1943

Jan 1, 1943 - General Order #2 and 3 issued for CAMP ATTERBURY's POW Camp.  Revenue from prisoner of war work nears $135,000.

Jan 2/3, 1943 - Germans begin a withdrawal from the Caucasus.

Jan 3, 1943 - General Ben Lear inspects CAMP ATTERBURY.  Bus to Shelbyville County Fairgrounds from CAMP ATTERBURY added.

Jan 6, 1943 - Harlem Globetrotters  appear in Sports Arena.  Win 34 to 29 over the CAMP ATTERBURY Varsity.

Jan 10, 1943 - Soviets begin an offensive against the Germans in Stalingrad.

Jan 13, 1943 - 118th Hospital Unit activated here.  Permit needed to take photographs on Post.  118th Hospital Unit activated here.  Street signs installed - honor famous Hoosiers.  Cooks School graduates largest class of 179

Jan 14-24 - Casablanca conference between Churchill and Roosevelt. During the conference, Roosevelt announces the war can end only with an unconditional German surrender.

Jan 19, 1943 - German Field Marshall Von Paulus surrenders to Russians at Stalingrad.

Jan 21, 1943 - 320th Aviation Squadron arrives at Freeman AAF (all Black)

Jan 22, 1943 - General Benjamin Davis inspects the 92nd Division at CAMP ATTERBURY.  39th Evac Hospital tested in 2 day field excerise.

Jan 23, 1943 - Montgomery's Eighth Army takes Tripoli.

Jan 27, 1943 - First bombing raid by Americans on Germany (at Wilhelmshaven)

Jan 29, 1943 - Maria Montez, Eddie Foy, Jr. in big stage show

Feb 1, 1943 - Sailor sent to CAMP ATTERBURY in Draft mix-up.

Feb 2, 1943 -  RUNWAYS TO BE LENGTHENED AT (Atterbury) AIR BASE HERE. Will Be Extended to Approximately 5,000 Feet to Handle Big Planes.  Germans surrender at Stalingrad in the first big defeat of Hitler's armies.  80 buildings going up in Block 8 to house 1300 at Camp Atterbury. Colonel Tisdale promoted at Camp Atterbury.  All 12 Chapels dedicated Wednesday. Largest and most modern telephone exchange.   Chief Engineer of Camp leaves. William H. Thomas, 'Sparkplug' of construction goes to Miami.

Feb 3, 1942 - 20 Alien soldiers become US citizens in ceremony at CAMP ATTERBURY.

Feb 5, 1943 - Charlie Barnet here with Spotlight Band.  83rd Division given 4-day training exam.  20 servicemen awarded citizenship.  20 at Camp Atterbury to be Naturalized. Hearing to be first of kind at Atterbury. All in Army for at least 90 days.

Feb 6, 1943 - General Hall at 83rd Exams.

Feb 7, 1943 - Japanese complete their withdrawal from Guadalcanal.

Feb 8, 1943 - Soviet troops take Kursk.  Major Harrell to Atterbury.

Feb 12, 1943 - Continue suits on Camp land. Evidence still being presented at Indianapolis this afternoon.

Feb 14-25 - Battle of Kasserine Pass between the U.S. 1st Armored Division and German Panzers in North Africa.

Feb. 15, 1943 - More property settled.  ATTERBURY HAS MUSIC LIBRARY. Recordings Provided by Critics and Through Funds from Indianapolis Concert.

Feb 16, 1943 - Soviets re-take Kharkov.  One land case goes to jury. Jury awards Indianapolis man $425 for 40 acres in this county.  Others paid for camp land.

Feb. 17, 1943 - 15 soldiers become citizens.

Feb. 18, 1943 - Nazis arrest White Rose resistance leaders in Munich.

Feb. 26, 1043 - 44th Evac Hospital Unit go on bivouac amid cold blasts.

March 1, 1943 - $ 2,370,176 is paid for Camp land

March 2, 1943 - Germans begin a withdrawal from Tunisia, Africa.

March 3, 1943 - Advanced Flying School at Seymour will be named Freeman Army Air Field in memory of Hoosier Capt. Richard S. Freeman.  General Order #10.

