Camp Forrest, located near Tullahoma, Tennessee, was one of the Army's largest training bases during World War II. It was an active Army post between 1941 and 1946. Tullahoma is a city located in Coffee County, Tennessee, in the south-central part of the state. ...

The camp, named after Civil War Cavalry Confedrate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, was originally named Camp Peay. Camp Peay was named after the Tennessee Governor Austin Peay and built east of Tullahoma as a National Guard Camp in 1926. Camp Peay covered 1,040 acres. Camp Forrest covered 85,000 acres located just beyond the old Camp Peay. Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821 – October 29, 1877), was a Confederate general and perhaps the American Civil Wars most highly regarded cavalry and partisan ranger (guerrilla leader). ... This article is about the university in Clarksville, Tennessee named for former governor of Tennessee Austin Peay. ...

The camp was a training area for infantry, artillery, engineer, and signal organizations. It also served as a hospital center and temporary encampment area for troops during maneuvers. Maj. Gen. George Patton brought his 2nd Armored Division from Fort Benning, Georgia for maneuvers. General George Smith Patton Jr. ... Shoulder sleeve patch of the United States Army 2nd Armored Division, Hell on Wheels. ... Fort Benning is a military base facility of the United States military southwest of Columbus, Georgia. ...

William Northern Field, an air training base, was an addition used as a training site for crews of four-engined B-24 bombers of the Army Air Forces. Royal Canadian Air Force B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was produced in greater numbers than any other American combat aircraft, and was used by most of the Allied air forces in World War II. Designed as a heavy bomber, it served with distinction not only in that...

Incoming troops had the normal amenities such as service clubs, guest houses, library, post exchanges, post office, hospital, religious services, theaters, showers, Red Cross, and Army Emergency Relief facilities. Recreation facilities include swimming, archery, tennis, a sports arena and a nine-hole golf course.

Camp Forrest officially became a prisoner of war camp May 12, 1942. The camp housed Italian and German POWs. Prisoners became laborers at Camp Forrest in the hospitals and on farms in the local community.

In 1945 the U.S. government implemented an Intellectual Diversion Program to educate Germans on the American way of life. This program used educational and recreational media to change views of POWs, and the government claimed success with many prisoners.

Tullahoma was greatly affected by the installation of Camp Forrest. Because of maneuvers and operations, civilians had to adjust to blocked roads, traffic jams, crowded stores, the absence of mail delivery and driving at night without lights. Soldiers camped out on lawns and fields; many crops and fences were destroyed.

In 1940 the population in Tullahoma was 4,500. By the end of the war, the population had grown to 75,000. Many military people who moved in for construction and operation of the camp remained after the war.

In 1946 the war was over and Camp Forrest and Northern Field were declared surplus property. Buildings were sold at auction, torn down and carted away. Water and sewage systems and electrical systems were sold as salvage. All that remained were roads, brick chimneys and concrete foundations.

Soon after the close of the camp, the area was selected for the site of the Air Force's new Air Engineering Development Center. In 1951 the center was dedicated by President Truman and renamed the Arnold Engineering Development Center in honor of General of the Air Force Henry H. "Hap" Arnold. General Arnold was World War II Commander of the Army Air Corps and the only Air Force officer to hold 5-star rank. Arnold Engineering Development Center Arnold Engineering Development Center is the most advanced and largest complex of flight simulation test facilities in the world. ...

This article incorporates text from http://www.arnold.af.mil/aedc/factsheets/forrest/campforrest.htm, a public domain work of the United States Government. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... A work of the United States Government is, as defined by United States copyright law, a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that persons official duties. ...