Servicemembers storming Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944, climb down ladders on the USS LCI-553. Maneuvers like this one first were practiced at Camp Gordon Johnston, Fla.
DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE
Watch the troops train. Click here for a 1940s video about D-Day training at CGJ. Narration explains the rifl e ladder and more.
“[On one drop] there were eight C-47s with about 116 men, and something went wrong. So many landed in the water. I went in about 400 yards from shore and man- aged to save a kid from Kentucky who couldn’t swim. But 10 of them drowned.” Smith went to Luzon, Philippines, then Okinawa and ultimately served in Japan with the occupation for about six months. Of course, there was the occasional quiet moment and time for fun at CGJ. Camp newsletters included invites to
nights with “Collige girls,” information about entertain- ment options, and recollections of nasty mosquito bites. The Army enjoyed outdoor movies at camp, and
there was a USO in nearby Apalachicola. Carrabelle had service centers with free soft drinks, card games, and dances. “And then come the beautiful girls,” Frum says. Frum returned to CGJ as an instructor after Japan
surrendered. He was transferred to Fort Eustis, Va., when CGJ closed in 1946.
The Camp Gordon Johnson Museum is housed in Carrabelle’s former schoolhouse. Visitors can browse ex- hibits, historical photos, videos, and written memoirs and even see an orig- inal chocolate bar from the era with a malaria warning imprinted in it. Admission is by donation. “I don’t
like to charge for knowledge and history, but we have to pay the city,” says curator Linda Minichiello. “It’s a labor of love.” Minichiello and her veteran husband, Tony, were found- ing members of the Camp Gordon Johnston Association in 1995. In nearby Lanark Village, once the offi cers’ quarters, rental villas have
7 0 MI L I T A R Y O F F I C E R O C TO B E R 2 0 1 0
been built on the concrete pad of the old radio tower. Dog Island, reach- able only by boat or ferry, mostly is owned by The Nature Conservancy but also has camping and private and rental homes. St. George Island, accessible via a causeway, has a re-
stored lighthouse and lodging and many rental options. It is a nesting site for endangered sea turtles. The daunting swamps are now public lands and wildlife sanctuaries with outdoor activities like kayaking, camping, and fi shing. These are close to restaurants, bed-and-breakfasts, marinas, motels, and RV parks. For more information, go to www
.anaturalescape.com and
www.camp
gordonjohnston.com. An annual CGJ reunion takes place each year. MO
— Marilyn Pribus is a freelance writer and retired Air Force spouse. Her last fea- ture article for Military Offi cer was “Know the Risks,” April 2010.
PHOTOS: ABOVE, COURTESY ROYCE ROLSTAD PHOTOGRAPHY; TOP, USN/U.S. NATIONAL ARCHIVES
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