On June 6, 1944, just hours before the start of the D-Day invasions of Europe, General Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke to the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force. He started his address to these brave young men by saying, "You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months."But where did this Crusade begin for these young men? What brought a mid-western farmer, West Virginia coal miner and young steel mill worker from Pennsylvania to these European and later Pacific beaches?

Where did these young men train for this "Great Crusade?"For many, this crusade started on Florida's Forgotten Coast. For four years, (acres) of beaches and woods along the shores of North Florida were converted to a base with the sole purpose of training amphibious soldiers and their support groups. Originally name Camp Carrabelle after the community it took over, and later named Camp Gordon Johnston, this facility trained over a quarter million men for amphibious assaults during World War II.