Carabelle Beach in Franklin County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Camp Gordon Johnston Training Area

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, December 27, 2016

1. Camp Gordon Johnston Training Area Marker

Inscription. With the approach of World War II, amphibious warfare training centers were hurriedly built. Camp Carrabelle opened in September 1941. Construction began in July 1942 and the camp was renamed in honor of Colonel Gordon Johnston (1874-1934), a highly decorated Army officer and veteran of multiple wars. The 165,000-acre camp served as an Amphibious Training Center and Armed Service Forces Training Center for soldiers from all branches of the military during the war. Once referred to as the “Alcatraz of the Army” by columnist Walter Winchell, the camp housed around 10,000 troops at any one time and rotated between 24,000 and 30,000 from 1941 to 1946. Nearby islands and beaches, particularly Dog Island and St. George Island, were used as landing points for amphibious exercises. Florida's sandy beaches, swamps, and jungle-like forests allowed the military to simulate the conditions of landings in the European and Pacific theatres. Camp Gordon Johnston provided some of the toughest military training in the world and was the Army's major amphibious training center. The camp was responsible for training nearly 250,000

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men and women before it closed in June of 1946.

Erected 2015 by Camp Gordon Johnston Association and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-855.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, World II. A significant historical month for this entry is September 1941.

Location. 29° 49.75′ N, 84° 41.609′ W. Marker is in Carabelle Beach, Florida, in Franklin County. It is on U.S. 98/319 0.2 miles west of Beacon Street, on the right when traveling west. Located on the future site of Camp Gordon Johnston World War II Museum. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Carrabelle FL 32322, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on the Florida Panhandle.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and on the Gulf Coast.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At

Camp Gordon Johnston Training Area Marker and future site of museum image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, December 27, 2016

2. Camp Gordon Johnston Training Area Marker and future site of museum

least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: World War II D-Day Training Site (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Crooked River Lighthouse History (approx. half a mile away); Welcome to the Carrabelle Riverwalk and Wharf (approx. 2.2 miles away); The Land and Sea Provide (approx. 2.2 miles away); A Bustling Seaport (approx. 2.2 miles away); A Coastal Gem (approx. 2.2 miles away); From Boom to Bust... and Back Again! (approx. 2.2 miles away); From Sails to Rails (approx. 2.2 miles away).

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.

Also see . . . Website for the Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum mentioned in photo #2. (Submitted on June 6, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, January 3, 2022

3. Camp Gordon Johnston Training Area Marker

Museum building is in the background.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 28, 2022. It was originally submitted on January 16, 2017, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,055 times since then and 49 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 16, 2017, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. 3. submitted on October 28, 2022, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.