command of CampDix

10 August 1925 – Lieutenant Colonel James T. Watson commander of CampDix

25 September 1925 – Major Nicholas W. Campanole commander of Camp Dix

2 September 1925 – Shenandoah embarks on flight to Midwest, runs into storm over Ohio and breaks apart. The control cabin plunged to earth killing Commander Zachary Lansdowne. The bow section descends safely to earth under guidance of Lt. Cmdr. Rosendahl. 21 of the crew of 43 survive. Charles H. Broome of Toms River and George C. Schnitzer of Tuckerton die in the accident.

15 October 1925 – Captain Herbert D. Gilison commander of Camp Dix

16 November 1925 – Captain Richard L. Pemberton commander of Camp Dix

25 November 1925 – ZR-3 flown to Washington DC where the President’s wife, Grace Coolidge, christened her the Los Angeles. Navy Lieutenant Charles E. Rosendahl boarded her for the return flight.

1925 – Mock Invasion staged at Fort Dix – first landing of an airplane on base.

15 March 1926 – Lt. Commander Rosendahl replaced Commander George W. Steele as skipper of the Los Angeles.

6 May 1926 – Captain George Rankin commander of Camp Dix

1 June 1927 – Brigadier General Frank McCoy commander of Camp Dix

25 August 1927 – while moored to the mast at Lakehurst, strong winds lift the tail of the Los Angeles until it stood vertically from its nose.

22 July 1928 – Colonel Arthur Poillon commander of Camp Dix

1928 – September – The New Jersey National Guard Flying Contingent – the 119^th Observation Squadron established in support of the 44^th Army Division, flying O-2H observation aircraft.

1928 – The Los Angeles attempted a landing on the aircraft carrier Saratoga, but high winds prevented it from doing so, though Lt. Commander Herbert Wiley jumped aboard the Saratoga deck and was left behind.

21 September 1928 – Brigadier General Otho B. Rosembaum commander of Camp Dix

11 October 1928 – The Graf Zeppelin (LZ-127) begins transatlantic flight from Germany to Lakehurst. Built at Friedrichshafen, Germany, where the Los Angeles was built, as a private venture by Hugo Eckener, who believed in the commercial success of airships for passenger, mail and cargo. US Navy Lt. Commander Charles E. Rosendahl was on board when violent storm damaged the horizontal stabilizer, and repairs were made over the rough seas.

15 October 1928 – Graf Zeppelin arrived at Lakehurst after 112 hours at sea, flying 6,200 miles.

7 August 1929 – Graf Zeppelin, financed by American publisher William Randolph Hearst, began an “Around the World Cruise” from Lakehurst. It flew to Germany, over Russia, Tokyo and across the Pacific to Los Angeles.

29 August 1929 – Graf Zeppelin arrives back at Lakehurst after circling the globe.

November 1929 – Construction of the fourth airship authorized by US Navy began by Goodyear Zeppelin Company, in Akron, Ohio. 785-feet long. 

Chapter VII

CAMP DIX BETWEEN THE WORLD WARS

During the 1920s and early 1930s, World War I continued to have a tremendous impact on the size and structure of the United States Army.

Civilian Americans were determined to economize after the tremendous costs of World War I and try to forget warfare altogether. With almost four million men under arms in November 18, the authorized strength of the US Army slid to less than 150,000 by mid-1920. Even then the number of personnel the Army was able to retain n service fell well below that figure.

Regular Army facilities in the United States provided adequately for existing Army units; consequently there was little need for the original National Army Camps, such as Camp Dix, in the post-war military establishment.

Were it not for a decision by the assistant secretary of war in March 1919, it is doubtful if Camp Dix would had survived as a military reservation. He decided to purchase 14 leased National Army cantonments, one of which was Dix, to try to recoup a higher part of the war’s cost by selling all buildings and other assets in combination with the lands. Selling the combinations, he estimated, would result in 12 times more gain to the government. After the Camp Dix land was purchased, however, no information is available that any real attempt was made to sell the Army post.