March 6, 1943 - New Chaplain at Atterbury.  COMPANY of 130 WAACS ARRIVES AT ATTERBURY. Women Soldiers greeted by Col. Modisette in Ceremony at Camp. HEADED BY IOWA WOMAN. Unit Partly Staffed With Non-Coms. Others to Be Made from Ranks.

March 7, 1943 - 44th WAC Company arrives at CAMP ATTERBURY.  First WAC's on Post.

March 11, 1943 - Solider killed by blast while on maneuvers.

March 12. 1943 - Ada Leonard and her All-Girl Band at CAMP ATTERBURY.  Atterbury welcomes 44th WAAC Headquarters Co.

March 15, 1943 -106th Division activated.  Germans re-capture Kharkov.  Army Finally Clears Story of Austrians. Formation of Battalion at Atterbury, Known Since December, Announced. 3 DUKES BUCK PRIVATES. Brothers of Otto, Hapsburg Pretender to Throne, in CAMP ATTERBURY.

March 16, 1942 - Assign Camp Atterbury Veterinarian.

March 18, 1943 - Views on the News - Austrian Battalion.

March 19, 1943 - Solider drowns during field problem.  83rd and 365th develop ruthless fighters.  Ranger training holds Atterbury spotlight.

March 20, 1943 - Ranger training begins at CAMP ATTERBURY.  Every Man For Himself as Atterbury Rangers Train.

March 24, 1943 - Ink Spots and Lucky Millinder's Band scheduled to broadcast from Freeman AAF but cancel at last minute.  Workers Get the Works with 83rd Division at CAMP ATTERBURY.  Let Top Executives See It, Too, is Suggestion of U. A. W.'s Reuther. Visit Termed a Success. Guns Roar as Tanks and Doughboys Battle for Atterbury's Onlookers.

March 26, 1943 - Freeman AAF weekly newspaper named 'Twingine Times'.

March 27, 1943 - Military Police a full-time job.

April 1, 1943 - General Fredenall Will Succeed General Ben Lear. Father of local Major expected to assume high command.

April 2, 1943 - Soldier's Medal presented by Maj Gen Milburn to three at CAMP ATTERBURY for saving drowning soldier in swollen Nineveh Creek during training.  2d BN, 365th CCT marches thru Franklin and bivouacs at Armory.

April 3, 1943 - 22,332 pounds of grease saved from CAMP ATTERBURY's Mess Halls to be used to make explosives.

April 6/7, 1943 - Axis forces in Tunisia begin a withdrawal toward Enfidaville as American and British forces link.

April 7, 1943 - Bolivia declares war on the axis powers.

April 9, 1943 - Baby's body found at CAMP ATTERBURY.  Landmarks in Atterbury For Sale.  Golf 'Out" in Driftwood Camp - Crops instead.

April 10, 1943 - Trained Dogs Do Sentry Duty at Camp Atterbury.

April 12, 1943 - CAMP ATTERBURY units prepare for Tennessee Maneuvers.

April 14, 1943 - Plans to Pay Camp Land Tax. Abstract Company Intends to Settle With County Next Month.

April 16, 1943 - Maj. General Fredendhall inspects the 83rd Division at CAMP ATTERBURY.  100th Bakery BN turns out loaves under blackout conditions.  Freeman AAF Post Theater opens.  "Mudberry" disappears as grass, trees and sidewalks appear.

April 18, 1943 - Japanese Admiral Yamamoto is killed when two American P-38 fighters shoot down his transport plane as he was making an inspection tour of the Upper Solomon Islands.  Tokyo radio does not report the event for four weeks.

April 19, 1943 - Waffen SS attacks Jewish resistance in the Warsaw ghetto.

April 21, 1943 - Thousands of truckloads of free lumber available to the public at CAMP ATTERBURY.

April 23, 1943 - Members of the Trapp Family entertain at CAMP ATTERBURY.  "Tojoburg" is new town that represents everything real Americans won't stand for.  2 members of TRAPP family here.  83rd Division non-coms on nation-wide radio show.  83rd Division Deputy landed with Yanks at Casablanca.  Atterbury Doughboys ride on new trains.

April 24, 1943 - 'Tojoburg' set up in CAMP ATTERBURY as an enemy village.  Atterbury Doughboys raid Tojoburg.

