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Washington county's most hush-e hush wartime secret—what went on at Camp Ritchie during recent •v years—is a secret no more, following relaxation of government censorship on activities at the G-2 ,je. military intelligence training cen-by ter during hostilities.Byj. Censorship was so strict that ray men stationed there were not per-up mitted to identify themselves asrar. connected with Military Intelligence, and newspapers were re-m6 quested not to mention the camp the by name. Now that the war Is he over, details of the activities there are being released, and were toldof by James H. Bready, writing inme yesterday’s Baltimore Sunday Sun. ur- The countless stories, -legends,ay. and rumors that sprang up locally ice about Cam;,, Ritchie sometimes had ■we at least a partial foundation in n’t truth. The need for secrecy, however, made it impossible to debunk on- totally false impressions countians azi gathered from chats with men .nd stationed at Ritchie, and thirdly!- hand reports.his For instance, assignment tosm Camp Ritchie was far from easy ed to obtain. If a soldier showed un-ial due eagerness to go there, he was es, immediately placed under buss’n- picion. Selection was made from any arm of service by traveling an- boards, and a confidential investigation made of every man’s patriot-Iism to the United States was made.Classes at Ritchie usually numbered between 300 and 500, split into sections of about 40, with about one officer to each six enlisted men. A new class started its eight-week course each month. The province of G-2 covers the ew organization, techniques, capacities tas 3-nd intentions of the enemy, ity Broken down from this, the follow-lia ing led among Ritchie interests: ut reading aerial photographs, inter-ld rogating enemy prisoners of war, thwarting and seizure of enemy of intelligence agents, enemy order rly of battle, advance Burvey of ter-At rain, and procurement of military ras information from friendly alien nd civilians.Charges of ‘'Bofties” addressed of' toward Ritchie men came only rg- from those who didn't know the at facts. The two-day and eight-day ck- field exercise problems at Camp Ritchie were usually pronounced ex- tougher than Paramushiro or Fil-to zen by veterans who had been,5s.— HZZ —‘through both. ;■ :v ^; £The harder field exercise, thetwo-day, consisted of sending outa dozeu-man patrol to find its wayin all weather about a 30-mile course circling the mountains about the camp. Each - of the 19stations which must'be reportedto could be found only through a compass azimuth. Worst of all, Ritchie personnel though*, was the frontal ascent of Hi g h Rock, a . far cry from the process when tourists used'to'.visit the edifice. Broken legs and anklesresulted from nearly every runningof the problem during the winter,when ice added to the perils.The eight-day problem consisted of hurling back an imaginary invasion of the . Atlantic seaboard, complete with a sound-track recording of actual combat-noises.The hills and forests surrounding the camp will he giving up Bouvenirs of the war for years to come—C-ration cans, spent cartridges, and forsaken tent pinB.Those who have not visited Camp Ritchie since the war began would notice instantly the changesthere. Beyond the ,main gate now are a new theater, PX, and chapel. The rows of stone cookhouses just above them were made over intoclassrooms. . Above, on the hillside, are new army barracks, and yet behond, two huge stone mess-halls. Up the draw has blossomed a large quartermaster compound, and across the lake is another new cluster, principally officers' quarters, WAC quarters, and the hospital.Bready credits Ritchie graduates with turning in “shqewd, thorough work of outstanding aid to G-2’s at divisional and higher levels in appraising the enemy situation and in advising field generals thereupon.”Brig. Gen. Charles Y, Banflll was In charge of the camp from the time it was taken over by G-2 until he was given a Pacific assignment in the fall of 1944. From his name, the word Banday” was created, since every eighth day rather than every seventh was a holiday for Ritchie men.Nationally and world famous men and women were stationed at Ritchie from time to time—Man Mountain Dean, the wrestler; Julian Green, American. • French novelist, and many others.
Newspaper Details
Hagerstown Morning Herald
Hagerstown, Maryland, US
Mon, Dec 17, 1945
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 05 Aug 2018
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