Page 18 - Armed Forces Fort George G. Meade Base Guide - Summer/Fall 2024

WELCOME

Airport: Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Meade and acquired fame by becoming the Army’s only tank-riding
Airport (BWI) is in Anne Arundel County approximately 10 miles dog. Joe died in 1937 at the post hospital. The entire 66th Infantry
from post and is the closest airport to Fort Meade. Other airports honored Joe with a military formation and a procession of tanks.
in the area include Dulles International Airport (Northern Virginia) Military trucks escorted Joe to a grave near one of the tank parks.
and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (Washington, D.C.).
World War II
Regional Transit Authority
Fort Meade became a training center during World War II, and its
The Regional Transit Authority (RTA) manages public transit services ranges and other facilities were used by more than 200 units and
in Howard, Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties and the city approximately 3.5 million Soldiers between 1942 and 1946. The
of Laurel. RTA provides a free one-call/one-click transportation wartime peak of military personnel at Fort Meade was 70,000 in
information clearinghouse for the Baltimore-Washington region. March 1945.
Through the Transportation Resource Information Point (TRIP) you
can find all public transportation schedules and fare information Fort Meade was home to many services. The Cooks and Bakers
for the Baltimore Metropolitan region. Call 1-877-331-TRIP (8747) School supplied bread for the entire post—approximately 20,000
for assistance. The RTA services to Fort Meade from the Odenton people, including families. In 1942, the Third Service Command
MARC station are served by the Crofton Connector. See the opened the Special Services Unit Training Center, where Soldiers
schedule at https://www.aacounty.org/transportation/transit/ were trained in all phases of the entertainment field. Entertainers,
routes-service-hours. musicians, and others involved in the entertainment industry,
including swing-band leader Glenn Miller, served in Special Services.
Fort Meade History
Fort Meade was also home to a number of German and Italian
Named for Civil War Hero prisoners of war. In September 1943, a group of 1,632 Italian and
58 German prisoners arrived at Fort Meade. Some of those prisoners
Originally called Camp Meade, the base was authorized by an Act died during captivity and were buried on the installation.
of Congress in May 1917 as one of 16 cantonments built for troops
drafted for World War I. The present Maryland site was selected June Post World War II
23, 1917 because of its proximity to three railroads, Baltimore’s ports, With the conclusion of World War II, Fort Meade reverted to
and Washington, D.C. The cost for construction was $18 million, peacetime activities. One key post-World War II event at Fort Meade
and the land sold for $37 per acre in 1917. More than 15,000 men was the transfer from Baltimore, on June 15, 1947, of the Second
were involved in the construction of 1200 wooden buildings U.S. Army Headquarters. This transfer brought an acceleration
that housed more than 400,000 men who deployed through the of post activity because Second Army Headquarters exercised
camp on their way to France. In addition to troops, Camp Meade command over Army units throughout a seven-state area. A
included a remount station which held 12,000 horses, mules, and a second important development occurred Jan. 1, 1966, when the
blacksmith school. The 5,400 acres of land on which Fort Meade sits Second U.S. Army merged with First U.S. Army. The consolidated
was originally owned by Maj. Samuel Snowden, a Revolutionary War headquarters moved from Fort Jay, NY to Fort Meade to administer
hero. Camp Meade was named in honor of Maj. Gen. George Gordon activities of Army installations in a 15-state area.
Meade, whose victory at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 proved a
major factor in turning the tide of the Civil War in favor of the North. Middle Eastern Conflicts
World War I In August 1990, Fort Meade began processing Army Reserve and
National Guard units from several states for the presidential call-up
In addition to men and horses, Camp Meade included three infantry in support of Operation Desert Shield. In addition to processing
divisions, three training battalions and one depot brigade. The “Hello Reserve and Guard units, Fort Meade sent two of its own active-
Girls”—women who served as bilingual telephone-switchboard duty units—the 85th Medical Battalion and the 519th Military Police
operators in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War I—were Battalion—to Saudi Arabia. In all, approximately 2,700 personnel
also an important part of Fort Meade’s history. They were some of the from 42 units deployed from Fort Meade during Operation Desert
first women to serve as uniformed members of the Army—24 years Shield/Desert Storm.
before the Women’s Army Corps was established. In 1928, the post
was designated Fort Leonard Wood, but Pennsylvania congressmen, Post 9/11
angry at having the name of native son George Meade removed,
held up Army appropriations until the Army agreed to name the After the events of Septempter 11, 2001, like all military installations
new permanent installation Fort George G. Meade, which it did on across the country and the world, the Army instituted increased
March 5, 1929. security measures. Roads once used as shortcuts through the
installation were closed. Gate guards and changed entry procedures
Tank Corps Joe made the installation less accessible. Despite these changes, Fort
Meade continues to hold job fairs and other major events to which
Around 1923, the famed tank-riding dog, Old Joe, befriended the public is welcomed. In addition, Fort Meade Soldiers, Sailors,
Soldiers who manned the 66th Infantry’s light tanks. Joe became the Airmen and Marines are deployed to far corners of the world to
66th Infantry’s official pet by order of the commanding officer of Fort
provide support to the War on Terror on multiple fronts.
B-6 Armed Forces Fort George G. Meade Base Guide