April 26, 1943 - 92nd Division departs CAMP ATTERBURY enroute to Fort Huachuca, Arizona

April 29, 1943 - First class of flyers graduates at Freeman AAF, Class 43-D

April 30, 1943 - First Prisoners of War arrive at CAMP ATTERBURY.  760 Italians that were captured in North Africa.  -- Seek-Strike-Destroy" like Black Panther of their insignia, of the 773rd.  Tank Destroyer Bat. learns to strike quickly and hard.  Camp to experience its first blackout.  Water here unusually pure.  ATTERBURY TO HAVE BLACKOUT. Camp Will Take Part in Johnson County Test Sunday Night.

May 1, 1943 - 400 more Italian POWs arrive at CAMP ATTERBURY.  "Black Panthers" Are U. S. Answer to Threat of Roaming Axis Tanks.  83RD'S UNITS RETURN HOME. Convoys Roll into Atterbury, Spiking Rumors of Use in Coal Strike.

May 3, 1943 - News Notes on Camp Atterbury. Capt. Moore Transferred. 500 Loaves Baked In A Hurry. 112 Runs in Two Games. Lt. Krause Joins 39th Evac Hospital.

May 4, 1943 - Announce List of Gifts To Camp Atterbury and Atterbury AAF.  News Notes on Camp Atterbury. Quiz Show at Service Club No. 1 Continues. 35th Evac Hospital Makes 35-Mile Hike.

May 5, 1943 - WAVES, SPARS TO TAKE OVER. Woman Ensign Who Outranks Navy Husband Here in Advance of `Cruiser.

May 6, 1943 - Soldiers hurt in bus crash. 6 taken to Atterbury Hospital after Franklin accident. All to recover.  Soldier drowns at Atterbury. Edinburg man hurt in truck - train crash. Pinned under locomotive tender.

May 7, 1943 - Allies take Tunisia.  "In the Groove" free show here.  Planes Stage Raid At Camp Atterbury. Doughboys Witness Bombings. Local Officials Also Present.

May 8, 1943 - Camp Atterbury Chaplain To Address Rotary Club.

May 10, 1943 - Free Lumber Still Available At Camp Atterbury.  Captain Ott Rotary Club Speaker.

May 11, 1943 - Evans Is Made Lieut. Colonel at Camp Atterbury.  COULD BE DOING WORSE.

May 12, 1943 - Push Building Sales in Camp. Final Structures Must Be Sold This Week. Five Houses Included. 

May 13, 1943 - Farm near CAMP ATTERBURY accidentally bombed during recent airpower demonstration.  Bombs Fall By Accident Near Nineveh. Case of Missing Dud is Cleared. Buried Itself in Ground. 2 Others Smash Trees. Residents of Area Near Atterbury Given Scare. Windows Shattered.  

May 14, 1943 - Planes demonstrate attack on convoy.

May 15, 1943 - Camp Atterbury's Greller Wants Job As First Mayor of Tojoburg.  ENGINEERS MAY CENTRALIZE All 3 OFFICES IN CITY. Reported Hunting 9,000 Feet of Floor Space and Big Garage Here. TAKE LOOK AT ARMORY. Question of `Priority' Rises, With State Guard Using Building.

May 16, 1943 - Jewish resistance in the Warsaw ghetto ends.

May 16/17, 1943 - British air raid on the Ruhr. Squadron 617 attacks the dams in Rorer valley.  'Blitz" Cloud Hits Utilities - Kills Soldier. Atterbury Cook Dies When Lightning Strikes Pole of Tent.  More Showers Seen. Flood Danger is Revived.
Freak Blackout Plunges City into Darkness.  Camp Atterbury's Women Troops Mark WAAC Birthday.

May 18, 1943 - News Notes on CAMP ATTERBURY. 895th Ordnance Heavy Maintenance completes bivouac. 39th Evac Hospital participates in 50-mile convoy under black-out conditions. Loan Sales Rise. 73rd General Hospital Band plays. To O. C. S. School.

May 19, 1943 - Italian POWS to be at CAMP ATTERBURY. Secret is Out ! Men in Internment Camp Will Be Available. Modisette Announces. COUNTY AGENT CONTACT. Internees to Aid in Five Counties Whenever Civilian Help Is Short.  Italian prisoners at Atterbury to do farm labor.  GET READY TO PAVE ROAD 252. Work Progresses on Relocated Highway North of Camp Atterbury.

