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Back in the far-off days of 1976, when Peter Frampton ruled the airwaves and Fort Lewis and Air Force Base McChord were separated, Maj. Gen. (retired) Don and Joan Brown moved onto McChord, and the four years they spent there are ones they will remember for the rest of their
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As Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) nears its Centennial Celebration, many influential leaders of not only JBLM, but also the community that supports the military, are sharing some of their memories, good and bad, of their tenure at JBLM. Former Chief of the 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs, Lt. Col. Anna Sullivan
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Goodbye North Fort Lewis, Main Post, even McChord Air Force Base, as the second decade of the 21st century began, so did a major name change at Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base. As a result of the Base Realignment and Closure process, the Evergreen Post became Joint Base
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In the damp of an April morning in 2004, soldiers assigned to 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division prepared for a "Lancer Challenge." As stopwatches ticked, the soldiers confronted challenges - from carrying telephone poles to crawling through foot-deep mud - to complete the test. Moments after finishing, a dirty and wet Col.
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From the horse-mounted soldiers of 100 years ago to the 450 horse-powered Strykers that characterize a significant portion of the post's mission today, the post has steadfastly served the country. Strykers have met the challenges of a post-Cold War world with the development of a more flexible doctrine of war fighting
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Fort Lewis became the leader of the Army's model Transformation Initiative process, which would serve as a model for change in the U.S. Army to create a new combat power (see previous chapter and following stories). With the terrorist events of September 11, 2001, however, the world and base entered
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The Department of Defense announced officially in January 1990 the end of the 9th Infantry Division (Motorized) - a crushing blow for the local community now wondering whether Fort Lewis would remain open. At the time, rumors suggested that the 7th Infantry Division from Fort Ord would move here, but
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Ninth Division soldiers and their machines were the big news in the early 1980's as officials began developing a revised future for the Army. Part of the new doctrine included assembling a light, mobile infantry division with the fire power to knock out heavy, armored forces. In 1981, the 9th Infantry
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"I shall return!" With those parting words, actress and political activist Jane Fonda was escorted off then Fort Lewis property by military police following her raid on the Evergreen Post, March 7, 1970. The caper was part of an attempt by Fonda, and the daughter of Jim Thorpe, the famed Native
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The war in Vietnam had a diminishing effect on Fort Lewis as we entered the 1970s. Although the post recognized the 250,000th soldier to process through the North Fort Transfer Station February 20, 1970, the Army was already making plans to close both the basic training and personnel center here.
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Home wasn't much more than a stopover between maneuvers for many 4th Division soldiers during the early 1960s. Division troops were involved in joint exercises with the Navy and Air Force and spent their share of time spitting out sand in the Mojave and Yakima deserts. In 1960 alone, division
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Servicemembers that served at Fort Lewis in the 1950s might look back wondering with whom they served. Was it the 2nd or the 71st, and what was Gyroscope and STRAC? The period between 1950 and 1959 was a time of adjustment and perpetual change for the Army and the Evergreen Post.
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McChord Field became the headquarters of the GHQ Air Force Northwest Air District in 1940. The mission was to defend the Upper Great Plains and the Pacific Northwest. The first military group to arrive at the new Air Force field in mid-June 1940, was the 17th Bombardment Group from March
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Unlike its reputation in the 1920s and 30s, Fort Lewis, after 1940, would never again be seen as a deteriorating, low-population installation. The post numbered 7,000 when the IX Corps' Headquarters arrived from San Francisco July 1, 1940 to oversee Lewis' impending and unavoidable growth. Four months later, the post swarmed
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The top flag officer on Joint Base Lewis-McChord has enjoyed the nicest home on the base for decades, however one thing has been a little in the way - the monument to the 91st Division. On Memorial Day 1930, a monument to the first division to report to then Camp Lewis
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Soldiering at Fort Lewis was different in the 1930s than it is today. Those were the days when the troops wore wrap-around leggings, felt campaign hats and wool olive drab uniforms. Privates represented half the ranks. Enlisted men rarely saw an officer except on paydays. Many soldiers were considered "married"
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Following World War I, two events of consequence affected Camp Lewis. First, the vast majority of jubilant doughboys hurried home from Europe and immediately separated from the military. Second, the green timber, which had been rapidly hammered together to form the base in 1917, began to deteriorate. Soon there were
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Once Camp Lewis was built, soldiers in-processed, trained and shipped out to Europe, including the 91st Division, which left in the late spring of 1918. While the 91st had many names, the nickname the soldiers chose to carry with them as they boarded trains was the Wild West Division. At one
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Tucked behind a moss, encrusted brick wall, sits an imposing 500- year-old Tudor, gothic mansion, the only English castle in the Pacific Northwest, and, just across the bustling I-5 corridor, sits the imposing Joint Base Lewis-McChord, considered the 7th largest city in Washington state. To see what these seemingly disparate
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Spokane's famous Davenport Hotel, the Spokane Chronicle Building, even a modest home in Metaline Falls that now is used as a community theater, are just a few examples of the many early 20th century buildings designed by an Ohioan who came west to follow his career. Once Kirtland Cutter began his
