“I can hardly stand the separation, but then I think what it is all about and then I realize that when the war is over we will both see that it has all been for the best, even if I have to go across to France.” These are the words of my grandfather, James T. Mathis, writing home to his new wife in Fitzgerald, Georgia. The year was 1918, and he was one of thousands of soldiers who trained at Camp Gordon, along Dresden Drive and Clairmont Road in Chamblee. The historical journey of this property has included a World War I cantonment, a World War II and 1950’s Navy and Marine air training facility and today’s DeKalb-Peachtree Airport.
It began when General Leonard Wood, Chief of Staff of the United States Army was given the task of finding at least 800 acres suitable for a camp for soldiers of World War I. Ivan Allen, Sr., who was then President of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, was asked to help locate suitable property for the camp. General Wood requested the land be located near a railroad and a good supply of water. The first visit to the Atlanta area by General Wood was not successful, but later 2000 acres in the Cross Keys District of De Kalb County was found. It was Chamblee Georgia-a community of farms and dairies up until that time.
The news that Chamblee had been selected as the site of a camp came on June 1, 1917. The camp was named Camp Gordon after a Confederate general, Georgia governor and Senator, John B. Gordon. Major General Eben Swift was selected to be commander of the new camp. While he waited for building to be completed, he stayed at the Georgian Terrace Hotel in downtown Atlanta, which still stands across the street from the Fox Theatre.
Barracks for 46,612 men and corral space for 7,668 horses were built. The camp opened its gates on September 5, 1917 and the first men to be received for training were from DeKalb County.
Transportation was a key issue for the camp. The Southern Railway line was nearby; however, the railroad was being used for the supply demands of the war. Peachtree Road, which ran all the way into the heart of Atlanta, was not yet paved. There was an operating streetcar line from Atlanta to as far as nearby Brookhaven, but an extension to Camp Gordon was necessary. On September 25, 1917 a streetcar extension was completed to Nancy’s Crossing at Nancy Creek Baptist Church, just one-half mile from Camp Gordon. Finally, in mid-October the line extended all the way to the camp with a fare of forty cents.
That Christmas, Margaret Wilson, daughter of President Woodrow Wilson, gave a singing concert at Camp Gordon. She sang a group of songs called “Songs of the Allies,” including French and old English songs. She also sang an African American spiritual song and finished up with “Dixie.”
One particularly well-known soldier who trained at Camp Gordon was Sergeant Alvin York from Tennessee. Gary Cooper portrayed Sergeant York in the film which told the story of his life. Sergeant York was part of the 82nd Division that fought in the St. Mihuel and Meuse-Argonne offensives.
James Mathis arrived at Camp Gordon on June 29, 1918, leaving behind his wife, Emma Pattishall Mathis, in Fitzgerald, Georgia. Although he doesn’t mention it in his letters, he may have passed through a giant arched entrance that was built that same year. Upon arrival, each man was questioned as to their prior work experience to see what skills they might have. According to James, “each man gets innoculated with typhoid serum as soon they get here.” After receiving the serum, the men were not allowed to leave the camp for two weeks.
The soldiers began their day at 5:15 am, with reveille at 5:35 am and time to wash up before breakfast at 6:15 am. Following that, they washed their own dishes, something my grandfather apparently was not used to doing. A lot of things were different for him, as he says “The change from civil to military life is surely a complex thing. You no longer do the things that you have been accustomed to all of your life.” The rest of the day was primarily marching and drills.
James describes July 4 as being different from any Independence Day he has every known in Fitzgerald, Georgia. On that day he took an Officers Training School examination. He also mentions the possibility of attending Artillery and Machine Gun Training, in which case he would be transferred to Louisville, Kentucky or Augusta, Georgia.
By July 7, he had been assigned to work in the company headquarters office. This was somewhat of a relief from the constant drilling. His letter of August 23 refers to the Officers Training that he will begin the following Saturday, and which he is “weak-kneed” about. That training began September 15, 1918. Letters after he starts the training complain a bit about how difficult the training is, but also emphasize his desire to see it through as it will benefit, he and his wife in the long run.
During the same months, the Spanish Influenza had reached Camp Gordon. This flu spread rapidly through the various military camps in 1918, due to the close quarters of the soldiers. On September 21, James says in a letter that the Spanish influenza has reached them and on September 28 he writes that he has come down with the flu.
The last letters I have are dated late September, so he must have left Camp Gordon between that time and November 11, when World War I ended. He was fortunate in that he wasn’t separated from his wife and family very long and he never had to go overseas.
The next life for this land was as Naval Air Station Atlanta, a station set up with the advent of World War II for flight training of Navy and Marine Corps aviators. Some of the same buildings that were used for Camp Gordon were used for Naval Air Station Atlanta. Four thousand pilots and eight thousand flight instructors received training at Naval Air Station Atlanta.
Lawson General Hospital was built adjacent to NAS Atlanta in preparation for the expected injuries of the war. Over one hundred buildings comprised the self-sufficient hospital, somewhat like a small city. The hospital was named after Dr. Thomas Lawson, who served as surgeon general of the U. S. Army from 1836 to 1861. Most patients arrived by train to Lawson General Hospital. Only those with life threatening injuries were transferred by air. Lawson General Hospital was known for its excellent work in prosthetics and rehabilitation.
Following World War II, Naval Air Station Atlanta trained Naval Marine Air Reservists and continued through the Korean War and up until 1959. At that time, it was relocated to Marietta at what is now Dobbins Air Force Base. Lawson General Hospital became a regular Veterans Hospital after World War II ended, until 1952, when the hospital buildings became civilian housing.
PDK, which is the identifier for the airport because DPK was already taken, serves individual airplane owners and business jets these days. Historical markers recall the prior history of the location and the Administration building was part of Naval Air Station Atlanta. A restaurant and viewing area allow visitors to watch the planes of today take off and land.
The past ninety-one years have seen a lot of changes for the property where Camp Gordon was. If you visit, imagine the thousands of World War I soldiers, the Navy and Marine training flights, and the recovering soldiers of Lawson General Hospital. As for me, I will think about James Thomas Mathis and the devotion that was so obvious in his frequent letters to Emma Pattishall Mathis.
Other sources cited: Georgia Historical Quarterly, “The Best Years of Their Lives,” Franklin Garrett “Atlanta and Environs”