Forth to the mighty conflict

by Allen Cronenberg

On the eve of World War II, and still feeling the effects of the Great Depression, Alabama had a fairly progressive congressional delegation with strong ties to the Roosevelt White House. Governor Frank Dixon and aggressive civic leaders worked hard to bring military bases and defense investments to the state, with great success. Like other southern states, Alabama played a conspicuous role in training troops for war. Thousands of servicemen passed through Fort McClellan and Camp Rucker on their way to combat. Camp Sibert was the army's most modern facility for chemical warfare training. It was said that the road to Tokyo led through Montgomery's Maxwell Field, and nearly 1,000 African Americans learned flight skills at the Tuskegee Army Air Field before engaging the enemy over North Africa, the Mediterranean, and Europe. Nearly 17,000 Axis POWs, many of whom had been captured in North Africa, were imprisoned in Alabama. The first POW camp opened in Aliceville, and other large camps we