When demobilization had ended, the caretaking responsibility for Camp Dix was placed in the hands of a quartermaster detachment, which at times consisted of as few as one officer, 10 enlisted men and five civilians. The quartermaster officer in charge of the detachment also doubled as commanding officer of the camp. For these few soldiers, Camp Dix in those years was a lonely place and well deserving of the name, “Military Ghost Town,” given to the quiet reservation by local residents.

It was the 1st Infantry Division, headquartered at Fort Hamilton, New York, that gave Camp Dix its last big moment of glory during the post-World War I period. In observance of the second anniversary of the armistice, the 1st Division assembled all of its units, which were spread widely along the east coast, at Camp Dix to put on a demonstration for a gathering of 1st Division veterans. Among the guests was General of the Armies John J. Pershing, as the division “went over the top” on the night of 10 November 1920.

Also present were 35 disabled veterans of the 1st Division who lay in ambulances to watch the show. They had been brought by special train from Walter Reed Army Hospital, Washington D.C., where for more than two years, they had been under treatment for war wounds. The demonstration consisted of a night attack from trenches employing all of the implements for such an attack. Soldiers with blackened faces made up wire-cutting parties, and the attackers were supported with star shells to heavy artillery and protected by tanks and machine guns. On the next day 11 November, a reunion of the 1st Division Society, held on the parade grounds, was attended by thousands of veterans from all parts of the United States.

As a result of this visit, the commanding general of the 1st Division, Major General Charles P. Summerall, wrote to the adjutant general. US Army, requesting an allocation of $5,000 to repair and modernize a building suitable for housing visitors to the post. In his request, he stated that the camp was located 18 miles from adequate hotel accommodations. He also noted the quarters provided for officers at the camp were so small, poorly constructed, and ill equipped that it was necessary to provide some place for guests of the officers and other visitors.

There is no evidence to indicate General Summerall ever got the money. Few appropriations were made by Congress for maintenance of buildings on the post. Consequently, the inevitable resulted. Nature, lack of repair, and insufficient guard personnel took their toll. Supplies were open to looting. Even gasoline was stolen from the fire engine, and on one occasion the vehicle had to be towed to a fire. Building after building burned to the ground. During the five-year period from 1917-1922, the camp’s fire loss was approximately $287,000. Much of the camp’s equipment, particularly motor vehicles, had long passed the point of efficient use.

Major General David C. Shanks, who had replaced General Summerall as commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division, visited Camp Dix in August 1921. He later wrote to the adjutant general, US Army, complaining of the camp’s deficiencies. He noted the buildings were “all of the cheap and flimsy type” and apparently suffering from leaky roofs, extensive rotting, and general deterioration attributable to “hasty construction.”

General Shanks observed that the camp’s water supply was poor, no family housing existed, and the general isolation of the location was contributing to a high desertion rate. He endorsed General Summerall’s views that Camp Dix should not be retained as a permanent camp and recommended no further building programs be considered.

Despite the views of the two commanding generals, the 1st Division continued to use Camp Dix for its annual summer field training and range firing. Regiments of the division’s 1st Brigade, the 16th Infantry Regiment from Fort Jay, Governor’s Island, New York City, and the 18th Infantry Regiment from Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York, were the most consistent users of the camp’s training areas. Additionally, in the summer months, units of the New Jersey Guard took their two-weeks active duty training at the camp along with reserve officers of the 77th and 78th Infantry Divisions (Reserve) and officers of other Organized Reserve Corps (ORC) units whose home stations were close to Camp Dix. In the 1930s, students in training under the Citizens Military Training Corps (CMTC) in the II Army Corps Area made up a large part of the men assembled at the camp from June through August.

The small arms ranges were the most active facilities on post during these training periods. More than 3,000 men, not including CMTC and ORC groups, spent considerable time on the ranges qualifying and improving their marksmanship. In 1926, the firing range at Fort Hancock, New Jersey, was closed because of accidents, so troops from that post, principally engineers, completed their small arms firing at Camp Dix. During the summer of that year, approximately 400 marines stationed at Lakehurst, New Jersey, as part of the ground crew for the naval airship “Los Angeles,” came to Camp Dix for range practice. The marines continued to use the camp’s ranges for several more years.

