The Lost Ranger: A Soldier's Story

by Mehlo, Noel

  Camp Kilmer owes its name to World War I soldier-poet Sgt. Alfred Joyce Kilmer who grew up in nearby New Brunswick, New Jersey and authored a famous poem entitled Trees. He was known nationally and internationally as a famous journalist and poet. He enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War I serving in the New York National Guard 69th Infantry Regiment. During World War I, it was part of the 42nd Infantry Division. Kilmer was killed in action when he was struck by a sniper during a scouting mission at the Second Battle of the Marne on the morning of June 30, 1918 in the Aisne-Marne offensive. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart by the U.S. Army as well as the Croix de Guerre by the French Republic. A memorial dedicated to him was on the base during the war and is shown in Figure 102. The site of the camp was selected in late 1941 by the War Department as war was imminent. It was selected as it was considered the best location to serve the NYPE due to its proximity to transportation including rail, road and water. It was constructed on farmlands acquired by the government for the war.6 The Army began construction in early 1942. They activated Camp Kilmer in June 1942 after only six months of construction. It was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Transportation Corps. This entity had the responsibility for all troop movements within the continental United States during the war. Camp Kilmer encompassed 1,573 acres, with 1,210 buildings.7 Included in the buildings were: wooden barracks, seven chapels, five theaters, nine PXs, gymnasium, three libraries, four telephone centers, 1,000 bed hospital, post office dental clinic, one commissary, one meat-cutting plant, and four fire stations. It was served by 28 miles of roadway and 11 railheads that fed into the Pennsylvania Railroad mainline according to a Camp Kilmer historian. The camp buildings were largely constructed of wood. They were painted in a bright contrasting color pattern for a desired camouflage effect which was similar to that used on ships during World War I. Over 11,000 construction workers were needed to build the Camp.8

  Figure 102: Camp Kilmer Postcard: Public domain Camp Kilmer was used to quarter troops preparing for movement to the European Theater of Operations. It eventually would become the busiest processing center for troops leaving for and returning from Europe. Over 2.5 million soldiers were processed through the center. Kilmer was responsible for staging over 20 divisions including some 1,300,000 servicemen prior to embarkation. It is said that Camp Kilmer was one of the most essential processing and administrative posts in the United States during World War II. It was also used to soldiers and their units which had come into port in the United States. These units would be processed before being shipped to various facilities for training. As with many other military facilities, a POW Camp was operated at Camp Kilmer, housing Italian POWs. It was reported by members of the 20th Engineers who passed through the post that there was little to do outside the camp. Many of the soldiers would befriend local residents while there.

  At Camp Kilmer, the Commanding General of the US Army garrison was responsible for all of the First Army units and activities assigned to the post. This included training and operations of units, preparation, coordination, and implementation of plans with other entities. This included Air Raid, Civil Defense, Domestic Emergency, Mobilization and Local Defense. He was responsible for implementing all directives issued by the Commanding Officer of the First United States Army. To help provide efficiency in its military function the Army ran Camp Kilmer more like a small city than a typical army facility. Steps were taken to provide servicemen with various types of entertainment and activities. Over 20 softball diamonds, 30 volleyball courts, and 160 horseshoe courts had been constructed for recreation. The post had its own baseball and football teams. They had their own band and orchestra, and there were also dances and movies including USO-Camp Shows that put on productions at Camp Kilmer. The troops had visits from professional athletes and top Hollywood stars.9 An example map handed out to newly arriving troops is shown in Figure 103.

  Figure 103: Map of Camp Kilmer included in US Army Publication: Welcome to Camp Kilmer Since the post no longer exists, the following information is helpful to locate the area. Rutgers Ecological Preserve is about 1 mile to the southeast of the Area of former Camp Kilmer the Rangers were assigned to. IR 287 Interchange 2 with Lincoln Highway (Route 27). Travel South to Plainfield Avenue. Turn right (west on Plainfield and go to Kilmer Road. This intersection is the former Gate 1 to Camp Kilmer. The interchange is about 2 miles to the northeast of the Ranger area.

  The 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion would have received a document called an Alert Order, Preparation for Overseas Movement. I have yet to find this document that ordered them to England. I did find a later version of this type of order that included them as part of the Alert Order provided by the Headquarters, V Corps to which the unit was assigned as of April 20, 1944. That order provided for the movement of the 1st, 2nd, and 29th Infantry Divisions. This type of order provided instructions as to the concentrating, marshalling and movement of affected units. These orders also placed the affected units under the command of the European Theater of Operations. The military provided a book for servicemen and women to assist them in better understanding the process of their movement from the United States to Europe. It was called Preparation for Overseas Movement, European Theater of Operations, United States Army, Short Sea Voyage; 10 Jan 44.10

  The United States Army produced a very good report after the war to summarize how the logistical requirements of moving units worked throughout World War II. This report is known as Preparation of Units for Overseas Movement - Study No. 21.11 The report states that “the culminating function of Army Ground Forces (AGF) was the delivery of units to ports of embarkation as required by theater commanders. Even though in actual practice most units shipped overseas received considerable training in their respective theaters, AGF was held responsible, except in cases of specific, exemption by the War Department, for bringing units to a state of complete combat readiness before releasing them to port commanders for staging and shipment. A War Department directive of 2 March 1942 which created Army Ground Forces indicated "The mission of the Army Ground Forces is to provide Ground units properly organized, trained and equipped for combat operations.”

