Friday, January 11, 2013

Camp Perry, Ohio

The claim: Site renovated; once used as a POW camp to house German and Italian prisoners of WWII. Some tar paper covered huts built for housing these prisoners are still standing. Recently, the construction of multiple 200-man barracks have replaced most of the huts.

What it really is: Built in 1909, Camp Perry is a National Guard training base, and it was once used to house German and Italian POWs during World War 2. After the war prisoner quarters were converted back to be used by transient personnel who were at Camp Perry for training.

Many of Camp Perry's original structures are still there, so renovating these buildings are necessary. Also, while some structures would need to be renovated, others (such as barracks) sometimes need to be replaced, so considering the age of this place, construction of new barracks are not unusual, especially if any of them were damaged in the June 24, 1998 tornado that did damage several buildings there.

It should also be noted that Camp Perry is the host of the Civilian Marksmanship Program and the NRA-sponsored National Rifle Matches, and has so since 1907.

Seems pretty odd that a place that is suppose to be a FEMA camp hosts an NRA event every year...

1 comment:

  1. Camp Perry was established as the site specifically for the National Matches 73 years before FEMA existed. The first National Matches were conducted there in 1907. "The National Matches, considered America's "World Series of the Shooting Sports", attracts shooting sports competitors from all across the world to compete in matches of all multitudes. The reservation is also home to the Small Arms Firing School, which provides shooters with expert training and facilities for improving their shooting ability. Camp Perry is also home to the Civilian Marksmanship Program's north office." -Wikipedia. Frankly, who cares whether someone thinks it's "odd" for FEMA to list it as a camp for their purposes.

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