Camp Kilmer
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Camp Kilmer, New Jersey was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Transportation Corps. Troops billeted at Camp Kilmer in preparation for transport to the European Theater of Operations in World War II. Eventually, it became the largest processing center for troops heading overseas and returning from World War II handling over 2.5 million soldiers.
The camp was named for Joyce Kilmer, the soldier-poet of World War I, most famous for writing the poem, Trees. His home was in nearby New Brunswick, New Jersey.
The site was selected in 1941 by the War Department as the best site to serve the port of New York. Construction began in early 1942. Located at , the closest town was New Brunswick located two miles to the south. Plainfield was located four miles northeast of the camp. New York City could be reached by the mainline of the Pennsylvania Railroad, it was about 22 miles to the north. Today the site is geographically located in Edison.
The buildings were constructed of wood and were painted bright contrasting colors for a camouflage effect. This was similar to the Dazzle camouflage used for ships in World War I.
The first unit to arrive at Camp Kilmer was the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment, a complement of 1,239 enlisted men and 52 officers. The unit arrived July 22, 1942 on three separate trains from Camp Claiborne, Louisiana.
At Camp Kilmer troops would receive medical injections, send personal effects home and get the supplies needed before loading onto transport ships for travel to the ETO.
The camp remained active until the fall of 1949 when it was no longer needed.
[edit] Uses after WW II
In the fall of 1950, with hostilities in Korea, the camp was again reactivated. It was placed on inactive status again in June 1955. In November of 1956 it served as an initial place for housing for refugees from the 1956 Hungarian Revolution until June 1957. In March 1958, Camp Kilmer became Headquarters for the US Army II Corps, the controlling headquarters for United States Army Reserve units across the northeast. Camp Kilmer also housed a maintenance and repair facility supporting the NIKE / HERCULES missile sites in the greater New York metropolitan area. This facility included large, armored rooms with heavy blast doors where missile engines and conventional warheads could be worked on without danger to the surrounding area. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, the remnants of Camp Kilmer, now known as the Sergeant Joyce Kilmer Reserve Center, was the location for Headquarters, 78th Division (TS) and for the Division's 1st Brigade (BCST) headquarters, both units of the US Army Reserve. The 78th Division (TS), nicknamed the "Lightning Division" or "Jersey Lightning", is the lineal descendant of the 78th Division (two Medal Of Honor winners) of World War I fame and the 78th Infantry Division (1 Medal of Honor winner) of WW II. The current 78th Division (TS) is responsible for conducting simulations exercises and field training for US Army Reserve and Army National Guard units across 14 states from North Carolina to the Canadian border.
One can drive or walk around the surrounding area that now belongs to the City of Edison or to Rutgers University and see many buildings and facilities that were clearly part of Camp Kilmer in its hey day. Those familiar with War Department, and later Department of the Army, construction standards will get a real feeling of nostalgia from seeing how civilian organizations adapt this fine old architecture to ordinary uses.
Immediately adjacent to the Kilmer Reserve Center property, several old barracks buildings have been renovated to provide low-income temporary housing to needy transients.
[edit] Environmetal hazard
The former environs of Camp Kilmer, and the current Kilmer Reserve Center are soiled with numerous contaminants including PAHs, VOCs, SVOCs, PCBs, asbestos, and Heavy metals affecting groundwater, surface waters and sediment, as well as the soil.
