Lawyer of CA

Fort Ord (CA) (Images of America)

Description

From its establishment during World War I to its closure at the end of the Cold War, the Army installation best known as Fort Ord made a significant contribution to our national defense. Founded as a training area for Presidio of Monterey troops in 1917, Fort Ord covered more than 28,000 acres near the city of Monterey in its heyday. The local topography made it ideal as an infantry training center, and this was its primary mission throughout much of the 20th century. Most recently, Fort Ord was home to the 7th Infantry Division (Light), which was inactivated in 1993. In September 1994, Fort Ord closed its gates and became a part of military history.

Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2009-02-15
Summary: "very enjoyable book"

I appreciate getting this book of a visual history of Ft. Ord. I was stationed there in 1967-1968 prior to going to Vietnam...it was my most favorite military assignment and have lots of good memories...

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Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2008-08-10
Summary: "Great book!"

Bought it as a gift for my father who did his basic training at Fort Ord. He loved the book!

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Rating: 3 / 5
Date: 2007-02-26
Summary: "Good for What is Is, but Limited"

The Images of America series is great for what it is, which is collections of historical photos you'd have a hard time finding collected anywhere, much less in print. Since Fort Ord is such a prominent part of the landscape over Monterey Bay -- literally and figuratively -- and the future disposition of much of it still very much an open-ended question in many ways -- this is a great book to have as a partial guide to the rich history of the place.

However, sometimes pictures tell a whole story, and sometimes they don't. In this case, I think the volume suffers from several major gaps. One is the lack of photographic coverage from the initial opening of the camp up through the mobilization period of 1940. To be sure, the bulk of the history of the Army in terms of raw numbers really starts about 1940. But there were ranches and farms in the area, the dunes had been inhabited by natives (seasonally, at least), the area had been used for maneuvers for years before that, and in general the "whole story" of the Fort is missing a lot of pieces. Further, a few more photographs of the aftermath of the base closing -- contrasting the neatly-kept base with the ruins it has become in recent years -- might have been an interesting addition.

Further, there's a social history to Fort Ord that remains untouched: the important role of Stilwell/Soldier's hall in base life, the lives of the families in base housing, the "off base" life in the surrounding towns. The filter of this particular volume omits all but a hint of this social history.

The author was the official Army historian of the place, and that's what this ends up reading like: the official history of the Army. Nothing at all wrong with that, but I would've wanted a bit more.

I live _on_ Fort Ord, for what it's worth, (among all the ghosts) and know many people who served here, and there just seems to be something missing. There's a sort of before-and-after-and-after that story to the place, and while this book covers the middle part of the base's life quite admirably, the rest of the story is given short shrift.

I still recommend this warmly as an introduction to Fort Ord, especially since there's precious little else available as yet focussing exclusively on the life and death of the base.

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Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2006-08-12
Summary: "Experts Agree: Outstanding Book"

Fort Ord:

-#4, Local Nonfiction Paperback Bestsellers List, Monterey County Herald,
25 April 2004, F4. . . . .
-#9, Top Ten Local Bestsellers List, Monterey County Herald,
26 September 2004, F4. . . . .

"New book tells Fort Ord story in pictures . . . . Author Raugh has selected about 200 vintage photographs from military archives and elsewhere and added detailed captions to them. This fascinating pictorial history tells the story of Fort Ord and of men and women who passed through its gates."
-DLIFLC and Presidio of Monterey Community News, May 14, 2004. . . . .

"Fort Ord history lives on in new book . . . . By training so many soldiers, [Fort Ord] made a huge contribution to America's security. Raugh's book gives a sense of all that."
-Dave Nordstrand, Salinas Californian, May 15, 2004. . . . .

"A newly published book, Images of America - Fort Ord, has more than 200 rare photographs which tell the unique story of the military site that became part of the CSUMB campus. . . Through photos, the book unveils the decades of history at Fort Ord."
-California State University Monterey Bay Campus Connection, June 2004. . . . .

"Fort Ord images make this a must-have book . . . . Without a question, this is a `must' purchase for not only anyone who might have trained or served a tour of duty at Fort Ord but also local residents who want a record of the base's past."
-Silas Spaeth, Salinas Californian, June 12, 2004. . . . .

"Enjoy a pictorial perspective of the history of Fort Ord . . . . Raugh, a retired Lieutenant Colonel, served two tours of duty at Fort Ord. Wanting to preserve as much of Fort Ord's past as possible, Raugh took on this task as `a labor of love.'"
-Bob Walch, Watsonville (CA) Register-Pajaronian, July 3, 2004. . . . .

"But Raugh's early military history also includes two tours of duty as an infantryman stationed at Fort Ord, and he has combined his military experience and historian's meticulous attention to detail in a new book released in Arcadia Publishing's series, Images of America: Fort Ord."
-Bob Walch, Monterey County Weekly, August 5-11, 2004. . . . .

"Raugh also treats us to a detailed look at one of America's most significant U.S. Army bases in Fort Ord . . . . From its humble beginnings as Camp Gigling in 1917, until its closing in September of 1994, the history of the installation is carefully laid out with detailed captions, maps, and insights on this historic military base."
-C.R. D'Amore, Military Heritage, June 2005.

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Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2005-04-21
Summary: "Fabulous book"

The former Fort Ord, located off Highway 1 near Monterey, California, is a ghost town of abandoned, run-down buildings. It is sad to see it now. This wonderful book shows through mesmerizing photographs that Fort Ord was once a lively and important military installation. Divided into five chronological chapters, the 200 photographs in this fabulous volume show soldiers training and in tent encampments before World War II, then the construction of the post as World War II began. It shows buildings, soldiers, vehicles, weapons, and training activities from World War II until the 7th Infantry Division "Lightfighters" deployed to Panama in 1989 and the post was closed in 1994. I was spellbound by every excellent photograph and the detailed captions. This outstanding book pays tribute to the thousands of soldiers who trained and served at Fort Ord, and puts a human face on military service. I recommend this superb book unhesitatingly and in the strongest terms. It is great! Buy it and cherish it now.