Side 1:
In October 1918, the Infantry School of Arms was established on 80 acres of land near here. Camp Benning, later Fort Benning, was named in honor of Confederate Infantry General Lewis Benning, a Columbus resident. The camp's first commander was Col. Henry Eames. Constructed in just 7 days, the temporary camp had some 300 tents, mess halls, offices and warehouses. It was built under the supervision Major J. Paul Jones. Hundreds of thousands of young men received their military training under the watchful eye of such legendary military leaders as Marshall, Eisenhower, Stilwell, Collins, and Patton here at the Infantry School.
Side 2:
Fort Benning's mission has always been to train infantrymen for their task of defending the nation. Fort Benning, now located south of Columbus on some 200,000 acres, is the free world's largest infantry training facility. Fort Benning has trained infantrymen who have fought with pride in all the nation's military involvements for more than half a century. During World War II, the Cold War, the wars in Korea, Vietnam, and Panama, as well as Desert Storm, infantrymen have fought and died to keep this nation free. This marker honors the infantrymen who have for the past 75 years trained at the Home of the Infantry.
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