Staff Photo
 

As troop camping became more popular in the 1950's, the need developed for additional campsites.  The thickly wooded area once known as "Ephraim Jordan's Pasture" was chosen as the site of Ridgway.  The campsite was opened in 1955.

Ridgway campsite honors General Matthew B. Ridgway, commander of the American Forces in the Korean War.
 

About Matthew B. Ridgway

Born in Fort Monroe, Virginia, graduated from Boston English High School, Boston, MA in 1912 and from West Point, where he served as a manager of the football team. In 1917, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. After returning to West Point as an instructor in Spanish the year after he graduated, Ridgway completed the company officers' course at the United States Army Infantry School in Fort Benning, Georgia, after which he was given command of a company in the 15th Infantry. This was followed by a posting to Nicaragua, where he helped supervise free elections in 1927.

In 1930, he became an advisor to the Governor General of the Philippines. He graduated from the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1935 and from the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania in 1937. During the 1930s he served as Assistant Chief of Staff of VI Corps, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Second United States Army, and Assistant Chief of Staff of the Fourth United States Army. General George Marshall was impressed with his performance and he assigned Ridgway to the War Plans Division shortly after the outbreak of World War II in Europe in September 1939. He served in the War Plans Division until January 1942, and was promoted to brigadier general that month.

In August 1942, Ridgway was promoted to major general and was given command of the 82nd Division, upon Omar N. Bradley's assignment to the 28th Infantry Division. The 82nd, having already established a combat record in WWI, had earlier been chosen to become one of the army's five new airborne divisions. The conversion of an entire infantry division to airborne status was an unprecedented step for the U.S. Army, and required many hours of training, testing, and experimentation.

~Wikipedia





Page design and layout by:
Dean B. Zaharis
Created: November 7, 2008
Last Update: November 16, 2008
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