Centreville museum honors 63rd, 99th infantries

Enterprise-Journal ^ | Dedication set for March 19 | Karen Freeman

[Calpernia]

CENTREVILLE — Technical Sgt. Willie F. Overfelt never lived to walk on U.S. soil after April 7, 1945. The young World War II soldier, a member of the Army’s 63rd Infantry Division, died in battle in Germany that day.

Now, nearly 60 years after his death, visitors to the Camp Van Dorn Museum of Centreville will see Overfelt’s name engraved on a memorial plaque — along with his battle helmet, which was found by a German soldier and returned.

Sgt. Overfelt, along with the tens of thousands of fellow soldiers from the “Blood and Fire” 63rd Infantry and the 99th “Checkerboard” Infantry, are memorialized in the museum.

The Van Dorn Museum, located in a strikingly renovated former bank building on Centreville’s tiny Main Street, will officially open its doors with a dedication and fanfare at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 19.

Expected to be on the program are surviving members of the 99th and 63rd Divisions — both of which were housed and trained at Camp Van Dorn; Dr. Ken P’Pool, director of restoration from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History; Dr. Dick Field, Centreville Mayor Bunny Owen, Mildred Field, Ernesto Caldera of the Wilkinson County Museum Committee, a color guard and members of the Southwest Mississippi Community College band.

Mildred Field, one of the museum’s primary proponents, is just happy to see the fruition of a lot of hard work by many people.

“We started really working on it around 1999,” said Field, who hopes the efforts of many town residents, veterans and their families and historians will be something Centreville can be proud of. “Now, we just need to keep it going. That will be the hard part.”

Camp Van Dorn, an Army training camp, was located just outside Centreville. The mass of coal-heated tarpaper barracks and other Army buildings went up in a matter of months and was still under construction when members of the 99th Infantry Division moved into it in December 1942.

Named for Port Gibson-born Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn, a veteran of the Mexican War and a Confederate leader, Camp Van Dorn brought World War II right home to Centreville, a town of 1,800 then, and to southwest Mississippi in general.

The training camp boosted the area economy in untold ways. It’s camp population during war years was between 40,000 and 60,000, including military personnel and families who followed the enlisted men.

When the men of the 99th Division arrived in Mississippi, Camp Van Dorn was little more than a shanty town, laid out atop a sea of mud. The men worked in harsh conditions to dig ditches, paint signs, build sidewalks and more to get the camp ready for training, which began on Jan. 4, 1943.

The 99th left eventually arrived in Le Harve, France on Nov. 3, 1944. Among their most valiant efforts was participation in the Battle of the Bulge. Their Van Dorn training helped reverse the German breakthrough. The men — many really just kids — earned the name “Battle Babies.”

The other major division at Camp Van Dorn, the 63rd Infantry, also distinguished itself in the war. The small group of soldiers opened what was known as the Siegfried Line, which gave U.S. troops access to Germany. The 63rd was charged with cracking open the west wall and lining up with Gen. George Patton’s Third Army — a mission successfully completed in five days.

Camp Van Dorn has long since been dismantled, but memories haven’t died.

Nearly every family in Centreville rented rooms, as did Gloster, Liberty, McComb, Natchez — even Louisiana.

Some of the young men, like Vincent McFarland, even found the loves of their lives while training at Camp Van Dorn.

McFarland’s widow, Edna, who has volunteered countless hours for the museum’s restoration, remembers the first time she laid eyes on Vincent.

“I was working in a cafe in Gloster when he came in. He was so tall. ... He had a date with another waitress, but he came back the next day and asked to walk me home ... and that was it,” Edna said.

Emma Zell Knighton, a lifelong Centreville resident and widow of Hollis Knighton, well remembers the hustle and bustle of the town that was inundated with young soldiers.

Knighton’s father-in-law was town marshall in Centreville during the war, so her family was very involved in the war effort.

“The Army camp was right behind my house,” she said. “We made friends with them, and they were guests in our home.”

Movie theaters and dance halls throughout the region were crammed with soldiers and young women, and it wasn’t unusual for celebrities, such as Bob Hope, to drop by to entertain the troops.

n n n

The Camp Van Dorn Museum gives visitors a feel of what it meant to be involved in the war effort.

On the walls are photographs of camp buildings, troops and Centreville during war time. A diorama, created by Merlin Baker and placed in an exhibit by Ginny Trask Randall, both of Centreville, greets visitors when they enter.

Behind protective glass, a hotel register from The Centreville House, which served as a hotel (it burned last year), is open to June 1944. Also on display are are war ration books, match books, uniforms, patches, some weaponry, plaques, news clippings, history books, Army cots, trunks, postcards, letters, proclamations, knives, mess hall utensils — even a rusted, unopened tin of crackers.

Field said the museum is a way to show future generations the crucial role that Centreville and Camp Van Dorn played in the war. And she said it’s a testament to the hard work of local citizens that the museum is opening.

A core group of people have been working on the museum for several years, meeting every Tuesday. Among them are Field, Sandra Freeman, Randall, Knighton, Lorene Reid and Bobbye Bell. In addition, Billie Knight began the arduous archiving process, and volunteer Vickie Netterville is a troubleshooter of sorts and is in charge of public relations.

Funding for the renovation of the old Marsalis Building came from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. The museum received a $450,000 grant, 20 percent of which had to be matched locally. Owen Holland & Sons worked on the restoration.