  The report discusses in detail how a unit would be handled for movement overseas. It says that there is often an “assumption that normally units were ready for combat when they completed the prescribed cycle of training and that a call for overseas shipment entailed nothing more than a final checking of personnel and equipment and a routine movement to port. But conditions which prevailed during most of the period from 1942 to 1945 made the processing of units a difficult and complicated matter.” Many steps and measures were taken, particularly between 1942 and 1944 to increase the efficiency and ability to move up to Division size units from the States to England or other points in Europe. Things such as chronic shortages of personnel and of equipment often hampered the ability to maintain combat readiness. Often a unit would find themselves robbed of men and equipment at the last minute as a unit with a higher priority needed fitted out just prior to deployment. Due to the nature of the unit, this did not happen to the Rangers as they worked their way through this process from what I have been able to find.

  The AGF responsibilities for final processing of units for overseas movement - which came to be referred to as Preparation for Overseas Movement (POM) - included the following: 1. designation of specific units when the War Department gave notice that certain numbers of various types were needed;

  2. informing major subordinate commands of the earmarking of units under their jurisdiction for early overseas shipment;

  3. drafting of movement orders for issuance by The Adjutant. General to all major commands concerned, specifying units to be moved, shipment code numbers9 and the agency charged with execution of the movement and giving general information as to equipment, clothing, personnel, and mode of travel.;

  4. collaboration with other War Department agencies in the preparation and revision of detailed instructions for guidance of all
echelons, having a part in bringing units to a state of combat readiness and moving them to port;

  5. issuance of supplementary information on points not covered in movement Orders and War Department instructions;

  6. coordination the Amy Service Forces (ASF) to expedite filling of equipment shortages and to assure movement of units within a reasonable time after thy were alerted; and

  7. periodic checking, though command channels, of pertinent Ground Force agencies and activities to assure compliance with current instructions.

  As part of the POM, units were transferred to intermediate stations called “staging areas” for last-minute processing before moving to loading docks. Camp Kilmer was such a staging area. A staging area was regarded as adjunct to the port of embarkation, and units on arrival therein passed to the control of the port commander. In the case of Camp Kilmer, the NYPE controlled the activities at the Camp in relationship to troop movements.

  The War Department revised POM policies, on January 5, 1943. This was supposed to revoke the requirement that HQ Ground Forces inspect ground units in staging areas. The time spent at a staging area was also reduced to a maximum of two weeks. This did not fully eliminate inspections of units at the staging areas, which led to ongoing complaints regarding unwarranted inspections and delays. The AGF recommended on November 30, 1943 that units earmarked for shipment to Great Britain be relieved of inspection and shortage reports except for such articles of equipment as they were supposed to take with them in the interest of saving time and effort. The staging areas were to be used by unit commanders to ensure their men were able to travel. Issues such as physical qualification for overseas service, dental treatment, eyeglasses, missing or incomplete identification tags, and incomplete immunizations were all to be addressed. They were to have all weapons qualifications finalized. As part of the POM, unit equipment had to be deemed serviceable combat and certified combat ready. Subsequent to changes in the POM in the fall of 1943, divisions began to be alerted in accordance with preset agreed upon dates. The command element of the NYPE would take care of issuing alert instructions letters, status reports, movement orders, and issuing directives for transfer of equipment. If the POM were to be looked at as a simplified process, and a unit were to depart in the first week of January, the following steps would be expected as an example:

  October 15: The unit is alerted by telegram; dates for Infantry regiments and VQ (provisional headquarters detachment):- personnel, 13 November: equipment, 28 October. Dates for other elements to arrive to come at later date.

  October 17: The dates for infantry regiments and VQ changed personnel, 12 November, equipment, no change.

  October 18: WD movement order received.

  October 19: Received port call for infantry regiments and provisional headquarters detachment Camp Kilmer, NJ, 15-17 November.

  October 23: Readiness dates as follows for division less infantry regiments and provisional headquarters detachment: personnel, 25 November: equipment, 15 November.

  October 25: Port call for infantry regiments and VQ cancelled. October 27: Notice received that new dates would probably be forthcoming by 15 November, spare parts of division directed to stop packing but ordered not to unpack, infantry regiments and VQ 95% complete on packing, none of the balance of division complete; boxes all completed.

  November 3: Division directed to unpack minimum of equipment necessary to carry on training.

  November 16:

  November 21: 10 December~ advance detachment, 10 December. New York announced as port.

