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THE
CIGARETTE CAMPS |
A number of temporary U.S. Army camps were situated
near the French ports of Marseilles and Le Havre. The camps, built
of Quonset huts and tents, were located in what the Army designated
as the "Red Horse" staging area and were named after popular
cigarette brands, including Camps Lucky Strike, Old Gold, and Pall
Mall. There were also "city camps" named after U.S. cities - Camp
Atlanta, Camp Baltimore, Camp New York, and Camp Pittsburgh, among
others.
The Cigarette camps varied widely in size, from around 2,000 in
capacity to nearly 60,000, the largest being Camps Philip Morris,
Old Gold, and Lucky Strike.
Although originally set up as collection points for troops heading
into battle; by war's end both Cigarette and City camps' roles had
shifted from gateways to combat to staging points for repatriation
of GI's to the States, processing liberated American POWs, and
temporarily confining German POWs.The
photos below were taken at Camp Lucky strike but probably resemble
sights at all the camps. |
Gateway
to America - God's Country
including mileage to key U.S. destinations |
HQ Camp Philip Morris
a less than ostentatious Quonset hut
served the purpose of managing the camp facilities and functions |
Le Havre, France
a company walkway in Philip Morris' tent city. Thousand of
G.I.'s were temporarily encamped here awaiting transportation to
their homes |
Shipment Schedule
an often checked bulletin board showed Unit, Name of Ship and
Tentative Boarding Time. Some nine ships are listed at this
moment |
Maritime Victory
a brand new ship launched only days after
V-E Day and delivered to the Army in June 1945.was but one of many
troop transports plying Atlantic waters |
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