In May of 1918, twenty-five men from the Creek Nation were transferred from Camp Travis, Texas to Camp Gordon, a World War I encampment in Chamblee, Georgia.

A building constructed for Jewish soldiers at World War I Camp Gordon in Chamblee was completed October 1, 1918. It was known as the Little White House and was sponsored by the Jewish Welfare Board.

If you look up 1225 Meadow Lane Road in Dunwoody on Google maps, you end up in the middle of the road between Walton Ashford Apartments Homes and Target near Perimeter Mall. This is where Country Squire Farm was located, the home of Arthur King Adams and Marie Butler Adams.

I was recently told that Ed Labon of Woodville, Greene County, Georgia, a Black soldier who reported to Camp Gordon in 1917, is buried at Wilson Cemetery in Penfield, Georgia. He died April 13, 1940. Like many Black recruits, Labon was in the 157th Depot Brigade during World War I.

World War I ended on November 11, 1918, but Camp Gordon, a military training camp built in Chamblee, continued for almost three years. Today, much of that land is home to DeKalb Peachtree Airport.

In June of 1919, Camp Gordon was designated a permanent cantonment. The Atlanta Constitution announced, “Thousands of soldiers who were discharged have again re-enlisted in the army in order to continue in the work they like best.” This was good news for Chamblee and Atlanta, as Camp Gordon brought people and therefore additional business and money to the area.