Existing comment:
Camp Upton
Construction began on Camp Upton in summer 1917, but the first draftees arrived at the uncompleted camp in early September. These multi-ethnic conscripts from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut came from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. A recruit in this photo carries a sign: "From New Rochelle, '45 minutes from Broadway, 'bound for Yaphank. Ready to do our bit." By some estimates more than thirty different languages and dialects were spoken in this one camp. Over the course of the war close to 40,000 men would train at Camp Upton before deploying overseas. |