1943 Camp Chaffee 125th Armored Engineer Battalion Archway and Stone Sidewalk Intersection of Mahogany Avenue and Kansas StreetFort Smith, Sebastian County 1943 native stone archway and sidewalk. Listed in Arkansas Register of Historic Places August 5, 2020.

Listed in Arkansas Register of Historic Places on 08/05/20

The Camp Chaffee 125th Armored Engineer Battalion Archway and Stone Sidewalk near Fort Smith, Arkansas, is being nominated to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places local significance under Criterion A for its association with military base construction in Arkansas during World War II. It is also a great example of the last remaining vestige to the 125th Armored Engineer Battalion who helped save the City of Fort Smith during the floods of 1943.  The Camp Chaffee 125th Armored Engineer Battalion Archway and Stone Sidewalk is a well-preserved example of native stone military construction by an Army Engineering Battalion. Though Camp Chaffee had numerous examples of native stone culvers, ditches, steps, etc., this native stone archway is one of the most recognizable native stone structures built during World War II, and is only more recognizable by the fact that it was not done by New Deal-era programs, but by American Soldiers stationed at the camp.

HISTORY OF THE PROPERTY
The military has a long history in the Fort Smith, Arkansas, area. The military’s occupation of the surrounding area really became strong during both the Mexican and Civil War. During the Mexican War, it was used as a supply depot for those men headed southwest. During the Civil War, the fort remained occupied by both the Confederacy and the Union throughout the war. In 1871, the fort was decommissioned thus ending a long period of occupation in the area until the pre-war mobilization of World War II.[1] With the military’s mobilization coming into full operation by early 1941, the creation of Camp Chaffee near Fort Smith, Arkansas, was already beginning to take shape. The future camp would be named after “the Major General Adna Romanza Chaffee, father of the armored forces, and one of the first cavalry officers to visualize the tank as a natural successor to horse units in providing mobile striking power.”[2] It was on May 5, 1941, that Black and Veatch, an architecture-engineering firm from Kansas City, Missouri, signed a contract to design the layout of the cantonment for the army base. It would only take three days for the firm of Black and Veatch to begin surveying the area of the proposed site.[3]  The proposed site for Camp Chaffee included Armored Division housing, housing for two tank battalions, an 834 bed hospital, warehouses, and utilities “to serve an aggregated Military[sic] population of 21,535.”[4]   The Armored Division Housing, located on the east side of the camp, was the beginning of the construction at Camp Chaffee, which would last through 1943 as part of the World War II build up. Though most of the east side of the cantonment was complete by 1943, the soldiers assigned to Camp Chaffee were able to change the built environment in which they were stationed, to add their own touch or personalization to the camp, as was the case for the 125th Armored Engineer Battalion and the construction of the Native Stone Archway. The 14th Armored Division, of which the 125th Armored Engineer Battalion is associated, was activated on November 15, 1942.[5] The field manual and mission statement of the Armored Engineer Battalion states that the mission of the battalion “is to increase the combat effectiveness of the Armored Division by means of general engineer work, and to undertake and carry out the combat mission of an armored infantry battalion when required.”[6] The Armored Engineer Battalion is directly attached to an Armored Division which is made up of multiple battalions of infantry, signal corps, and multiple different composite battalions consisting of various armaments and guns. The Engineer Battalion itself is made up of a “headquarters and headquarter company, four identical engineer companies and a bridge company.”[7] This bridge company would be integral to one of the biggest projects it would take part in while stationed at Camp Chaffee. As part of their overall capabilities while attached to the Armored Division, “it receives support from corps engineer troops in accomplishing engineer work in the division rear area, in major river crossings and other special operations requiring engineer effort.”[8] Some of the more specific capabilities include: “perform[ing] construction, repair, and maintenance of roads, bridges, fords, and culverts. Provid[ing] support of hasty stream crossing operations of opportunity with boats, rafts, and bridges…. Provid[ing] fixed bridging for passage of short gaps. The essential capabilities would be used outside of the walls of the camp and put all of their skills to the test in late May 1943. The stone archway has an engraved stone plaque that reads “125th Armored Engineer Battalion June 1943,” if this archway, retaining wall and stone sidewalk were constructed in only June 1943, the 125th Armored Engineer Battalion worked steadily for all of May and June 1943 on projects throughout the Camp Chaffee and Fort Smith Area, due to natural disasters and their own projects. In May 1943, the torrential rains in Northwest Arkansas, Southwest Missouri and Southeast Oklahoma, caused the Arkansas River to flood substantially between May 10-15, 1943, when the water level in Fort Smith reached 41.7 feet.[9] When the water reached 41.7 feet, the bridge, along with the waterlines running from Lake Fort Smith to Fort Smith via Van Buren, Arkansas, broke loose leaving no vehicle transportation route between Van Buren and Fort Smith, but also severing all water supplies due to the lack of water coming from Lake Fort Smith to replenish Fort Smith’s water reservoirs. Due to the lack of clean drinking water, and the overall destruction of portions of the City of Fort Smith and the loss of the bridge that occurred, the 14th Armored Division, along with the 125th Armored Engineer Battalion were called in to help sandbag levees, save lives, salvage property, and clear debris. Due to the expertise level of the 125th Armored Engineer Battalion in constructing emergency pontoon bridges, along with their proximity to the loss of the bridge, they were called upon to help construct a pontoon bridge to reconnect Fort Smith to Van Buren, while also temporarily reattaching the waterlines from Lake Fort Smith to Fort Smith to provide the city with a usable water source.