  VQ deleted and new readiness given division: personnel, 24 December: equipment,

  November 25: Port call received for Camp Kilmer, NJ as follows: Advance Detachment, 21 December: Unit, 26 December - 2 January: equipment to arrive no later than 29 December. AGF took a poll of lower commands in August 1944, to solicit comments on POM procedures. They received an almost universal complaint concerning the mass and complexity of current instructions. One observation indicated "The sources of instruction available to a unit, for preparation for overseas movement are so numerous and involved that it is difficult for the unit commander to keep abreast of all requirements.” Another frequent complaint throughout the war was that there was often an overabundance of inspections, excess of reports, and multiplicity and redundancy of instructions. Inspections often happened by officers representing various levels of command with differing standards and methods of inspection. This complaint follows suit with the 1944 poll. This is the process that the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion went through between October and December 1943. Portions of the process began to happen at Camp Forrest and continued through their time at Camp Kilmer. Several pictures of the Camp are in the pages that follow (Figures 104-109).

  Upon arriving at Camp Kilmer as their staging area, the Rangers did their final preparations before departing for Europe. Troops sent personal effects home, received medical injections and the needed supplies before deployment. The men of the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion found it odd that they would march in full field equipment onto wooden platforms only to pretend to load train cars. This was supposed to assist them in their final Stateside train ride to the NYPE. The Rangers would take a train from Camp Kilmer to a New Jersey ferry terminal at the NYPE.

  Figure 104: US Army Photograph of Camp Kilmer, NJ

  Figure 105: US Army Photograph of Camp Kilmer

  Figure 106: Postcard of Camp Kilmer: Public Domain

  Figure 107: US Army Photograph of Camp Kilmer Gate 1

  Figure 108: US Army Photograph of Camp Kilmer Headquarters

  Figure 109: Camp Kilmer postcard showing Usual Camp Duty: Public Domain Units might travel to the port in one of two ways, either by travelling from Camp Kilmer, New Jersey by train on the Pennsylvania Mainline to a ferry terminal at Hoboken that that took them to the New York Port of Embarkation, or soldiers would move out in a motorized convoy from Camp Kilmer through the Lincoln Tunnel to Pier 72 at 42nd Street and 12th Avenue in New York City. They would then be herded like cattle onto the waiting troop transport ship They would carry the weight of their 100 pound duffel bags, packs with bed rolls, rifles and steel helmets with them as they moved. The Rangers used the ferry to cross the Hudson River.

  Figure 110: 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion, B Company, Morning Reports, January 7-8, 1944. Above is the B Company Morning Report showing that the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion left Camp Kilmer, New Jersey on 7 JAN 44 at 1645 hrs (4:30 p.m.) by rail and arrived at the New York Port of Embarkation at 1900 hours (7:00 p.m.).

  9 NEW YORK PORT OF EMBARKATION – THE VOYAGE FOR ENGLAND

  In order to fill one of the luxury ocean liners that had been converted for use as troop transports such as the HMS Queen Mary, HMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Mauritania, SS Normandie or others, the military had to enlist as many as 21 troop trains. Ships like the Queen Mary could manage to transport 13,000 troops at a time comprising an entire infantry division. These troop trains could be comprised of as many as 200 coaches and 40 baggage cars. Camp Kilmer, located near Edison NJ, was the largest embarkation staging post in the United States, and processed more than 2.5 million troops for the European Theatre during World War II.1

  Figure 111: U.S. Army Signal Corps photo: Camp Kilmer, rail yard. (Courtesy of Dan Cupper, Railroad Historian) Its rail terminal had a capacity of fifteen 20-car troop trains, with track leading to the rights-of-way of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad (Figure 111). Back in World War II, soldiers were notified that they were on "Alert" status within twelve hours of shipping out. At that point, they would remove their division sleeve patches and other distinguishable insignia. Their helmets were then chalked with a letter and number that indicated their marching order from camp to train to port. This would establish their seating and efficient movement along with their fellow troops (Figure 112).

  Figure 112: Troops preparing for overseas movement. (Wardlow; Center of Military History) The 5th Rang
er Infantry Battalion departed from Camp Kilmer on January 7, 1944 at 1645 hours en route to the NYPE. They travelled 40 miles by rail on a troop train initially along the PRR mainline to the New York City area, ultimately arriving at the Weehawken Ferry Terminal, New Jersey. I researched this using unit records and through interviewing Major General John C. Raaen, Jr, where we figured this out together. They arrived at the NYPE at 1900. They then boarded their transport ship, the HMS Mauretania, at 1915 hours. I am personally fascinated with the logistics and planning required for movements of people and equipment. I really took time to look into the ways in which the units moved across the globe, which is something that most sources regarding World War II units don’t seem to cover in any great detail.

  If you statistically combine the military staging capacity of Camp Kilmer, New Jersey with that of Fort Hamilton, New York and Camp Shanks, New York, the result is the largest staging area in the world. According to research as to the rail system in the 1940’s, there would have been several possibilities as to how soldiers in general made their journey by rail from Camp Kilmer to the New York Port of Embarkation (NYPE). These options included:

  The troop train might take a unit to Penn Station, NYC, where they then would have marched or trucked to the Piers, a walking distance of about two miles.

  That the troop train used the ferry terminal at Weehawken, New Jersey after pulling in to station across the Hudson from NYPE.

  Troops might march to the Piermont Pier where early in the war ferries were used to transfer men to Manhattan. Later in the war, the War Department commandeered the pier and used its mile long length as a deep water port to load troops directly onto transport ships.2