May 21, 1943 - 83rd Division Men To Be Headlined in War Bond Rally in the gigantic American Legion War Bond Rally at the Coliseum in Indianapolis.   Spanier Show hot & sweet.  75 Atterbury soldiers become citizens.

May 22, 1943 - Dönitz suspends U-boat operations in the North Atlantic.

May 23, 1943 - Most Work At Camp Soon To Go On 7-Day Week. 10-Hour Day With $110 Weekly Wage for Carpenters Likely. Hundreds More Hired. Atterbury Swarms with Men - Edinburg Hardware Stores 'Raided'.

May 24, 1943 - 18 Countries Represented At Camp Atterbury.  Bakers Learn To Swim In Flooded Ravine.  AUSTRIAN UNIT APPEARS OUT. War Department Spokesman Says Abandonment of Idea Is Probable.

May 25, 1943 - RATIONING AT ATTERBURY, TOO. 19 Post Exchanges in Operation.

May 26, 1943 - FRONT LINE MEN GET `K' RATION. No Cooks Needed; Breakfast, Dinner and Supper Already Prepared.

May 28, 1943 - 3561st WAAC Group joins Post Hospital.  83rd Engineers battle floods at Vincennes.  Class 43-E graduates at Freeman AAF.  Pictorial trip through Camp Atterbury Laundry.  WW1 hero, Lt Col John A. Tamisiea, assumes command of 317th Hospital.  NEGRO WAACS AT ATTERBURY. Women Soldiers Arrive to Replace Men in Post Hospital Section.

May 29, 1943 - CAMP ATTERBURY TO HAVE BIRTHDAY. First Anniversary to Be Commemorated Tonight. Men Plan Party Tuesday.  Camp Atterbury On Water Ration Due to Main Break.

June 2, 1943 - CAMP ATTERBURY HAS OWN RAIL HUB. Staff of 60 Directs Operations. Sawmill Is Included.  MP'S TAKE OVER LOCAL TRAFFIC. Stationed at Principal Intersections During Busy Periods.

June 3, 1943 - MP'S TO WORK REST OF WEEK. Will Direct traffic in Business District on Saturday.  MP's To Work in Columbus Rest of Week.  MEDICAL UNITS ARE REVAMPED. Need for Quick-moving Hospitals Leads to Change in 72nd and 73rd.    Attaboys to Donate Blood.

June 4, 1943 - Theater #6 soon to serve 1560th Unit.  1,000 jam Service Club for carnival fun.

June 5, 1943 - War Prisoners At Local Camp For Duration. Atterbury to Have One of Permanent Centers, Army Announces. Italians Are Confined. 36,688 Germans, Japs and Italians Held in 21 U. S. Posts.  A Division is Born Over Hoosier Hills and Dale.

June 6, 1943 - MP's directing traffic in Columbus.

June 7, 1943 - 39th Evacuation Hospital Unit leaves CAMP ATTERBURY.

June 9, 1943 - 83RD DOUGHBOYS BATTLE IT OUT. Blues' and 'Reds' take Part in Field Maneuvers at Atterbury.

June 10, 1943 - 'Pointblank' directive to improve Allied bombing strategy issued.  PW'S WORK ON DECATUR FARM. Ten Italian Prisoners Help Harvest Pea Crop Near Greensburg.  Hundreds of Local Families Must Move. Sometimes Its Hard To Be An American, But the Alternative Is Much, Much Worse.

June 11, 1943 - Himmler orders the liquidation of all Jewish ghettos in Poland.   Post Theater #6 opens in Building 800 at Division & Noble streets.  Ordnance Men See That Doughboy is "Firstest". Two Columbus Men Are Advisors At Atterbury Motor School.

June 12, 1943 - Prisoners at Atterbury Are Healthy and Gay. Italians Appear Anxious to Make Good Impression on Visitors. Think They're in India. Surprised to Find New York Not in Ruins. Want Juke Boxes.  Camp Atterbury's New Theater No. 6 Opens Tonight.

