Existing comment:
Birthplace of Army Chemical Corps:
Soon after the United States entered the First World War
in 1917, the American University's offer of its campus and
buildings for war work was accepted.
The permanent buildings and part of the campus were turned
over to the Bureau of Mines on July 6, 1917 for use as chemical
warfare laboratories and proving grounds. McKinley Hall
served as one of the first of these laboratories.
On August 30, 1917, the Thirteenth Engineers, later known as the
First Gas Regiment, was organized here. Companies A and B and
First Battalion Headquarters marched out of The American
University on Christmas Day 1917 and sailed for France the
next day. They were soon followed by Companies C and D and
later by Companies E and F which were organized at Fort Myer.
In June 1918, the Chemical Warfare Organization of the
Bureau of Mines was transferred to the War Department as a
step toward the creation of the Chemical Warfare Service,
now the U.S. Army Chemical Corps.
Dedicated in 1960 by Veterans of the First Gas Regiment. |