Fort Dix (Burlington County, New Jersey)
Burlington County · New Jersey · World War I
History & Significance
Camp Dix was established on July 16, 1917, and named in honor of Major General John Adams Dix, a veteran of the War of 1812 and the American Civil War who served as a U.S. Senator, Secretary of the Treasury, and Governor of New York. The camp housed the 153rd Depot Brigade, which received recruits and draftees, organized them, and provided uniforms, equipment, and initial military training.
During World War I, the installation trained the 78th, 87th, and 34th Divisions and became the largest military reservation in the Northeast. Camp Dix reached approximately 55,000 men by August 1918, and with the war's end demobilized over 300,000 soldiers.
On March 8, 1939, the War Department officially renamed the post Fort Dix. During World War II, Fort Dix served as a reception and training center for drafted men, with ten divisions and many smaller units training before entering European battlefields; at war's end it became a separation center returning more than 1.2 million soldiers to civilian life.
On July 15, 1947, the Army designated Fort Dix as a basic training center and the home of the 9th Infantry Division. During the Vietnam War, rapid expansion took place with construction of a mock Vietnamese village for soldier training. In 2009, Fort Dix was combined with adjoining Air Force and Navy facilities to become Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, though it remains commonly known as Fort Dix.
Key Facts
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Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Dix
- https://www.fortdixhousing.com/history
- https://www.mcguiredixlakehursthousing.com/history
- https://www.army-technology.com/projects/fortdixusarmybase/
- https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc21435/m2/1/high_res_d/BRAC-2005_09186.pdf
- http://www.militarybases.us/army/fort-dix-2/
- https://globalsecurity.org/military/facility/fort-dix.htm
- https://veteran-voices.com/world-war-i-training-camps/camp-dix/
- https://theclio.com/entry/187042
- https://www.dvidshub.net/news/465759/usasa-fort-dix-more-than-century-premier-training-support