Centreville is in financial straits. Businesses have closed their doors, and industries — like Carter’s and Georgia-Pacific — have left the area. Field Memorial Community Hospital remains the town’s lifeblood.

“I wish we’d started this (museum) 20 years ago,” Field said. “I think it would have been the nucleus of something good for our town.”

Field believes it’s quite an accomplishment for a rural area like Wilkinson County to have three museums. Along with the Camp Van Dorn facility, Woodville is home to the Woodville Museum and an African American Museum.

But it will take money to keep the museums open.

Field said there are no plans to charge an entry fee to the Van Dorn museum, but the facility has to have money to operate.

“We’ve had some nice donations. People have been generous, but it takes so much money to keep it open,” Field said.

All museum items have been donated, and Field said the group can always use more Camp Van Dorn-related pieces. They welcome donated items and, most especially, monetary gifts.

Randall said the museum is something the town can be proud of, and it’s a way to show appreciation for the great sacrifices men and women made in World War II.

“We need to remember these men,” Randall said. “They never tooted their own horn. If you asked them about something or commended them about something that happened, they just said, ‘We were just doing our jobs.’ ”

[Calpernia]

Thank you WKB for the freepmail!

PING.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[politicket]

Thank you for posting this.

My Uncle was a "Battle Baby" from the 99th Infantry Division. He was killed in action in March 1945 one day after crossing the Remagen bridge into Germany.

[Calpernia]

What did Battle Baby mean?

[Calpernia]

[politicket]

Thank you. That means a lot to me.

[Calpernia]

What does Battle Baby mean though?

[politicket]

I was sitting here thinking that a "personalized" story of one of the men in the 99th might be neat for folks to read, so here's one story:

My mother’s family had a farm in Trenton, Nebraska prior to WWII. After the war broke out one of my mother’s brothers (Clyde) went to Southern California to work in a factory making bomb sights.

One day, Clyde received word that his father was suffering from an acute case of appendicitis and needed to have an operation. Clyde immediately quit his job and returned to Nebraska, using the money that he had earned to pay for the operation. Clyde then decided to volunteer for the U.S. Army.

Clyde did his basic training at Camp Van Dorn in Mississippi and down at Camp Maxey, Texas. He was with the 99th Infantry Division, 394 Regiment, Company I (the ‘CheckerBoarders’). These guys were also known as the ‘Battle Babies’. My uncle left basic training with the rank of Sgt.

Upon finishing basic training these men were sent oversees and congregated at Le Havre, France. They were then sent out to get their feet wet in battle and were placed along a location known as the Elsenborn Ridge. Everything was reported “all quiet” until all hell broke loose. History has recorded this as the Battle of the Bulge.

Eventually, the Allies worked their way to the Rhine and the 99th crossed at Remagen on March 11, 1945. It was a few short days after this that my uncle was killed in action via a bazooka shot from a German soldier. He was 19 years old.

Not long after Clyde joined the Army my mother’s family moved from Nebraska to Southern California. When the telegram came from the military, it was my mother (a teenager) who answered the door.

[Calpernia]

I really appreciated that personal account!

Thank you!

God Bless You and Yours!

[politicket]

"Battle Baby" is a term that was used in World War II. The Allies had taken a large hit with many men dying and wounded. The 99th Infantry was basically "thrown together" in order to get bodies over to Belgium. These boys were EXTREMELY green and had never been battle tested. That is why they were called the "Battle Babies".

The 99th Infantry Division was put along the Elsonborn Ridge in Belgium so that they could be in a somewhat "quiet" place to get used to battle. Little did everyone know that Germany had a plan to make a "last ditch" effort at breaking through the Allied lines. Germany chose to do this by gathering together the strongest panzer divisions that they had left and attacking the greenest allied troops - the 99th being a significant part of the Southern line. The "green" troops held the line and kept the Germans from advancing through. This battle became the infamous "Battle of the Bulge".

Later on the 99th advanced to a bridgehead at a small town in Belgium by the name of Remagen. The Germans had gone up and down the Rhine river destroying every bridge in order to keep the allies from easily entering Germany. The bridge at Remagen had charges set, but they didn't explode. The Germans sent one of their soldiers down to the bridge in order to manually detonate the explosives. After the dust cleared they saw that the bridge was severely damaged, but STILL STANDING! The Allies found the bridge and began sending troops across en masse. This bridge had gaping holes in it large enough to drop a jeep through and the Allied soldiers were receiving massive gunfire from the German side (which was very hilly and had a lot of spots to fire from). The 99th was the first to have their entire division across the bridge. They then began slowly advancing into Germany. It was at this time that my uncle was killed (March 1945). Later in the month Germany surrendered.

[Calpernia]

THAT info actual just meant a lot.

[politicket]

I'm glad to offer the "color commentary" :-)

[Calpernia]

ping to the thought on 'green bird'

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1358207/posts?page=11#11

[Cindy]

Things are still busy in Germany.
Green can cover a lot of territory and a
lot of terms.

Thanks for the ping Calpernia.

[windchime]

Bump!

[Calpernia]

>>>Green can cover a lot of territory and a
lot of terms.

Absolutely!

Which is why I just 'share' what catches my eye.

[WKB]

No Problem glad I could help bump.

[JLO]

Bump!