Lebanon in Wilson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Cumberland University Headquarters Tennessee Maneuvers

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 29, 2022

1. Cumberland University Headquarters Tennessee Maneuvers Marker (front)

Inscription. [Identical inscriptions on front and back of obelisk]

Here on this campus was located Maneuver Director Headquarters Tennessee Maneuver Area, 1942 — 1944

In memory of the 268 servicemen and 9 civilians who died during maneuvers

There were trained 850,000 Americans who served in Europe and the Pacific theaters

WWII Tennessee Maneuvers Commission
Chairperson Sue Vanatta • Vice chairman Charley Norton
Commissioners George Harding • Fred Tucker • George Knowles • John Wade • Maj. Gen. Jackie D. Wood
Executive Director Lt. Col. Jim D. Henderson (ret)
[Plaque at base]
In Memoriam On March 22nd 1944, the last day of maneuvers in Tennessee and the final exercise, 23 men loaded onto an assault boat for a nighttime crossing of the Cumberland River at Averitt's Ferry near Lebanon, Tennessee. The river was at flood stage. The overloaded boat capsized and 21 men drowned. Two made it to safety.

PVT. Briggs, Grover R., Guntown, MS. • PFC. Criswell, Lee O., Muncy, PA. • SGT. Doebler, Kenneth A., Williamsport, PA. • 1st LT. Dunski, John E., Chicago, IL. • PFC. Edlinski, Felix A., Pottstown, PA. • 2nd LT. Grosvenor, Richard P., Winchester, MA. • 1st/SGT. Jackimczyk, Bernard J., No. Hampton, MA. • PFC. Kirk, James

Paid Advertisement

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R., Pocahontas, TN. • PFC. Kocaj, Leonard S., Nanticoke, PA. • PVT. Lavallo, Dominick V., New York, NY. • T/3. Monchick, Edward C., Roxbury, MA. • PFC. Netto, John F., No. Hampton, MA. • SGT. Paisley, John J., Wilmington, DE. • CPL. Petit, William J., Providence, RI. • S/SGT. Phlona, Joseph F., Gardner, MA. • SGT. Puclowski, John, So. Boston, MA. • PFC. Sielski, Leonard M., Erie, PA. • PFC. Sikora, Arthur, Syracuse, NY. • PVT. Smallcomb, John F., Exeter, PA. • T/5. Stille, Fredrick A., Jr., Richmond, VA. • PVT. Strand, Leroy C., San Antonio, TX.

Survivors
1st LT. Nillsson, Walford T., Detroit, MI. • PFC. Neurick, Simon, Philadelphia, PA.

Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • War, World II. A significant historical date for this entry is March 22, 1944.

Location. 36° 12.27′ N, 86° 17.959′ W. Memorial is in Lebanon, Tennessee, in Wilson County. It can be reached from the intersection of West Spring Street and South Hatton Avenue. Memorial is in the square at the entrance to Cumberland University. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 1 Cumberland Square, Lebanon TN 37087, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in Middle Tennessee

and in Greater Nashville.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The WWII Years at Cumberland (here, next to this marker); Evins Front Porch (within shouting distance of this marker); The Reverend Dr. Winstead Paine Bone

Cumberland University Headquarters Tennessee Maneuvers Marker (back) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 29, 2022

2. Cumberland University Headquarters Tennessee Maneuvers Marker (back)

(within shouting distance of this marker); Memorial Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); Cordell Hull (1871-1955) (within shouting distance of this marker); David Robert "Bobby" Ray (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Cumberland University Founded in 1842 (about 400 feet away); McClain Circle (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lebanon.

Regarding Cumberland University Headquarters Tennessee Maneuvers. The soldiers who died were from Company B, 104th Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division.

Also see . . .
1. Tennessee in Training. Tennessee was a big staging area for World War II Army maneuvers. (Bill Corey, The Tennessee Magazine, May 2022) (Submitted on May 30, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

2. New book details WWII maneuvers in TN, RuCo. Life on the World War II home front meant ration books, victory gardens and scrap metal drives. But in Rutherford and other nearby counties it also meant thousands of G.I.s using the towns, roads, farms, hills, woods and rivers as a combat practice

Cumberland University Headquarters Tennessee Maneuvers plaque image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 29, 2022

3. Cumberland University Headquarters Tennessee Maneuvers plaque

The plaque lists the 21 men who died and two others who survived when their boat capsized in the Cumberland River during a training exercise on March 22, 1944.

ground. (Ken Beck, as published in the Murfreesboro Post, Feb. 13, 2011) (Submitted on May 30, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Cumberland University Headquarters Tennessee Maneuvers Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 29, 2022

4. Cumberland University Headquarters Tennessee Maneuvers Marker

Tennessee maneuvers image. Click for full size.

Acme Newspapers via Tennessee State Library and Archives (Public Domain), April 28, 1943

5. Tennessee maneuvers

Mary Ward, 9, and Raymond Ingram, 12, chat with soldiers of the 2nd Army Division on maneuvers in Middle Tennessee.

John E. Hood Photos via Tennessee State Library and Archives (Public Domain), June 1944

6. Tennessee Maneuvers

Members of American Legion Post #5 in Nashville stand outside a bathhouse they operated for soldiers during Tennessee maneuvers.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 30, 2022. It was originally submitted on May 30, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 602 times since then and 59 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on May 30, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.