Evening star., 1924-10-26
SOLDIER STADIUM
GOING UP RAPIDLY
Fort Benning Infantry School
Men Here to Play Marines
Have Unique Project.

Both Secretary of War Weeks and
Cen. PershinE look upon the foot ball
:-ame here next Saturday between
the Marines and the Fort Benning,
TIA. Infantrymen as a long step for
ward in the plan to make athletics
distinctive part of military life. The
Benning team especially counts the
game an important advance in
their aspiration to win supremacy in
ervice foot ball. The team will be
here all this week at Washington
Barracks for practice.
Work on the doughboy memorial
stadium is well under way at Fort
Benning. The Infantry School there
was established as permanent in
Development, Secretary Weeks said:
we have. set at Fort Benning the
greatest school of arms in the world,
bar none"
The appropriateness of a recrea-
;lonal center. including the stadium.
us a memorial to the men OF the
World War who made the great sac
rtice seems selt-evident to it's spon-
Sors, who predict it will make for
moral Improvement through true
craftsmanship and for physical gains
for present and future doughboys.
Heroes Are Remembered.
Care is being taken to hold in re-
membrance past heroes in the design
OF the stadium. it will be a steel and
concrete structure, ornamented with
tablets and Statuary. The stands are
divided into bays, each OF which will
hc dedicated to an Infantry regiment.
and above which will fly the regi-
mental flags when games are being
played involving men of the respec-
a al n
boxes, on which will be placed bronze
ulateS bearing the names OF those TO
whom the boxes are dedicated, the
names being suggested by contrlbu-
tors to the building fund.
When the idea of stadium was
b-oached there were no appropria-
lions available. Fort Benning Is To-
cated on q large tract of land of
diversified terrain nine miles from
Columbus, Ga, and officers and men
stationed there decided to provide
recreational facilities on their own
hook" The United States Infantry
tssocia ton became int crested and q
financing campaign was laid out.
Word was sent to various infantry
rCgiments throughout the country
III o officers of the civilian compon-
q. of the Army. In d few months
S. 900 had been contributed by in
Lantrymen from every section and
from China, Porto Rico and other dis
tant posts. Then the two regiments
at Fort Benning adopted as their slo-
gan: You furnish he dough and We'll
furnish the doughboys" They began
work last Summer and it is hoped TO
have at least one game in the sta
dunn before the end of this foot ball
Sc aSon.
PershinE Aids Project.
Gen. Pershing -: resent to pour
the first yard "a 'oacrete for the sta
diun. Inter-. IN athletics at the
fort h~cau, atense, with the result
tl;.t this -ir's team is the strong
-, ... t,.at ever represented the In
f;lr..r-v |rhool.
!, IS the gridiron, the stadium
will ,yutain q 200-yard straightaway
track and circular cinder paths for
all kinds of athletic meets. The sta
dunn will seat 5000 persons.
The Infantry School, since 1899. has
graduated more than 1000 officers
National Guardsmen and reserve Off
Gers, as we'll as Regulars. are given
instruction under conditions which
now are approaching comfort. but
which at the beginning were virtually
on war footing.
Diligent and enthusiastic effort is
establishing enviable records and
scholastic standards worthy of any
professional institution. Congress is
giving more attention to the school to
the end that permanent barracks, Hv-
ing quarters and other Army post ia
cilities are taking form.
Brig. Gen. Briant H. Wells is COM
mandant at Fort Benning. There are
now 5000 officers and men there.