1940 - Present
Fort Leonard Wood, located in Pulaski County, Missouri, has trained Army infantry and engineers since World War II. As the conflict engulfed European countries, the United States prepared its military to enter the war. In 1940, the War Department approved the construction of a training facility in South Central Missouri. The base, named after General Leonard Wood, the Chief of Staff of the Army from 1910 to 1914, would remedy the limited training facilities across the country. Despite its original mission to train the 6th Infantry Division, Fort Leonard Wood transitioned to educating military engineers by March 1941. The fort was vital to the United States war effort as the base trained more than 170,000 engineers and over 300,000 soldiers. In the aftermath of World War II, the fort’s mission to instruct engineers remained. In 1999, the U.S. Army transplanted the Army Chemical Corps and the Army Military Police Corps to the base. Today, Fort Leonard Wood continues to serve as a U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center and is one of three military bases in the state.
Object Details
Categories: War & Conflict
Date: 1940 - Present
Collection Name: From the Darkroom: Springfield's Historic Newspaper Photographs
Contributing Institution: The Springfield News-Leader
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County: Pulaski
Region: Central
Type: Photograph
Latitude: 37.792843
Longitude: -92.133902