Introduction -100 years ago

100 years ago

This blog is an ongoing project which will attempt to showcase all known domestic World War One bases. The 100 year anniversary of the United States' involvement happened on April 6, 2017.

This blog will not give a thorough in depth history of individual bases, as there are a very large number of them. The goal is to showcase each base in a nutshell, and have some basic info like maps, pictures, troop capacity, acreage, and constructions costs in both 1919 dollars, and in today's dollars, adjusted for inflation. However, links will be supplied for those who desire more in depth historical information on individual bases.

I have found from doing extensive research that if a base has been around for a while, up to the post-Cold War base closure rounds which started in 1988, it is far easier to find detailed information on a base's history, much of which is easily available online.

On the other hand, some bases were very short lived and lasted less than 2 years, and did not even see so much as any re-use during WWII! Never mind, that I estimate WWII bases had at least 10 fold the activity in terms of acreage, costs, facilities, and personnel involved.

Some bases are low hanging fruit in terms of accessible information, and others require a special trip to the location of the former base.

In addition, as I sift through many haystacks for a few needles, sometimes skimming through very long winded base re-use/clean up reports, there is also useful information that sometimes surfaces from the World War II era. I will post anything found in a separate World War 2 Bases blog.

I am prioritizing WWI research as the 100 year anniversary has came up up for United States involvement. Anything that shows up for WWII, will be posted there.

I will be the first to admit the quality of some of the digital photos I took at various museums/libraries leaves a bit to be desired. But I figure it is better than nothing, until I find a higher quality replacement. If you have any pictures, maps, or interesting information, please send an email. You will be given credit for anything you supply.

email: basesofwar at gmail dot com.