CAMP LEJEUNE
New River, N.C.
Originally known as Marine Barracks New River, N.C., In 1942 the base was named Camp Lejeune honoring the 13th Commandant & Commanding General of the 2d Army Division in World War I, MajGen. John A. Lejeune.
Dad at New River, N.C.
After seeing the picture above, Marine Veteran Bill McConnell writes: "Joe, The hut in the background is the same type I lived in. Cheap, cheap, cheap. You could put your fist though the walls . In the winter, we froze our butts off. Each hut had a small stove which threw off very little heat. When we returned from being away a day or more, the hut would be an ice box. They didn't do your dad any favors by sending him to North Carolina for the winter. The regiment went to sea for maneuvers in the Chesapeake Bay area in the fall or winter of '42/43. The seas were very rough and to go over the side of a troop transport, down the nets some 35 feet with the landing craft rising and falling with the swells.. anyway, you get the message. At that time, they used either Higgins boats or LCVP's as landing craft and either way it was no fun to be at sea for long periods of time in bad weather. Your dad no doubt went through that."
Dad with Carbine, Colt sidearm, and Knife