Fort Devens
Fort Devens (until 1931: Camp Devens ) was an American training camp of the US Army during the First World War . The camp had a floor area of 5,000 acres and was 35 miles northwest of Boston .
It opened in August 1917 at the time the US became a participant in the war. It was only intended as temporary accommodation for the training of soldiers. Like many other US Army training camps, it opened at a very rapid pace. During its main construction phase, 10.4 buildings were erected daily. After it was built, the camp housed 15,000 recruits within a few days , although it was by no means completed at the time. For example, the waste water from the camp flowed completely untreated into the Nashua River .
Just like Camp Funston , Camp Devens is, from today's perspective, primarily of medical historical importance. It was one of the first training camps to be hit by the second and fatal wave of the Spanish flu in the fall of 1918 . On September 7th the first soldier was hospitalized. Because of his severe clinical picture, meningitis was initially suspected in him. The next day a dozen other soldiers were already in the hospital admitted. Quarantine measures, which at this point might still have been helpful in slowing the spread of the disease, were not initiated. On September 22nd, 19.6 percent of those in the camp were sick.
In 1931 the camp became a permanent US Army facility and the name was changed to Fort Devens accordingly.
