On July 7, 1921, the first Washington state Citizen’s Military Training Camp opens at Camp Lewis near Tacoma. The camp will conduct annual one-month summer camps through 1940. These camps offer military training combined with sports to young men aged 17 to 24. The purpose of the camps is to improve citizenship, and attendance can lead to a reserve commission for students who attend four courses and pass an examination. Approximately 13,000 will attend the program at Camp Lewis, Vancouver Barracks, Fort Worden, and Fort George Wright. However, only a few attendees will earn an officer’s commission.
For Young Men
The Citizens Military Training Camps program provided young men military and social-leadership training without imposing a military obligation. The month-long summer camps were held at military bases across the nation. Males ranging in age from 17 to 24 could attend for up to four summers. The first year was termed the Basic course, followed in ensuing years by segments named White, Red, and Blue. Those who completed all four courses could take an examination for a reserve commission.
The program had broad social goals in addition to military training. It was intended to foster social unity and to teach the privileges, duties, and responsibilities of American citizenship. Each applicant had to submit three letters of recommendation from ministers, teachers, or community leaders that attested to their good moral character. The courses also were designed to teach self-discipline and obedience, and sports and fitness were a dominant emphasis.
The program and goals derived from the earlier Plattsburgh Movement, a volunteer training program in Plattsburgh, New York, that trained young men for possible army commissions. The Plattsburgh camps trained thousands during the summers of 1915 and 1916, some of whom would serve as officers in World War I. Following that war there were calls for universal military training, but strong opposition derailed the effort. The 1920 National Defense Act included the Citizen’s Military Training Camp as a compromise that would expose willing young men to military training and moral development.
Camp Lewis Leads the Way in Washington
The first camp in Washington started on July 7, 1921, when 135 young men learned how to line up as platoons in front of their barracks at Camp Lewis (now part of Joint Base Lewis-McChord). They started out in civilian clothes, but were soon marched to a warehouse to receive khaki uniforms supplied by the army, which also provided travel expenses, good food, and medical care. The camp training cadre comprised active duty officers and non-commissioned officers chosen for their experience in handling new trainees. By 1924 enrollment at Camp Lewis was up to 600.
Students in their first week learned how to march, do close-order drills, and follow orders. Every afternoon was devoted to mandatory sports, and calisthenics was a regular activity. During the ensuing month, students learned more advanced drills, fired their rifles on the range, learned how to live in the field, and engaged in a sham battle. During their off-duty hours they could relax or play games in the large recreation center in their compound and attend the camp theater. The army supplied chaplains to care for the moral and religious side of student’s life at camp.
The camp had awards and honors for those who did well. One reward for those who excelled was the opportunity to be an observer on an airplane flight (at a time when very few had ever been in a plane). The very best students on the shooting range could compete on a rifle team at the national rifle matches at Camp Perry, Ohio. In 1922, Loyal T. R. Snyder (1905-1966), who later became a lawyer in Seattle, had the highest Camp Lewis score and went to Camp Perry to compete. Ralph E. Dever (1905-1987) of Aberdeen had the second highest score and also joined the four-man team. Dever would complete the final Blue Course, be commissioned as a lieutenant, and go on to serve in the Washington National Guard. He competed several times on the National Guard rifle team at the Camp Perry matches. Following World War II Dever was state Veterans of Foreign Wars commander and the first man elected president of the Washington League of Nursing.
Life at the Camp
During the second and third years' Red and White courses, those interested in infantry learned more advanced infantry techniques. Those who selected other areas, such as field artillery, engineering, or signal, were given advanced instruction in those specialties. In 1926, when infantry courses opened at Vancouver Barracks and Fort George Wright in Spokane, Camp Lewis became a field-artillery program. This narrowed scope reduced attendance from more than 600 students to 150. In the final "Blue" course students learned what it meant to be an officer and the duties and responsibilities of leadership.
During their off-duty hours the young men could relax or play games in the large recreation center in their compound and they could attend the camp theater.
Awards and Honors
Students who demonstrated leadership were recognized by being named cadet officers. They wore arm brassards as majors, captains, and lieutenants. During the 1922 camp, Charles H. Muir Jr. (1904-1984), son of the Camp Lewis commanding general, earned the captain’s brassard for the course’s highest proficiency. The next year Muir again earned the highest score. He completed the fourth course in Richmond, Virginia, and earned a commission. He later served in World War II.