June 15, 1943 - Austrian Battalion at CAMP ATTERBURY disbanded.  83rd Division holds first Field Day.  Friends and Relatives of Men Invited to Witness Events Wednesday.  Soldiers with fishing licenses may now fish in CAMP ATTERBURY's streams.

June 16, 1943 - 101st Infantry Bn., Austrian unit now disbanded. Under command of Lt. Col. Vincent Conrad. Organization was kept a Military Secret.  83rd's doughboys vie in big field day program. 330th Infantry Regiment noses out 329th for top honors.  WALKER LEAVES LAND OFFICE. Final Camp Tracts to Be Tried. Work Here Almost Completed.

June 18, 1943 - 83rd Division leaves CAMP ATTERBURY enroute to Tennessee Maneuvers.  Pictorial - Marching Along with the 83rd. - "Beat em - Bleed em - Kill em."

June 19, 1943 - EXTEND CAMP BLOOD VISIT.  ATTERBURY TO BE POST-WAR CAMP FOR MEN. Will Be Used To House Soldiers Until They Get Jobs. HITCHCOCK BARES PLAN. Tells State Exchange Convention of System to Absorb Veterans.  Italians work in bean field.

June 21, 1943 - Camp Not to Switch to Prisoners, Wilson Wires.

June 22, 1943 - Owners Get $6,750 Boost In Last Land Suits. Atterbury Awards, However Still Well Below Values Given in Testimony.

June 23, 1943 - Sports Arena to stage USO "Hellzapoppin".  - PX #1 to stay open Sundays.  - PX #15 adds beer garden.  1,697 soldiers donate blood.

June 24, 1943 - 319TH CO, WILL GET IT THERE. Atterbury Unit Serves as Go-Between for Rail Depot and Fighting Front.

June 25, 1943 - War Dogs at Atterbury.  NEW Tank Destroyer UNIT AT ATTERBURY. 610th Bn. Is Record Maker - Trains as Artillery as Well as Tank-buster.   Planes 'Strafe" Troops Training At Atterbury.

June 30, 1943 - Class 43-F graduates at Freeman AAF.  CAMP ATTERBURY's 'Vehicle Hospital' is One of Nation's largest vehicle maintenance re-conditioning units. 

July 1, 1943 - 'Fuzzy' Sewell troupe from Columbus to entertain at CAMP ATTERBURY.

July 2, 1943 - 608th Tank Destroyer Unit likes Atterbury. Came here from Tennessee.  36th Portable Surgical Hospital activates here.

July 5, 1943 - Germans begin their last offensive against Kursk.  Soviet resistance in the Crimea ends. The tank battle of Kirsk - Wehrmacht attacked with 435,000 men in fifty divisions and 2,700 tanks and assault guns (including the new Panther and Ferdinand types).  The Red Army was able to field  1,550,000 soldiers and  4,800 armored vehicles for this battle of titanic proportions.

July 9, 1943 - WAACs to join Army by September 1st.  349th Ordnance MT Company (Q) prepares for bivouac training.  New gasoline ration books ready at Johnson Cty Ration Board.

July 9/10 - Allies land in Sicily.  Operation Husky.

July 12, 1943 - 44th Evac unit returns to CAMP ATTERBURY from Tennessee Maneuvers.  Italians work in cornfield.

July 13, 1943 - Ordnance Unit Works in Woods. 349th Sets Up Camouflaged Motor Supply Depot on Atterbury Maneuver.

July 14, 1943 - Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy entertains with 5 shows.  -- USO to offer "What Next" in Gatling St. Arena.

July 17, 1943 - Learn to Care for Wounded.

July 19, 1943 - Allies bomb Rome.

July 20, 1943 - Each in 122nd is Specialist.

July 22, 1943 - Americans capture Palermo, Sicily.

July 23, 1943 - USO show at CAMP ATTERBURY features Sam Schieperman, Mary Brian and Eddie Foy, Jr.  Provost Marshall General visits POW Camp.  Allied troops, under the command of General Patton, captured the city of Palermo in Sicily. The victory came less than two weeks after Allied forces first landed on Sicily. This marked the first invasion of part of an Axis homeland. Indianapolis Indians play Attaboys here.  Maj. General Wallace inspects Post, Tank Destroyer General visits unit here.  PLAN FOR WAR PRISONER AID ON ALL FARMS. Arrangements Made for Distributing Costs of Insurance. PICKING APPLES TODAY. War Department Says Internment Sections Will Be Enlarged.

