Camp Claiborne Louisiana WWII Army Camp

The Local Stories

Convoys associated with the maneuvers frequently moved around and through Alexandria, and residents reported waking up in the middle of the night and watching General Patton's tanks rumbling down city streets.

Alexandria in 1940 extended only a few blocks west of Chester Street, and the outskirts of town were favorite places for the Army to set up their 155 millimeter cannon and anti-aircraft installations. Sometimes soldiers would permit children to peek through their range finders and climb all over the cannons. Occasionally, opposing forces would engage in a battle and children would fill their pockets with spent blank rifle cartridges.

Drivers from the Alexandria Coca-Cola Bottling Company at Camp Claiborne September 12, 1942 Photo Courtesy of Bill Phillips

Many local Central Louisiana citizens assisted at, and worked at, the Camp, such as James Wilbur Phillips, Sr., of Boyce, employed by the Alexandria Coca-Cola Bottling Company. He is shown in the photograph, second from the right.

Thanks to Bill Phillips of Springfield, Oregon for providing this picture of his father, and the other Coca-Cola delivery men.