Special Exhibit for July 21-August 29: Special Services Forces
Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum in Carrabelle is presenting a special exhibit about the Special Services Forces at Camp Gordon Johnston. This exhibit will be on display from Tuesday, July 21 until Saturday, August 29. The museum is open every Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm. There is no charge for admission, but donations are gladly accepted.
While Camp Gordon Johnston is best known for training infantry divisions in amphibious assault, the camp’s mission changed in late 1943 when it became a U.S. Army Special Services Forces Training Center. Thousands of soldiers came to Carrabelle to train in highly specialized support roles that were essential to Allied success overseas. These units prepared to build, repair, supply, and sustain the ports and transportation networks that kept troops and equipment moving throughout the war.
This special exhibit highlights many of these vital units and their unique missions, including Port Companies, Port Construction and Repair Groups, Harbor Craft Companies, Amphibious Truck Companies, specialized Quartermaster units and other specialized units that trained at Camp Gordon Johnston before serving in Europe and the Pacific. Through photographs, artifacts, historical information, and personal stories, visitors will discover how these service members used specialized skills and equipment to support landing forces and combat operations by repairing damaged ports, operating harbor vessels, clearing obstructions, transporting critical supplies, maintaining equipment, providing logistical support, and protecting troops through their skilled operations.
During World War II, Camp Gordon Johnston trained approximately a quarter of a million soldiers. The skills learned on Carrabelle’s beaches and throughout the camp prepared not only combat troops but also the specialized support units whose work made every amphibious operation possible. Their contributions were indispensable to Allied victories across both the European and Pacific theaters.
Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum is located in Carrabelle, directly across from Carrabelle Public Beach Park at 1873 Hwy 98 West. For more information, contact Camp Gordon Johnston Museum at (850) 697-8575 or museum@campgordonjohnston.com. Funded in part by the Franklin County Tourist Development Council.
Special Exhibit for September 1-October 3: Operation Market Garden – A Bridge Too Far
Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum in Carrabelle is presenting a special exhibit on Operation Market Garden. This exhibit will be on display at the museum from Tuesday, September 1 until Saturday, October 3. The museum is open every Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm ET. There is no charge for admission, but donations are gladly accepted.
Operation Market Garden (September 17th – 27th, 1944) was the attempt to establish control of the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem on the border of Germany and the Netherlands. This involved the combined efforts of the First Allied Airborne and the XXX Corps of the British 2nd Army. The battle was unsuccessful for a variety of reasons, including the dependence on a single raised highway the ground forces had to use to link up with airborne troops (US, British and Polish) dropped at the three bridges.
This exhibit presents the military commanders from both the Allied and the German forces, and presents information of the Horsa and Waco gliders, as well as the Douglas C47 Skytrain aircraft used to bring troops and equipment from England.
The battle was commemorated in “A Bridge Too Far”, the 1977 film. “Band of Brothers”, a miniseries from HBO in 2001, also depicted the 101st Airborne’s part in this battle. They landed near Eindhoven and Veghel.
Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum is located at 1873 Hwy 98 West, directly across from the very beach where the beach assault training occurred in 1942-1943. Carrabelle Beach was the site of many practice beach assault landings. For more information, contact Camp Gordon Johnston Museum at (850) 697-8575 or museum@campgordonjohnston.com. Funded in part by the Franklin County Tourist Development Council.
Past Events
Sidney A. Winchester Building Dedication at Camp Gordon Johnston Museum
The Camp Gordon Johnston Association and WWII Museum was honored to dedicate our museum building on September 21, 2019 to the late Sidney A. Winchester, a Carrabelle native, U. S. Army veteran and key supporter of Camp Gordon Johnston Museum. We were joined by U.S. Congressman Neal Dunn, M.D. (FL-02) who made two very special presentations during the ceremony. Congressman Dunn presented a container of sand from Utah Beach, Normandy, France to the Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum and then presented an American Flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C. to Sidney Winchester’s wife, Bobbye, who accepted the flag on behalf of the Museum in honor of Sidney’s service both as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne and as a charter member and champion of the Camp Gordon Johnston Association. The sand from Utah Beach and the flag will be on display at the Museum. Also on this day, Camp Gordon Johnston Museum celebrated Smithsonian magazine’s 15th annual Museum Day. This national celebration honors museums that follow the example of the Smithsonian with free admission.
Click Here to see the Video of the Dedication Ceremony and Congressman Neal Dunn’s special presentations. Thanks to Mayor Brenda La Paz for this video! Click here to learn more about these events.
