Camp Forrest

Camp Forrest (1926-1946) - First established in 1926 as Camp Peay, a Tennessee National Guard training camp named after Tennessee Governor Austin Peay. The post became a Federal training post 10 Jan 1941 and was renamed for Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA. Deactivated 30 Jun 1946. Camp Forrest Marker Camp Peay Marker History Originally built as a 1,040 acre National Guard training post in 1926. In 1940 the post was federalized and expand to 85,000 acres in preparation for World War II. During the war the post served as a training camp for infantry, artillery, engineers, signal corps and rangers. The 2nd and the 5th Ranger Battalions were formed and initially trained at Camp Forrest. These units later landed at Omaha Beach on "D" Day. Camp Forrest became a prisoner of war camp 12 May 1942 and housed alien internees, Italian and German POWs through the end of the war. At the end of the War the post was declared surplus and the buildings were sold to the public. The property became the Air Force's new Air Engineering Development Center in 1951. Current Status Nothing remains except markers. The property is now part of Arnold AFB. Location: Arnold Air Force Base, Coffee County, Tennessee. Maps & Images Lat: 35.358746 Long: -86.182852 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 1,063' Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 740 Links: North American Forts - Camp Forrest Visited: 6 Jul 2010