The reverse of this photograph has this written on it: “Taken at Radmer place Sunday Morn Nov. 25, 1940, just before Ivan left for Army at Camp Ord California, age 20 years 4 months 1 day.” The photograph was found at an antique store in Iroquois and the museum has not been able to identify the location of the photo or the man. Anyone recognize him?
Fort Ord, where Ivan was traveling to, was located on Monterey Bay, California. Ft. Ord was established by the U.S. Army in 1917 as a field artillery site for WWI soldiers. Between the world wars the fort became a training area for horse cavalry units. After the army began mechanizing, horse units were replaced by mobile combat units with tanks, armored personnel carriers and moveable artillery. In 1941, Fort Ord became an Army basic training center. During the Korean War and Vietnam Conflict it served as a training center and staging area for troops deploying across the Pacific. In 1973, Ft. Ord became the home of the 7th Infantry Division following its return from Korea. Since 1917, Ft. Ord trained an estimated 1.5 million troops. In 1994, due to the base realignment and closures, Fort Ord was closed.