4. Fort Polk, Leesville, Louisiana
One of the myths of the Second World War is America’s military was wholly unprepared for war when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. In late 1940, American war planners recognized the need to practice the tactics displayed by the Germans in North Africa and Europe, as well as the Japanese in Asia. A site selected for training using joint operations of mobile armored units, airborne units, close air support, and infantry units developed in the summer of 1941. A series of operations known as the Louisiana Maneuvers prepared over 500,000 American soldiers in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, in August and September in 1941. They were housed on a hastily built installation designated Camp Polk.
Camp Polk continued its role as a training facility throughout World War II, expanding to include a Prisoner of War camp for German soldiers, most of them from the Afrika Korps. Camp Polk continued operating under that name following the end of World War II and through the Korean War. Not until 1955, when the post gained recognition as a permanent Army facility did it gain the name of Fort Polk. Fort Polk retains importance as a major Army training center, including housing the Joint Readiness Training Center, and several combat commands. It also supports several units of the Louisiana National Guard on its almost 200,000 acres of land.