Sean Joiner is a local historian in Augusta, Dr. Gerald Smith is a retired professor of English from Paine College, and Robert Anzuoni is the director of the U.S. Army Signal Corps Museum. The images used in this book are from historical photographs, narratives, and exhibition items from the collections of Sean Joiner and the U.S. Army Signal Corps Museum.
Title: Army post has played a vital role Author: Valerie Rowell
Publisher: The Columbia County News-Times Date: 6/24/09
Fort Gordon's effect on military training is varied and
far-reaching.
A pictorial history of the sprawling base, which started as Camp
Gordon near Atlanta more than a century ago, has been published by
three area men under the title Fort Gordon.
Sean Joiner, Dr. Gerald Smith and Robert Anzuoni collected photos
of the fort's early history, including its 1917 start as a training
center for World War I soldiers.
"(Fort Gordon) had such a global impact," said Anzuoni, the
director of the U.S. Army Signal Corps Museum at Fort Gordon.
"There are so many people out there who have trained here."
The book is the latest addition to Arcadia Publishing's Images of
America series.
Anzuoni, who contributed many of the early pictures, said the base
was the training center for the 4th Infantry Division; the 26th
Infantry Division (Yankee Division); the 10th Armored Division
(Tiger Division); and elements of the 82nd Airborne Division.
Famous alumni of Camp Gordon include Sgt. Alvin York, who was
referred to as the "greatest soldier of World War I"; Jonathan
Wainwright, the division operations officer who earned the Medal of
Honor in World War II; and Gordon Johnston, the division chief of
staff for the Signal Corps who also earned the Medal of Honor.
"All those had an impact on the war in Europe," said Anzuoni, of
Aiken. "And they trained right here."
The Army's Comanche code talkers, who used their native language as
a radio cipher, trained at Fort Gordon and landed on Normandy on
D-Day.
Anzuoni said the base was once home to the Military Police School
and is still home of the Signal Corps Training Center, which opened
in 1948.
"It is an important training center," he said.
The base also served as a basic and advanced training center,
preparing soldiers for every war since World War I.
Robert Duvall started his acting career in the theater while
stationed at Fort Gordon in the mid-1950s.
Actor Rip Torn also served at the base, and actress and pin-up girl
Jayne Mansfield lived there in the early 1950s while married to a
lieutenant in the MP School, said Smith, an Evans resident.
"Anywhere you meet people, if they have been military, Army,
usually they have been here," said Joiner, of Martinez.
Joiner, the Criminal Science Department chairman at Augusta
Technical College and author of three books, said the Fort Gordon
project started when he came across a collection of 1950s photos
from Fort Gordon on eBay.
The book contains pictures depicting the camp's 1917 opening and
its reopening in 1941 at its current location.
There are also pictures of barracks life, the base band, field
training, the base as a holding place for German and Italian
prisoners of war, and the area surrounding the fort.
"Some things are still very similar," Anzuoni noted, saying the
pictures of the field mess tents and training look similar to
today's.
"A lot of it really hasn't changed too much."
The base is still having a big effect on Army training, Joiner
said. In 1974, it became home to the Signal Corps, and the Signal
Regiment in 1986. The base now is the training site for all of the
signal units in the Army.
Also, the National Security Agency's primary headquarters is at
Fort Gordon.
The book is available at most area and online bookstores or by
visiting www.arcadiapublishing.com.
Title: New book illustrates Fort Gordon history Author: Nick
Spinelli Publisher: The Signal Date: 5/14/09
Lots of people work, live or visit Fort Gordon every day, but what
do you know about the post.
All of the most salient history is now available in a newly
released book, Fort Gordon (2009, Arcadia Publishing).
Fort Gordon is the latest in Arcadia's "Images of America" series.
It details, through photography, the history of the post from its
inception as "Camp Gordon," and through World War II, when the post
held German and Italian Prisoners of War.
"There's been local history published on Augusta before, but not on
Fort Gordon," explained Robert Anzuoni, Signal Museum curator and
one of Fort Gordon's three credited authors along with Sean Joiner
and Gerald Smith. "In the book, we look at cultural material, and
photos of people and places on the post, each telling part of the
history."
Aside from an introductory overview by Anzuoni, the book consists
exclusively of photographs and captions, making for a quick and
entertaining read. The format also helps to personalize the history
of Fort Gordon, instead of relying on a more classic (and boring)
narrative structure.
"We wanted to focus on individuals, not just dates and static
images," Anzuoni said. "Many of the photos come from private
collections."
Anzuoni said he was asked to collaborate on the project by the
other authors, a decision most likely based on his work at the
Signal Museum.
"I hope people enjoy the book, and hopefully, it will spark an
interest in the museum. Much of what is found in the book can also
be found here," he said.
For more information on Fort Gordon or other books in the "Images
of America" series visit Arcadia Publishing online at
www.arcadiapublishing.com.
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