July 24, 1943 - British bombing raid on Hamburg.  Surprise Test for Camp Atterbury. Blackout Will Be Staged in Conjunction With Johnson County Alert.

July 25/26, 1943 - Mussolini arrested and the Italian Fascist government falls; Marshal Pietro Badoglio takes over and negotiates with Allies.  FRANCES - Her last name doesn't matter, because she is known as "Atterbury's Sweetheart", the little red-haired lady that sings the blues on the weekly "Meet the Yanks" radio program, broadcast from Service Club No. 2 through WIBC, Indianapolis. Confidentially her name is Frances Meckling.

July 27/28, 1943 - Allied air raid causes a firestorm in Hamburg.  Class 43-G graduates at Freeman AAF.

July 28, 1943 - Mary McGuire, Hollywood singer, plans 4 shows at WGH.

July 30, 1943 - New WAAC commander.  100% units include: 749th Tank Destroyer Bn., 13th Finance Disbursing, 36th Portable Surgical Hospital, 608th Tank Destroyer Bn., 317th Station Hospital, 750th Medical Sanitary Co., 797th Medical Sanitary Co., 379th QM Truck Co., 673rd Engineers Topographical Co.

Aug 3, 1943 - US air forces drop over 80,000 incendiary devices on Hamburg, Germany.  First Allied air raid into heart of Germany.  610th Tank Destroyer Bn personnel take driving tests in their M10A1 Tank Destroyer vehicles. The tests are being given over the roughest and toughest" terrain in CAMP ATTERBURY.  More Buildings Are For Sale. 10 Houses in Atterbury Area Go on Block. Also outbuildings.

Aug 5, 1943 - Captured two-man Japanese sub gets new paint job at CAMP ATTERBURY.  Painted outside - too big to fit in Paint Shop.

Aug 6, 1943 - Post guests include 2 man Jap sub and sailor who helped capture it.  Shelbyville bus added for Shelby County Fair week.  WAACs now in Army.  Atterbury WAC Proves Heroine. Secret of Rescue Attempt is Revealed by Query from Washington.  ENGINEER JOB MOVES RAPIDLY. War Department Announces Contract Let to Shelby Company.

Aug 7, 1943 - Alert Work Saves 83rd Blue Army General From Sure Capture.  Maj. Gen. Paul W. Newgarden, commander of the Blue Army, was saved from capture by Red patrols this week through the quick action of a reconnaissance officer and three men.  Riding toward the enemy lines, Sgt. Bill Myraz, Pfc Parker Black and Pfc Leroy Newlon noticed a glint of steel in the bushes.  They took the Red gun crews by surprise.  Gen. Newgarden was riding in the jeep directly behind the C and R car.  He commended the officer and his men on their alertness.

Aug 12-17, 1943 - Germans evacuate Sicily.  WACs officially sworn into the Army as full-fledged soldiers.

Aug 13, 1943 - 21 ranges located on CAMP ATTERBURY.  Pictorial - Trip through firing ranges. 21 now on post.  New underground operating room under Hospital garden simulates war conditions.

Aug 17, 1943 - American daylight air raids on Regensburg and Schweinfurt in Germany; Allies reach Messina, Sicily.  Sicily liberated.

Aug 19, 1943 - PX #15 phones now available around the clock.  569th QM unit to form.  608th Tank Destroyer Bn. bivouacs after Franklin sham battle.

Aug 20, 1943 - PERSONNEL AT MILITARY POSTS UNDERGOES CUT. Some Civilian Employees Are Released at Atterbury as Elsewhere. GO INTO OTHER JOBS, Indications Are Most of Those Released Are Again at Work.  Army knows Its 'Typical Soldier' Through Surveys. Atterbury Officials Need Not Guess in Planning Programs for Boys.

Aug 23, 1943 - Soviet troops recapture Kharkov.

Aug 24, 1943 - CAMP ATTERBURY HAS PHONE ROOMS. New Installations Provide 24-Hour Service for Doughboys.

Aug 26, 1943 - 'M-C' IS CAMP'S 0WN POST OFFICE. Message Center at Atterbury Averages 300 Pieces of Inter-Camp Mail.

