Fort Carson's Colorful History: From World War II Training Ground to Mountain Warfare Training

Strategic Insights -

The first building went up on what was then called Camp Carson, just south of Colorado Springs, in January 1942, mere weeks after the U.S. declared war on Japan. During World War II, the camp trained over 100,000 soldiers and housed thousands of prisoners of war from Italy, Germany, and Japan. The 89th Division, activated at the base, played a key role in the war, liberating the first concentration camp, Ohrdruf, and taking over 40,000 prisoners during a 59-day battle.

Key Takeaways:

  • The first building at Camp Carson went up in January 1942, weeks after the U.S. declared war on Japan.
  • During World War II, the camp trained over 100,000 soldiers and housed thousands of prisoners of war from Italy, Germany, and Japan.
  • The 89th Division, activated at the base, played a key role in the war, liberating the first concentration camp, Ohrdruf.
  • The division took over 40,000 prisoners during a 59-day battle.
  • After World War II, the division was inactivated, and Camp Carson's population plummeted, but the installation was repurposed and designated a formal fort in 1954.
  • During the 1950s, Camp Carson hosted mountain warfare training and dog training, where four-legged friends learned to carry food, ammunition, and medical supplies.
  • The camp also made national headlines in 1943 when prisoners decorated their canteens to look like old-fashioned beer gardens using decorations, chairs, and tables made in the woodcraft shops.
  • After the war, the remains of those who had died in America were returned home.
  • No remnants of the camp remain today.

Statistics:

  • 1,500 homes in Colorado Springs were vacant in 1940 (Fort Carson, A Tradition of Victory).
  • 100,000 soldiers were trained at Camp Carson during World War II.
  • 40,000 prisoners were taken by the 89th Division during a 59-day battle.
  • 59 days of battle in which the 89th Division took over 40,000 prisoners.
  • 60 to 70 prisoners were killed with machine gun fire the previous day at Ohrdruf concentration camp (account on the 89th Division's website).
  • 12,000 Germans were held at the Camp Carson prison at the height of internment (The Gazette, 1946).
  • 9,000 prisoners of war were housed at the camp at some point (arbitrary report).
  • 5,000 infantrymen paddled across the Moselle River in Germany in 1945 (account on the division's website).
  • 10,000 members of the 89th Division went home at the end of the war.
  • 9,000 members of the division went back to Germany as part of the occupation or to France as part of a "closeout" force.

Sources:

  • "Fort Carson, A Tradition of Victory" (Army publication).
  • "Fort Carson" (Army publication).
  • The Gazette, May 6, 1951.
  • Account on the 89th Division's website.
  • "Ski, Climb, Fight" (book by Lance Blyth).
  • "Pikes Peak Laughs" (book by prisoners of war at Camp Carson).
  • The Pikes Peak Library District.