Fort Leonard Wood (Pulaski County, near St. Robert, Missouri)
Pulaski County, near St. Robert · Missouri · World War II onwards
History & Significance
Fort Leonard Wood's history dates to the dark days just before World War II, when war had engulfed Europe and much of Asia by 1940. The War Department decided to establish a major training facility in the Seventh Corps area to address the critical challenge of finding suitable training ground for the expanding Army.
The fort honors Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood, a Harvard-educated surgeon and Medal of Honor recipient who commanded the Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War alongside Theodore Roosevelt, later serving as Army Chief of Staff from 1910 to 1914 and governor general of the Philippine Islands. Construction of the post was completed by June 1941 despite formidable Ozark terrain challenges; workers built nearly 1,600 buildings comprising over 5 million square feet of floor space in six months.
The post initially planned for infantry training became an engineer replacement training center. Training ceased in spring 1946, and the post became inactive with only a small caretaker unit maintaining facilities until 1950. Reactivated in August 1950 for Korean War training, the post was subsequently made permanent through Cold War needs and local advocacy.
Key Facts
Map
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Sources
- https://home.army.mil/wood/about/history
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Leonard_Wood
- https://www.themilitarystandard.com/army_base/mo/fort_wood.php