It must have looked like a western ghost town in early 1946 . Empty buildings from Camp Ellis dotted the farm fields north of Route 10 (now Highway 136) between Table Grove and Ipava. There were 2,200 of them, but just a skeleton crew of personnel remained. As the years passed, the Illinois National GuardContinue reading “Where did Camp Ellis go? Why can’t I see it anymore?”
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The Reveille of Camp Ellis
It has been 80 years since US Army Camp Ellis was a fully functioning military camp with soldiers, civilians, and prisoners of war stationed on a little over 17,000 Illinois acres of prairie and woods. To understand the transformation of the camp from a modern city built to serve 50,000 people to corn and soybeanContinue reading “The Reveille of Camp Ellis”
1945 – The Beginning of the End
1945 – the year World War II ended. The Allied forces had been at war for almost six long years when Germany invaded Poland. The year began with Allied success in Europe with the defeat of the Nazi Army in the Battle of the Bulge. Progress was made as the Russian Army liberated Warsaw, Poland. Continue reading “1945 – The Beginning of the End”
He Was Everywhere!
1st/Sgt. Michael Davidson 1st./Sgt. Michael Davidson was nicknamed “Iron Mike” for some reason lost to time. It could have been the fact he had served almost six decades in the military by the time he was assigned to Camp Ellis. He had a colorful story, but yet an incomplete story as not much was personallyContinue reading “He Was Everywhere!”
Paul Hantz – American POW?
Several years ago, I read the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center – “Transcript of an Oral History Interview with KURT G. PECHMANN Private, German Army, World War II, 1996.” Mr. Pechmann was a German POW at Camp Ellis. Kurt’s story sounds like a war movie and worth the read alone. This incredible story brought theContinue reading “Paul Hantz – American POW?”
That’s Entertainment!
When the army dropped a military camp in the middle of western Illinois in 1942, they no doubt anticipated the challenge of keeping the soldiers occupied outside of military life. USOs were set up in Ipava, Macomb, Lewistown, and even as far away as Peoria, but weekend passes often led to trouble in nearby towns. Continue reading “That’s Entertainment!”
Chow Time – Food at Camp Ellis
Food – An Army moves on it, military and civilians require it to keep working, and everywhere in the 1940s the supply of food was a concern which led to rationing. “We no longer have food to waste. EAT IT ALL” is how an article in the February 9, 1945 Camp Ellis News ended. Continue reading “Chow Time – Food at Camp Ellis”
Dedication Day at Camp Ellis – the largest event in Fulton County, IL history
Sunday, July 4, 1943, was a sweltering day. The National Weather Service recorded a high of 89 degrees with a little over ½ inch of rainfall for the day. It was hot, sticky, and humid like the most uncomfortable July day can be in central Illinois, but it was also Dedication Day at Camp Ellis,Continue reading “Dedication Day at Camp Ellis – the largest event in Fulton County, IL history”
Here Come The Engineers!
“What Engineers don’t find, they build,” was the slogan the Camp Ellis Engineer group lived by when they activated at the camp in April of 1943. Despite nearly eight months of construction, the camp was far from completed when the Engineer units arrived. Recent flooding on the Illinois River in the Spring of 1943 hadContinue reading “Here Come The Engineers!”
The importance of sports at Camp Ellis
Army bases are busy places. There is training, chow, more training, medical check ups, more chow, and lights out. Free time can be a blessing or a curse. The army often used sports to keep soldiers at the peak of physical fitness. Camp Ellis believed in sports for the soldiers and the Camp Ellis Cardinals,Continue reading “The importance of sports at Camp Ellis”
WWII Camp Ellis, Illinois 