impact on the plan for ATB at the Solomons was the proximity of the Patuxent Naval Air Station, which was being built across the river at Cedar Point. Overall, the presence of the NAS PAX was considered an added benefit for its potential for jointtraining exercises. The US Naval Amphibious Training Base, Solomons, Maryland, was established on 3 July 1942. The first commanding officer of the base was Capt. Louis P. Wenzell; he was succeeded by three other commanders (C. Camp, R. Barrett, and R. Cooke) before the base was deactivated on 1 April 1945. It was envisaged as a quick, cheap, and temporary facility for 400 officers and 3,500 enlisted men; its temporary status dictated its design and construction and permeated the character of the place. Longterm plans for the base were viewed as a
waste of resources. Officers were housed together, the men ate in a single general mess, and limited administration and training facilities were built, thus creating a somewhat dismal experience for the majority of the men who trained there. Bed shortages resulted from the sheer quantity of trainees, as the demand for amphibious troops mushroomed as the war progressed. To meet the February 1943 deadline, 4,000 men would need to be trained at a time. While the base was being built, trainees were housed on transports Harry Lee, Edward Rutledge, Joseph Hewes, Leonard Wood, and Joseph T. Dickman. Groups of 100 officers and 1,100 enlisted men entered the program every two weeks and finished in eight. Fresh out of boot camp, 3,300 enlisted men went to Solomons on 6 July 1942, with the remaining 1,100 going to
Little Creek, so that training could be completed by 25 August. The eight-week program was as follows: the first two weeks were devoted to basic boat-handling skills and practicing bringing small boats alongside the large transports for simulated loading. Group instruction was conducted aboard the ships for the third week. Boat maneuvers were practiced during the fourth and fifth weeks, and, finally, surf landings were drilled at Lynhaven Roads, Virginia Beach, during the seventh and eight weeks. On 4 September, the transport vessels Samuel Chase and Leonard Wood delivered their trainees to the Solomons. After this point, trainees traveled from Norfolk to Solomons ATB in a near fifty-year-old Chesapeake Bay excursion boat—the Lillian Anne. As many as 1,000 men per week were shuttled to the base aboard this aging, dilapidated vessel. Production rates of ships and equipment outstripped the development of training. In the fall of 1942, when the first landing craft arrived at the Solomons, the training program had yet to be developed. Crews were taken out on the bay and given a quick tutorial as to how the ships worked and then watched the skipper practice handling the vessel. Historian Merle Cole wrote that “Poor facilities, overcrowding, lack of organization, and heavy personnel turnover created an incredibly chaotic environment.”1 Due to the classified nature of the program, the men assigned to train at the ATB were kept in the dark about what awaited them at the Solomons until they arrived. Many trainees viewed amphibious operations as extremely risky compared to more traditional naval roles. Moreover, naval leadership viewed a transfer to amphibious operations as punitive. Senior officers passed over for promotion were often sent to amphibious operations, resulting in poor organization and lackluster morale. As a cost-saving measure at a temporary base, facilities that would normally improve the quality of life for personnel— Troops climb down Jacob’s ladders to an idling Higgins boat, packing themselves around a 2 1/2 -ton truck. 1
Merle T. Cole, Cradle of Invasion. Calvert Marine Museum Press, 1984.
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SEA HISTORY 166, SPRING 2019