October 8, 2011

Construction of the World War II training installation Camp Chaffee (later Fort Chaffee) in Sebastian County began in September 1941. The purpose of the camp, beginning with the arrival of the first soldiers on December 7, 1941, was to train soldiers for combat and deployment overseas. A less recognized use of the camp was the imprisonment of some 3,000 German prisoners of war (POWs) from 1942 to 1946. One such POW is shown here working in the camp kitchen in 1943.