Aug 27, 1943 - Boxing show attracts 1,000 to open-air arena.  Psi Iota Xi donates $2,500 for 40 hospital porches.  31st Signal Unit plays War Games as work continues.  100 Doughboys Go To Work At Morgan Plants. 50 Move into Local Factory Today; 50 Others Used at Edinburg. MEN VOLUNTEER FOR JOB. Troops Brought by Trucks from Fort Harrison-To Stay at Atterbury.

Aug 30, 1943 - Class 43-H graduates at Freeman AAF.  -- Hunt For WAC'S Slayer Extends Into CAMP ATTERBURY. Detectives Question Friends of Corporal Ridings, Found Slain at Indianapolis. VISITS HERE RECALLED. Half-Clothed, Blood-Stained Body Discovered in Room at Claypool Hotel.

Aug 31, 1943 - Soldiers gripe about trailer-type bus used on CAMP ATTERBURY-Indianapolis route.

Sept, 1943 - 'Chapel in the Meadow' completed by the Italian POWs.

Sept 2, 1943 - War Prisoners Go To Work in Morgan Plants.

Sept 3, 1943 - Armistice signed between Allies and Italians.  73rd Tank Destroyer Bn wins high praise.  Officers become WACs to complete Women's Army Corps.

Sept 8, 1943 - Italian surrender is announced.   Allied troops land at Salerno.

Sept 9, 1943 -  Italian Medical Officer transferred to CAMP ATTERBURY's POW camp.  Allied landings at Salerno and Taranto. -- It is hoped that the American's captured by the Italians will soon be released.  Listed as prisoners are locals; Pvt Marshall Patterson, Pvt Donald Klipsch, Pfc Ralph E. Blair, and Sherman Skaggs, all of Bartholomew County.  --  Italian POWs at CAMP ATTERBURY responded to the news of their homelands surrender with cries of 'Back to Italy, Back to Italy'

Sept 10, 1943 - 62nd General Hospital Unit arrives at CAMP ATTERBURY.

Sept 11, 1943 - Germans occupy Rome. B-26's arrive at Atterbury AAF

Sept 12, 1943 - German troops led by Otto Skorzeny liberate Mussolini.

Sept 17, 1943 - 49th & 50th Hospital Units activated. 27th Medical Depot Co. arrives for training.

Sept 21, 1943 - 83 Division now at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky.  Rotary Gift of Books Is Presented to Camp Atterbury.

Sept 23, 1943 - Mussolini proclaims Repubblica Sociale Italiana (RSI) in the (German controlled) northern Italy.  -- 

Sept. 24, 1943 - Sgt. Joe Louis, world's champion fighter, gives exhibition bout in the Sports Arena.  Also Sugar Robinson and Jackie Wilson

Sept 27, 1943 - troop transport HST Rohna was struck by a German guided glider bomb and sank of the coast of North Africa. 1,015 men were lost, including Frank Ballerino, Michael Carr and Michael Yachus, all formerly stationed at CAMP ATTERBURY.

Oct 1, 1943 -  28th Medical Depot Co. activates.  - 3,500 GIs see "Brown Bomber" fight.  Class 43-I graduates at Freeman AAF.  Allies enter Naples, Italy.

Oct 2, 1943 - Two German POWs escape from CAMP ATTERBURY.  First successful escape.

Oct 4, 1943 - Two escaped German POWs re-captured.  SS Reichsführer Himmler gives speech at Posen.

Oct 7, 1943 - B-26 crashes near Columbus.  All safe.

Oct 8, 1943 - All Post Service Units parade.

Oct 13, 1943 - Atterbury AAF alerted to watch for escaped German pilot from CAMP ATTERBURY POW camp.  Italy declares war on Germany; Second American air raid on Schweinfurt

Oct 15, 1943 - 755th Railway Shop "Keep 'em Running" Bn. arrives.  - Aviation MP Regiment arrives.  2 more PXs add 24 hour phone rooms

Oct 16, 1943 - 2 MORE UNITS START TRAINING AT ATTERBURY. M. P. Regiment Moves in from Fort Harrison-Will Serve With Air Force. OTHER IS RAILWAY SHOP. Changes Made in Flight Personnel at Atterbury Army Air Field.

