Camp Upton

The area of central Suffolk County presently occupied by Brookhaven National Laboratory once served the nation in a different manner. It was the site of the U.S. Army's Camp Upton, which was active from 1917 until 1920, and again from 1940 until 1946. During World War II, the camp was rebuilt primarily as an induction center for draftees. The Army was later to use the site as a convalescent and rehabilitation hospital for returning wounded.

When the United States entered the First World War in 1917, a standing army was non-existent, and large forces would be needed to fight overseas. It was decided that sixteen cantonments would be erected across the country to train the New York area inductees. The proposed army base was to be named Camp Upton, after Major General Emery Upton, who served in the Civil War and wrote numerous books on U.S. military policies.

Construction began in the summer of 1917. Plans called for a U-shaped encampment, large enough to house 40,000 troops. The land had to be totally cleared of the shrub pines, oak, and tangled undergrowth which dominated the landscape before any construction could begin. A rail spur was built, connecting Upton to the Long Island Rail Road, on which most of the supplies for construction arrived.

Labor problems plagued construction. Local communities could not supply all the men needed, so workers were brought in from New York City. Many of these laborers were immigrants who had recently arrived from Europe and could understand little English. Irish workers would not eat the pasta products requested by the Italian laborers. Gambling, theft and alcohol were constant headaches for Major "O.K." Meyers, the construction quartermaster. July was an especially hard time for Meyers. Intense heat, frequent downpours and swarms of mosquitoes harassed the workers.

Despite these problems, the camp started to take shape by late summer. Fifty-five railroad cars of supplies were unloaded daily. Thousands of tons of lumber, nails, and stone arrived at the construction site. The original order called for 680 buildings. This was raised to 1400 buildings. However, the scheduled date of completion was delayed only 10 days. When the first 2,000 drafted men arrived on September 10th, two-thirds of the camp had yet to be completed. The new soldiers were put side by side with the laborers to help complete the camp. On December 20th, the camp was officially declared complete, and turned over to Major General J. Franklin Bell, the Camp Commander.

The recruits who arrived at Upton came from all walks of life. They came from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and represented twenty-five or more national backgrounds. In all, some 40,000 men would spend some part of their military service at Upton. The completed camp doubled the population of Suffolk County.

The drafted men were issued equipment and uniforms and were assigned a bunk. Until the first shipment of rifles arrived in late September, the troops were kept busy on the parade ground. In October, General Bell put into action a sixteen-week training program, outlined by the War Department.

This program included training in almost every aspect of infantry combat. French and British officers were brought to the U.S. and instructed the men in tank, trench and gas warfare. The draftees trained in the use of hand grenades and machine guns. Professional boxers taught the men hand-to-hand combat.

From these raw recruits came the nucleus of the famed 77th Division. Officially formed before the first draftee arrived in camp, the 77th was to gain recognition for its valor at the Argonne Forest in August of 1918. Major General Bell was found unable to command the 77th in Europe due to health problems. When the first contingent of the Division left Upton for France in March, General Bell turned leadership of the men over to Brigadier General Evan Johnson. It was to be General Johnson who would lead the 77th to fame at Argonne.

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One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE’s Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

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