Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum

The Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum was established to honor and preserve the heritage of the men and women who trained at the camp during WWII. Camp Gordon Johnston opened in 1942 for the sole purpose of training Infantry Divisions and their support units in amphibious operations by U. S. Army Engineer Special Brigades [ESB].  This camp trained a quarter of a million people, closing in June of 1946. Three infantry divisions and two special brigades left here after receiving amphibious training to confront tyranny both in Europe and the Pacific. Learn about their dedication, fears, and heroism at our museum.

Camp Gordon Johnston opened near Carrabelle in 1941 to train amphibious soldiers during WWII.   Located east of Carrabelle at Lanark Beach, military experts say the camp provided some of the toughest military training in the world.  North Florida’s sandy beaches, buggy marshes and jungle-like forests of the 1940s provided soldiers the ideal training conditions similar to combat conditions in the Pacific Islands.

First named Camp Carrabelle, it was later renamed in honor of Col. Gordon Johnston (1874-1934). Col. Johnston served in three wars and earned many decorations including the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery during the Philippine Insurrection in 1906.

Camp Gordon Johnston covered 165,000 acres and extended 36 miles along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. Much of the territory was left in its natural state for training purposes. St. George and Dog Islands, uninhabited at that time, were used for invasions and amphibious landings. During WWII there were about 10,000 soldiers and civilians permanently assigned to Camp Gordon Johnston. They ran the facilities and provided the specialized training. With the rotation of entire reinforced Army Divisions, the camp population would increase from 24,000 to 30,000.

WWII ended on August 14, 1945. The camp was deactivated and closed in 1946. Later, the building facilities and land were sold as war surplus.

Today, very little remains to mark where soldiers practiced and prepared to do battle. If you look closely, far off the road, you might see a little asphalt from the old runways. If you know what to look for, you will recognize Lanark Village, now retirement housing, as the old officers quarters’.

Each Spring, Carrabelle pays tribute to the veterans that trained there in  its annual Camp Gordon Johnston Days.  The event is a reunion of military veterans who trained for World War II at Camp Gordon Johnston. Since the reunion’s inception in 1996, the three day event has evolved into a commemoration of all military veterans, not just those who trained at the camp during WWII.