American Lake Prepared for 25,000 Recruits
War Department designates Tacoma site as concentration camp for new national army training.
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That portion of the war department statement is significant which says, in regard to national guard organizations, 'the necessary arms, equipment and clothing for recruits is not at present on hand.' This probably accounts in a measure for deferring the calling of conscripts until September 1. It will be seen from the foregoing that there is abundant opportunity for those who desire to get in early before even the work of calling up the national army is started. Also that Pacific Northwestern guardsmen and selected men are to be trained approximately in their own country. While all the war department said was that American Lake has been designated as a concentration camp, there are many indications that it is to be occupied before winter by at least 25,000 men.
“It is not an army that we must shape and train for war; it is a nation.”
Camp Lewis, built on the American Lake prairie, became a massive military installation that transformed the South Sound. Today, Joint Base Lewis-McChord remains one of the largest military complexes in the nation, echoing its origins as a rapid-response mobilization site during World War I.
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