[10] However, by the middle of the next week the weather bureau was again looking treacherous as meteorologist were again calling for more rain in the area. It was anticipated that the river would again rise to a level of between 38’ and 40’, which according to the Southwest American, “would constitute a threat to the Army’s 1,065-foot pontoon span carrying emergency water lines across the washed out approach to the Van Buren highway bridge.” By the night of May 19, 1943, two companies of the 125th Armored Engineer Battalion were actively working to attach heavy anchor lines from the pontoon bridge to the saturated ground in anticipation of swift currents in the area. As the water continued to rise, the 125th Armored Engineer Battalion was reinforced by three officers and eighty-six enlisted men who came up from Camp Polk to assist while also bringing extra pontoon equipment with them.[11] The extra pontoon equipment was needed as the night of May 22, 1943, the original pontoon bridge constructed by the 125th Armored Engineer Battalion snapped in half, causing the City of Fort Smith to again restrict water usage throughout the city to five gallons, per person, per day. At the time of the break, there were 34 pontoon bridge sections, over half of the sections were affected by the break. The extra equipment brought up from Camp Polk, Louisiana, would be used to repair the damaged sections of pontoons.[12] By Monday May 24, 1943, good news was on the horizon, more heavy duty pontoons were being transported from Camp Polk, Louisiana, while the river was beginning to fall, easing the pressure on trying to fix the gap created by the original bridge failure, but also in trying to hook back up the waterlines to ease the water restrictions on the citizens of Fort Smith. The 125th Armored Engineer Battalion continued to reconstruct the pontoon span in order to reconnect the damaged waterlines. It would take until June 2, 1943, before Fort Smith lifted the water restrictions placed on the citizens of Fort Smith, when water was again flowing between Lake Fort Smith and the City of Fort Smith by May 28, 1943.[13] Though this two week period was very stressful for the 125th Armored Engineer Battalion, they somehow found time either before the outbreak of flooding in the Northwest section of Arkansas or only shortly thereafter to create an arched entranceway, retaining wall and possible native stone sidewalk by June 1943. Little is known about the archway and retaining walls. No photographs are currently available from when it was built, or even shortly thereafter. The plans and layouts drawn as part of the build-up during World War II cover the area in 1942, but no new construction was taking place on the east side of the camp therefore, it was not covered. The 1946 completion report covering building and uses after the war was over also does not take this archway into account when conducting the survey. Therefore, the only information that can be gained about the archway and retaining wall is the inscription placed at the top of the arch which reads “125th Armored Engineer Battalion June 1943.” It is quite possible that the Engineers started building the archway, retaining wall and possible stone sidewalk before the floods in May 1943, and finished in June 1943. In early June 1943, the 125th Armored Engineer Battalion held a family picnic on the base on June 6, 1943,[14] it is quite possible that as part of the picnic they showed off their newly constructed archway, retaining wall and sidewalk.[15] In doing so, they would be able to show off their construction project and have it be a gateway to the picnic area. At the same time, it is hard to evaluate the construction time period for the creation of the sidewalk. Native stone sidewalks do not appear in any of the completion reports but must have been completed either at the same time as the archway or after, because the native stone sidewalk allows for access from the roadside through the arched entrance. The stone sidewalk runs almost the length of the open area which included tennis courts and other recreational locations. Very little history about the 125th Armored Engineer Battalion was written about the rest of their time at Camp Chaffee. What we do know is that the 125th went through maneuvers at Camp Chaffe before being transferred to Camp Campbell (Fort Campbell) where they remained until October 6, 1943, when they again transferred, this time to Camp Shanks, New York. After five days of processing at Camp Shanks, the first of the 125th were boarding the James Parker for France. The rest of the companies boarded the James Parker by October 14th and at 16:30 they set sail for the beaches of France. By October 24, 1943, the 125th was able to see the lights of Casablanca, Morocco, and on October 25, 1943, they were traversing Trafalgar Bay, before sailing through the Strait of Gibraltar. They finally disembarked in Marseilles, France. The 125th marched across France and into Germany taking and repairing bridges along the way, so that Allied troops were able to cross at these locations. The 125th was involved in a highly publicized event in late April 1945 when it was part of the 14th Armored Division as it helped liberate 110,000 prisoners from Stalag VIAA. It is known that Company “C” of the 125th, who was also assigned to Combat Command A (CCA) group that was part the liberating force that drove into the camp. The bridge over the Isar River was blown up upon the American troops reaching the base of the bridge. The 2nd platoon of Company “C” built a foot bridge to replace bridge that was destroyed by the retreating German Army.Therefore, the Camp Chaffee 125th Armored Engineer Battalion Archway and Stone Sidewalk which was built between June 1943, is being nominated to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places under Criterion A with local significance for its association with military base construction in Arkansas during World War II..  The Camp Chaffee 125th Armored Engineer Battalion Archway and Stone Sidewalk has an interesting history involving the 125th Armored Engineer Battalion’s work in Fort Smith during the floods of June 1943 and its history after leaving Camp Chaffee as part of their war duties. This archway remains the last remnant of work the 125th did in support of Fort Smith and World War II.  

