Plumer Bell, a World War I Veteran

Camp Grant was a U.S. Army facility located in the southern outskirts of Rockford, Illinois named in honor of General Ulysses S. Grant. Camp Grant, which at one point consisted of over 18,000 acres (73 km²), was in operation from 1917 to the late 1940s.

World War I

Aerial shot of Camp Grant

Established in 1917, Camp Grant saw its first "selected men" or draftees arrive in September of that year. Primarily a location for training infantry, it became one of the largest military training facilities during World War I. The 86th Infantry Division (Black Hawk Division) was formed there. Men of the 86th, after their initial training were sent to other units. While never serving as a division in combat during World War I, elements saw combat. One regiment, the 332nd Infantry, saw service in Italy. The 172nd Infantry Brigade was organized at Camp Grant. It is worth noting that in 1918 the Spanish Influenza Pandemic affected over 4,000, taking the lives of over 1,000 soldiers at Camp Grant between the 23rd of September and the 1st of October. Camp Grant was closed as a U.S. Army facility by December 1923, but in January, 1924, was turned over to the Illinois National Guard. The inter-war period also saw Camp Grant used by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1933 and 1935.