Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma

Camp Doniphan was a military base adjacent to Fort Sill, just outside of Lawton, in Comanche County, Oklahoma, that was activated for use in World War I for artillery training.

The camp was named for Alexander William Doniphan, a hero of the Mexican-American war from the Missouri Volunteers of Northwestern Missouri.

It was from this camp that thousands of soldiers, from Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, were given basic training prior to being sent to Camp Mills, Mineola, Long Island, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; or Camp Merritt, Dumont, New Jersey, for disembarkation to France. The camp contained 1,267 buildings, the majority of which were tents, over a convert|2000|acre|km2|sing=on area. [ [http://collections.library.okstate.edu/gsdl/cgi-bin/library?e=d-000-00---0mccslnd--00-0-0--0prompt-10---4------0-1l--1-zh-50---20-about---00031-001-1-0gbk-00&a=d&cl=CL2.94&d=HASH011b36ac53f78f947942d442 Topographic map, Camp Doniphan, Fort Sill, Okla.] - Oklahoma State University Digital Library]

The camp was home of the 35th Infantry Division, made up of the National Guard of Kansas and Missouri. [ [http://www.il.ngb.army.mil/ARMY/UNITWEB/B1_178INF/History35ID.htm History of the 35th Infantry Division (ID) "Santa Fe"] - at Army.mil] [ [http://www.kfor9.org/35th_infantry_history History of the 35th Infantry Division] - at KFOR 9] [ [http://localhistory.kclibrary.org/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=exact&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOROOT=all&CISOBOX1=Fort+Sill%2C+Oklahoma Fort Sill search] - at the Kansas City Public Library] [ [http://www.kansasguardmuseum.org/35ww1.html The 35th Infantry Division in the Great War] - at the Museum of the Kansas National Guard]

The camp became part of the United States Army Field Artillery School, and included the 128th Field Artillery Regiment and 129th Field Artillery Regiment of Missouri, 130th Field Artillery Regiment of Kansas, and the 158th Field Artillery Regiment of Oklahoma. [Connelley, William E (1928). [http://www.pipesfamily.com/35ww1.htm "The 35th Infantry Division in the Great War"] - "History of Kansas: State and People, Volume II". Chicago: The American Historical Society. pp. 889-893. ] [http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/ww1/129chronology.shtml Chronological Record of the 129th Field Artillery 1917-1919] - the Truman Library] [ [http://www.kansasguardmuseum.org/mohbleckley.html 2Lt. Erwin Russell Bleckley] - at the Museum of the Kansas National Guard] [ [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/1-158fa.htm 1st Battalion - 158th Field Artillery (MLRS)] - at GlobalSecurity.org]

Harry S. Truman was stationed here, from September of 1917 until March of 1918, and was assigned to run the regimental canteen. [McCullough, David (1992). Truman. New York: Simon and Schuster, p.105-110. ISBN 0671869205] [Gilwee, William J. [http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/truman.htm Capt. Harry Truman Artilleryman and Future President] - at the Doughboy Center] [ [http://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/markst.htm Oral History Interview with Ted Marks] - at the Truman Library] It is here that he made Edward Jacobson his partner. [McCullough, p. 107]

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