Oct 29, 1943 - 569th QM Service Bn combines Fire Prevention training with bivouac.

Oct 30, 1943 - Atterbury AAF alerted to be on look-out for escaped German pilot from CAMP ATTERBURY.  SOLDIERS CLEAR CAMP FIRESTRIP. Turn Lumberjacks Along West Edge of Atterbury in Brown County.

Nov 3, 1943 - Class 43-J graduates at Freeman AAF.

Nov 5, 1943 - USO presents 5 "Perk Up" shows.  Atterbury AAF, too, has its name band - Its the 74th Army Ground Force Unit.

Nov 6, 1943 - Russians recapture Kiev in the Ukraine.

Nov 10, 1943 - 30th Division arrives at CAMP ATTERBURY from Tennessee Maneuvers.

Nov 12, 1943 - 2nd Army operates all-purpose course for vehicle drivers.

Nov 15, 1943 - CAMP ATTERBURY's Theater #5 destroyed in fire.  First major fire at camp.  LOSS SET AT $60,000. Flames Break Out While 800 Italian Prisoners of War Watch Movie.

Nov 16, 1943 - 30th Division arrives at CAMP ATTERBURY.  Unit of World War 1 Fame Arrives for Further Training Here. HEADED BY GEN. HOBBS. Division Was Re-activated in 1925, Called to Active Duty in 1940.

Nov 18, 1943 - Large British air raid on Berlin.

Nov 19, 1943 - CAMP ATTERBURY welcomes 30th Infantry Division - "Old Hickory".  - Theaters 3 & 4 limit attendance to troops from specified areas due to destruction of War Department Theater #5 by fire.

Nov 20, 1943 - PX at Camp Atterbury Also Have Shortage Troubles.

Nov 26, 1943 - HMT Rohna, off the coast of North Africa and carrying 2,000 American troops is hit by a German guided missile.  Deserted by the Indian crew and not having the benefit of life saving equipment, due to the deplorable condition of lifeboats and rafts, the fate of the men was left to the cold waters of the Mediterranean Sea and rescue operations hampered by darkness and heavy seas. When the night was over, less than half of those two thousand young men made it to safety. There would be no tomorrow for one thousand and fifteen young American soldiers!  Three of the causalities had trained at CAMP ATTERBURY.  366th Infantry Regiment arrives.  301st Signal Operations Bn arrives.

Nov 26, 1943 - 366th Infantry Regiment, much lauded unit arrives.  301st Signal Operations Bn. arrives

Nov 28, 1943 - Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin meet at Teheran.

Nov 30, 1943 - TWO MORE UNITS MOVE INTO CAMP. Atterbury Welcomes 366th Infantry and 301st Signal Operations Battalion.

Dec 2, 1943 - CHIEF OF STAFF RECEIVES EAGLE. Richard W. Stephos of 30th Division Is Promoted to Full Colonel.  SCHWEICKART PLACE FILLED.

Dec 3, 1943 - 301st Signal Operations Bn praised for field work.  773rd Recon captures Shelbyville in surprise mock attack.  ORDNANCE UNIT BACK IN CAMP. 122nd L. M. Company Glad to Return to Hoosierland After Maneuvers.

Dec 5, 1943 - Class 43-K graduates at Freeman AAF.

Dec 6, 1943 - President Roosevelt appoints General Eisenhower as Commander of Operation Overlord.

Dec 10, 1943 - 300 local workers see division in action.  - Broadcast features 30th band & 120Th Infantry talent.  - Clean Your Plate campaign continue - Take What You Want - Eat What You Take.  Field Artillery uses 10 L2B Cub planes for eyes.

Dec 11, 1943 - Four War Plants Will Send Employees to Camp Atterbury.

Dec 13, 1943 - 200 ARRIVE AS ONE DAY SOLDIERS. War Workers Brave Cold to Go Through Paces With 30th at Atterbury.

Dec 14, 1943 - 250 From Hoosier Plants See Soldiers at Work.

Dec 22, 1943 -Hot Jive caravan to present shows.

Dec 23, 1943 - Christmas to be holiday at Camp - New Years isn't.  Camp Atterbury Prepares for Christmas. Most Personnel at Atterbury Will Get Holiday. Turkey Tops Dinner Menu.