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Camp Croft, South Carolina
US Army Infantry Replacement Training Center

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"Troop Train"
IRTC Certificate
Norman Gautreau Watercolor (40th Battalion)
Laughs Inc.
Croft Kid's Page
Cemeteries within the Camp Croft Reservation
Targets Up! - A Soldiers Short Comedy Sketch
Ollie Drab - by Peter Paul Czerepak
  Souvenirs of Camp Croft

News - Recap of 2007 Panel Discussion




"Troop Train"

Troop Train Article Troop Train Still

This 1943 US Office of War Information short movie was partially filmed at Camp Croft.  You can download the 13 min MPEG version here and play it using Quicktime or visit the Internet Archives website  for other download and viewing options. The Croft sections begins at  the movie's midpoint when band music, by the 2nd IRTC Band at the camp, is heard.  There is a brief look at the camp area in the background and a nice shot  of men from Company B 40th ITB marching by the camera.

Right click here and select "save target as" to download the 29MB MPEG4 file
or
 
Click here to visit the Troop Train page at the archives

If you don't already have the QuickTime plug-in (a "plug-in" is a piece of software), you can download it, free of charge, from Apple Computer. It takes just a few minutes to download it onto your hard disk and install it. From then on, it will open automatically whenever you access QuickTime movies or QuickTime VRs (often shown as "QTVR"), wherever you are on the Web. QuickTime software is available for Windows OS and for Macintosh OS.

 

IRTC Certificate

IRTC Training Certificate
Are you looking to replace an original Camp Croft certificate of training?  Are you a reenactor trying to complete your impression with reproduction paperwork?  Or do you just want a novel way of showing your interest in Croft?  In any case, here is a great reproduction of just such a certificate from the Brian Mead's
Hardscrabble Farm website.  He has collected a wealth of research for World War II reenactors and generously shares it.  Whether you want to relive a part of your own past or better understand the experiences of the common soldier, this site is worth a visit.

The originals were printed by Band & White Printers in Spartanburg, SC but you can click here to open and print a certificate on your PC that looks just like the real thing.  You must have Adobe Acrobat 5.0.5 to view these.  Go to Adobe.com to get the free viewer.



Norman Gautreau Watercolor Image

Norman Gautreau's "40th Battalion"

Have you ever seen a full color image of Camp Croft?  Norman Gautreau is one of many artists who found themselves stationed at the camp and made time to practice his art. This particular watercolor image is the 40th Battalion area as seen from the area near Dairy Ridge Road. Soldiers in the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th Regiments would have seen this view many times on the way back from the rifle range.

Click here to view the image
and use your browser's BACK button to return




Laughs, Inc.

The story (or at least part of it) of the 7th Special Services show called "Laughs, Inc."  The show traveled through Europe, mostly France, in 1944 and 1945 and was made up of US Army servicemen. Joe Geczi, a Camp Croft trainee and later cadreman, was one of the members. The information on this page was collected from his diary entries and recorded recollections as well as first hand information from another Laughs, Inc. performer, Duane Harvey Hodges.

Click here to learn more about LAUGHS, INC.



Croft Kids Pages

A preview of the Camp Croft Kids Pages, as inspired by my daughter Hunter Crawley and vigorously tested by both Hunter and Taylor (and mom too).

Click here to see visit the coloring pages



Cemeteries
within the Camp Croft Reservation


Another work in progress, a listing of all the cemeteries that were once located within the boundaries of the Camp Croft military reservation.

Click here for more information


 



Targets Up!


A soldier authored short comedy sketch about working the target butts at the rifle range. By Private Feliz Albert, B-31.

Click here for the sketch

 

Ollie Drab


Camp Croft soldier Peter Paul Czerepak worked as a graphic artist at the camp in the sign shop, print shop, and the camp newspaper office.  While at Croft he created a comic strip based on a character called Olly Drab.  In "Olly Draws and Ace" you may notice the familiar "Brass Rail" restaurant represented.  This was a favorite hang out in Spartanburg.

Click here for the cartoon page

 


 

Souvenirs of Camp Croft

So just what did soldiers or visitors to Camp Croft acquire to remind them of their stay at the Camp? Was it an ash tray, a pack of matches, the ubiquitous T-Shirt, or maybe some Pearl Harbor underwear? 

This page will help you understand that and show you just what "Pearl Harbor underwear" is as well!

Click here to see visit the Souvenir page

 

 


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