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Blakely, Jeffrey A. and John D. Northrip, “World War II Structures at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas.” Washington, D.C.: Department of Defense, 1991, University of Arkansas Fort Smith, Boreham Library, Library use only.

Camp Chaffee, Arkansas: Completion Report, Initial Construction Program, 1942. U.S. Engineer Office, Camp Chaffee, Arkansas. Completion Letter.

Department of the Army. “Armored Division Engineer Battalion,” Department of the Army Field Manual: FM5-134.Washington, D.C.: Headquarters, Department of the Army, 1958.

Lynch, Jeremy. “Fort Smith National Historic Site,” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History& Culture. http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=4522. (accessed September 1, 2010).

 

Southwestern Bell Telephone Company. Camp Chaffee, Folder 5, Camp Chaffee Materials, The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Little Rock, Arkansas.

United States Army, History. 125th Armored Engineer Battalion: Camp Shanks, New York to V-E Day Inclusive. Dissen near Munich/Bavaria: Art Printing Establishment Jos. C. Huber, 1945.

Articles

“Chaffee Chatter,” Southwest Times Record, June 6, 1943, 3. 

 

“City Faces New Water Crisis as River Snaps Pontoon Span.” Southwest American, May 23, 1943, 1.

 

“City’s Water Lines to Lake Again Open,” Southwest American, May 28, 1943, 1.

“Division, Post Troops Fight Flood,” The Armodier, May 20, 1943, 1. (Microfilm, Arkansas State Archives)

“Here We Go Again,” Southwest American, May 20, 1943, 1. 

“River Tops 35 Feet on Way to Crest of 40-41,” Southwest American, May 22, 1943, 1.