Camp Dix as it existed in those days can be best understood through the reflections of soldiers returning to the “old” post after years of absence. One was Sergeant First Class John F. Nolan, who returned to Fort Dix in 1964 for an assignment with the Light Vehicle Driver Course of the 5th Common Specialist Training Regiment. Back in May 1934, then Private Nolan had reported to Camp Dix to staff a summer training camp for the Reserve Officers Training Corps, CMTC, and Civilian Conservation Corps.

Looking at the permanent, brick barracks of a basic combat training regiment, Nolan recalled that his company 30 years previously had been housed in tents during the summer period. “The only barracks on post,” he said, “housed about 18 members of the permanent party. Once we were ordered to move our tents so a road could be built.”

Reminiscing on changes that have occurred in Army life, the sergeant recalled, “Every outfit did its own recruiting. You just signed up and went straight to work. Until you were assigned overseas, you received no formal training. One day you might learn how to carry or fire a rifle, while another time they might teach you ‘right face.’”

As a private, Nolan was paid $17.65 a month. His first stop most paydays was the orderly room, where a book of 10 haircut coupons could be bought for a $1.50. In his unit in those days, a private first class was entrusted with handling payroll and personnel records. Mess halls were different, too. Service was family style, with heaping platters of food on the table. Mess sergeants did their own marketing, and they could be seen at nearby farms, haggling over the price of vegetables.

Frequently during the post-demobilization period, the governments had expressed its intention of abandoning the camp and returning all property to the original owners. However, due largely to the efforts of General Hugh L. Scott, the second commanding general of the 78th Infantry Division and Camp Dix, such a proposal was not carried out. He and many other farsighted military and government officials argued that the camp must be retained in the event of another mobilization. It was further pointed out that the reservation was the largest in the northeastern United States and well-fortified by its ideal location. It was near the large eastern cities and had great potential as an aviation center or training site for pilots.

CALVIN COOLIDGE And DIX NATIONAL FOREST

After hearing these and other strong arguments, Calvin Coolidge decided to set aside most of the tract as a national forest preserve and any idea of vacating the camp apparently was dropped – at least so far as the federal government was concerned. By executive order in 1925, most of the land area making up the reservation was renamed Dix National Forest.

Even though the government had no intention of giving up the land, rumors of plans to abandon the property were often heard. Most of the rumors were based on expressed opinions of certain ranking individuals in the federal and local governments that the properties at Dix were needlessly being held by the government. The rumors brought a flood of inquiries to congressmen from local residents. The property and land at Dix became the subject of many such congressional inquiries in 1926. Late in the year, Secretary of War Dwight F. Davis answered these inquiries by announcing plans to reopen Camp Dix as the 11 Corps training area. He also announced the proposal of a million dollar construction project at the post. Thus, Dix’ retention as a military installation by the federal government was assured, and the tide of rumors and queries subsided.

THE ARMY MULE AND THE ASBURY PARK BUS

Although the post was not very active after 1922 and no regular forces, other than the small caretaker detachment, were stationed there, the Army still received a number of claims for property damage from irate citizens. For example, an Asbury Park bus struck and killed an Army mule while the bus was traveling across the reservation on the Wrightstown-Pemberton-Camden Highway. 

After determining the amount of damage to the bus and cost of repair, the company filed a claim against the government in the amount of $54.45. But, to the dismay of the company, the government submitted a counterclaim for $160 – the cost of the mule. It was pointed out that the driver of the bus had exceeded the posted speed limit of 12 miles per hour. A witness had stated the bus was traveling a reckless 25 miles an hour and the driver apparently ignored the waring of a soldier to slow down. The disposition of the case is not known nor is it really important. However, it was typical of many such claims submitted to the government.