An awards ceremony was held at the end of each camp. A very coveted prize was a baseball and a bat autographed by Babe Ruth (1895-1948), given to the camp's outstanding soldier-athlete. Daniel E. Dugdale (1864-1934), a former major-league player and Seattle baseball pioneer, made the presentation. A number of other sports awards were presented as well. In 1924 Guy L. Meister (1906-1987), a track star at Seattle’s Roosevelt High School, won in several track and boxing categories. Meister went on to Whitman College, played football, graduated from the University of Washington with a law degree, and became an attorney in Seattle. Awards were also presented for rifle marksmanship and the overall "most soldierly" student, and there was an essay contest with the topic "What the C.M.T.C. Means to Me."
Camp Noble
In 1928 the Citizen's Military Training Camp barracks at Camp Lewis were demolished to make room for permanent construction, so the program was moved to nearby Camp Murray, a National Guard facility. This camp was named Camp Noble to honor Elmer J. "Cy" Noble (1895-1918) of the 91st Division, a University of Washington football star from Centralia. Noble was killed on September 26, 1918, while leading his troops through enemy barbed wire and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously. Camp Noble had tent housing, but the mess halls and latrines were in permanent buildings.
Camp enrollment was reduced from 1932 to 1934 as Fort Lewis had to supply officers to the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps. To solve the training cadre shortage, the Citizens Military Training Camp was merged with the Reserve Officer Training Corps and Officer Reserve Corps. The Camp Noble courses continued at a reduced size until 1940, when they were canceled due to a poliomyelitis outbreak. The entire C.M.T.C. program ended later that same year due to national mobilization.
Camp Hurlburt at Vancouver Barracks
In 1926 Camp Hurlburt, on the north edge of Vancouver Barracks in Clark County, was established for students from Western Washington and Northern Oregon. The camp was named to honor First Lieutenant Ralph "Spec" Hurlburt (1888-1918) of Vancouver. Lieutenant Hurlburt, serving with the 91st Division (known as the "Wild West Division") in World War I, had been killed in action in France in September 1918.
Camp Hurlburt, which was nestled in fir trees, had tent housing and concrete block buildings for mess halls and latrines. This camp provided infantry training and had 460 students its first year. It quickly became the largest Citizens Military Training Camp on the West Coast, with over 600 students attending each year. The peak was 1940 when 700 attended.
At Camp Hurlburt, students learned how to march and do close order drill, became proficient with infantry weapons, and engaged in practice battles. In conformity with camp policy, the afternoons were filled with sports activities that included baseball, handball, volley ball, tennis, golf, and boxing. One week of the program was spent on rifle qualification at nearby Camp Bonneville, where the young men were coached by active duty soldiers. Outstanding shooters were selected for the national rifle competition. Students in the 1939 camp had the exciting opportunity to fire the new M1 Garand rifle. The best shot in that class, Hjalmer J. Erickson, Jr. (1922-1988), would go on to be a top shooter in the army. During World War II Erickson fought in the Pacific and received three Purple Hearts. He later served in the Korean War and retired in 1984 as a lieutenant colonel.
The cities of Vancouver and Portland welcomed Camp Hurlburt, which had a positive economic impact on the region and was viewed as an example of good citizenship at work. Young women from the two cities happily attended the annual Citizens Military Training Camp dance held in the Vancouver Barracks gymnasium. They were bused to the dance, and it was one of the big social events of the year.
The Camp Hurlburt program was especially fortunate to have outstanding commanders. During 1936-1938, Brigadier General George C. Marshall (1880-1959) commanded Vancouver Barracks and the student camp. Marshall would go on to become General of the Army and a key organizer of victory in World War II. In the post-war years he organized peace -- the Marshall Plan made possible the recovery of Europe. For his contribution Marshall received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.
In addition to the programs at Camp Vancouver and Vancouver Barracks, in 1926 small Citizens Military Training Camp camps opened at Fort Worden for coast artillery training and at Fort George Wright near Spokane for infantry students from Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. The Fort Worden program attracted 35-40 students per year, and Fort Wright had about 150 students per summer.
The Legacy
Citizens Military Training Camps camps in Washington trained about 13,000 young men. Of that total, approximately 150 completed the Blue Course, took the examination, and obtained commissions as second lieutenants. On the national level about 400,000 attended camps and 4,000 earned commissions. Many attended one or two years and then joined the National Guard or Army Reserve. The National Guard, Organized Reserve Corps, and Army Reserve did much better at developing an officer corps.
With respect to its civic goals, it is difficult to evaluate Citizen's Military Training Camp's role in making better citizens. General of the Army John J. Pershing (1860-1948) argued that the camps taught self-control and that the students acquired leadership abilities. Many of its graduates did go on to successful careers in the civilian sector. Probably the most famous graduate who received a commission was Ronald Reagan (1911-2004), who attended courses at Fort Des Moines, Iowa.
