70
th
Anniversary Edition
This month is the 70th anniversary of The Globe. In celebration, this edition features a special cover with archive articles that highlight Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in the 1940s.
vol. 76
no. 5
Jacksonville, n.c., Thursday, February 13, 2014 Published: August 22, 1945
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Salute to Victory
Camp Lejeune Welcomes Peace News Peace came to Camp Lejeune on Aug. 14, 1945. Peace came in the form of glad tidings which President Harry S. Truman announced to America and the world. Huddled around radios from barracks to recreation rooms, from tents to trucks and barracks, Marines heard the President announce the “Imperial Japanese Government has accepted the surrender term unconditionally.” It was a strange sight, one which the men and women at this base will long remember. There were no scenes of abandon hilarity. There were no ‘drunken sprees.” There was a great relief — but greatest of all, was the happiness which shone from the eyes of many thousands
of men and women and from the smile which turned their lips. MEN BREAK DOWN Strong men, men who had fought through the jungles of Guadalcanal, the mud and grime of Bougainville, the sand and hell of Iwo Jima and Tarawa, the rugged terrain of Peleliu, Saipan, Guam and many other death clashes, wept with joy. There were prayers of thankfulness, some uttered in churches, some at the old familiar “sacks” and some uttered out loud. Because the news had been anticipated and was not surprising, celebrations reached no great proportions, but continuous cheering and hooting rang
through the camp theaters, long lines in front of the PXs and in the barracks. The nearest thing to camp-wide celebration occurred in the Women Marine area where the WR band, upon immediate receipt of the good word, fell out in formation and started a victory parade. Hundreds poured from the barracks to rally around the band which led the way with snake dances and cheering. TENT CAMP From Tent Camp, where many men were just resting after a hard day of combat training, came the report that those had been expecting to participate in any continued combat had staged no untoward celebration. They, too, accepted the news calmly and happily.
April 5, 1944
Major General Larsen Detached from Lejeune
Major General Henry L. Larsen, USMC., Camp Commanding General, has been detached from a 10-month tour of duty here for duty elsewhere. His successor has not been named. Under his leadership, Camp Lejeune has developed into one of the largest all-purpose military establishments in the country. Here the Naval medical officer, corpsman, Seabee, Coastguardman and Marine, learn the value of team-play which is an important factor in successful amphibious operations. Maj. Gen. Larsen, 52, then a brigadier-general, came here last June and replaced Brig-Gen. James L. Undershill as commanding general. At the outbreak of this war, Gen. Larsen was in command of the first important convoy to leave for the South Pacific. He left the States early in January, 1942, with the Second Marine Brigade Reinforced and en route he was designated military governor of American Samoa by President Roosevelt. He held the governorship until he returned to the United States.
One of the most sports-minded generals in the Marine Corps, and a firm believer in rigorous combat conditioning for his own, Maj. Gen. Larsen sponsored a comprehensive athletic program which included a football team of many starts, majority of whom are now serving in combat areas. Inaccessibility of the camp, situated in 200 square miles of scrubby pines and dunes, made development of a good sound sports and recreation program imperative, and now athletics are an important part of the every day life of all service personnel at this base—men and women. Maj. Gen. Larsen’s military career began in 1913, when he was commissioned a lieutenant as the number one man in a class of 76 picked candidates. He subsequently served in the West Indies, at seas, and with the first combatant troops to land in France during World War I. He was executive officer and later commanding officer of the Third Battalion, Second Division, which participated in all engagements of the Marine Brigade in France. The Division was commanded by the late Maj. Gen. John Archer Lejeune, for whom this base was named.
Montford Point, Courthouse Bay, Stone Bay, Rifle Range, and in fact all sections of this huge base, took the news calmly and happily. Camp Commanding Gen. John Marston permitted the Marines to enjoy half holidays on Wednesday and Thursday. And, even on these two days there was no great exodus of men from Lejeune, most personnel preferring to rest comfortably in barracks, at the beach or at other amusement centers. Peace came to Lejeune and the men and women accepted the news calmly, gratefully, and joyfully—just as well trained and disciplined troops always accept the good and bad fortunes of war.
In This Issue
War Dogs train at Camp Lejeune............2A
The Globe through the years.................7A
FROM TO
“GRAB LIFE BY THE HORNS”
DODGE HAS BEEN THERE MILE AFTER MILE
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