Special Exhibit: Special Services Forces at Camp Gordon Johnston

Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum in Carrabelle is presenting a special exhibit about the Special Services Forces at Camp Gordon Johnston. This exhibit will be on display from Tuesday, July 21 until Saturday, August 29.  The museum is open every Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm. There is no charge for admission, but donations are gladly accepted.

While Camp Gordon Johnston is best known for training infantry divisions in amphibious assault, the camp’s mission changed in late 1943 when it became a U.S. Army Special Services Forces Training Center. Thousands of soldiers came to Carrabelle to train in highly specialized support roles that were essential to Allied success overseas. These units prepared to build, repair, supply, and sustain the ports and transportation networks that kept troops and equipment moving throughout the war.

This special exhibit highlights many of these vital units and their unique missions, including Port Companies, Port Construction and Repair Groups, Harbor Craft Companies, Amphibious Truck Companies, specialized Quartermaster units and other specialized units that trained at Camp Gordon Johnston before serving in Europe and the Pacific. Through photographs, artifacts, historical information, and personal stories, visitors will discover how these service members used specialized skills and equipment to support landing forces and combat operations by repairing damaged ports, operating harbor vessels, clearing obstructions, transporting critical supplies, maintaining equipment, providing logistical support, and protecting troops through their skilled operations.

During World War II, Camp Gordon Johnston trained approximately a quarter of a million soldiers. The skills learned on Carrabelle’s beaches and throughout the camp prepared not only combat troops but also the specialized support units whose work made every amphibious operation possible. Their contributions were indispensable to Allied victories across both the European and Pacific theaters.