Camp Claiborne Camp Claiborne was a U . S . Army military camp during World War II located in Rapides Parish in central Louisiana . The camp was under the jurisdiction of the U . S . Eighth Service Command , and included 23 , 000 acres ( 93 km² ) . The camp was just north of the town of present day Forest Hill , near the intersection of U . S . Highway 165 and Louisiana Highway 112 . History . It was established June 10 , 1930 as Camp Evangeline , named for the Evangeline District of the Kisatchie National Forest where it was situated . It was later renamed for the Governor of the Territory of Orleans and first governor of the State of Louisiana , William C . C . Claiborne . In 1939 construction crews were sent to expand the camp and it was activated in 1940 . From 1939 to 1946 over half a million men went through Camp Claiborne . The camp was mainly used for basic training and artillery practice , which included the nearby Winn District - Kisatchie Precision Bombing Range . It was also home to the Engineering Unit Training Command ( EUTC ) and special service forces training was also conducted there , including railroad battalion training . The 34th Infantry Division ( United States ) came to Claiborne for its basic training and would be the first American force sent to the European Theater of Operations ( ETO ) . In 1941 , prior to the United States declaring war , the camp was part of the Louisiana Maneuvers , a 400 , 000 man training exercise involving two imaginary countries fighting each other . The two armies faced each other across the Red River , over of land , including part of East Texas . Near the end of the war German prisoners of war ( POW ) were held at the camp . For many of the men , like the ones from the 34th Infantry Division , who were from Iowa , Minnesota , North Dakota , South Dakota , and Wisconsin , they had never been to the south . Not only did they have to get used to basic training , they had to get used to the climate of Louisiana . The camp was deactivated in 1945 and returned to Kisatchie National Forest , as part of the National Forest System , administered by the U . S . Forest Service . Units Serving . Many units were created or reactivated at Camp Claiborne to include the 84th Infantry Division , U . S . 5th Tank Group , 784th Tank Battalion , 82nd Airborne Division , 407th Brigade Support Battalion , 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment , 101st Airborne Division , 327th Infantry Regiment , 205th Infantry Brigade renamed to 103rd Reconnaissance Troop , 325th Infantry Regiment , 412th Engineer Command , 761st Tank Battalion , 497th Transportation Company , 33rd Infantry Regiment , 18th Engineer Brigade , 1195th Engineer Base Depot Group Redesignated 1195th Engineer Combat Group HHC , 361st Special Services Engineers Regiment , 393rd Special Services Engineers Regiment , 712th Railway Operating Battalion , 725th Railway Operating Battalion Railroad . To simulate wartime repairs of railroads the Claiborne - Polk Military Railroad was built . The railroad was about 50 miles long and had 25 bridges . It crossed the Calcasieu River . It ran from Camp Claiborne — on the Missouri Pacific south of Alexandria — westward 48 miles to Camp Polk — on the Kansas City Southern south of Leesville . Construction began on 4 September 1941 and the Golden Spike ceremony was held on 11 July 1942 . In October 1942 , the soldiers who had built the Claiborne - Polk Military Railroad shipped out to Iran , where they helped operate the Trans - Iranian Railroad . The foundation of the locomotive shop and other remnants can still be seen . The 725th and other ROBs referred to it as the ` Crime and Punishment ` RR . Built by the 711th ROB and Army engineers . The engines were 40 years old , and the freight cars , some not US made were two generations old . Some European cars had only 4 wheels and did not do well on curves . Derailments were so often that they pulled a crane to pick up derailed cars and repair the roadbed . Often , the crane even derailed . Sometimes the rails sunk under the swamp and cars were lost in the quicksand . More than one engineer reported seeing the rails swaying and vibrating for some time after the train had passed . It was reported that one engine was lost in the quicksand and is still there . In other cases buildings were built on top of the lost equipment , using it as a foundation . Old Buildings . When the camp was closed in 1948 many buildings were donated or sold in the area and were moved . Some can be found in Forest Hill . The St . Catherine Church on the junction of US 165 with Robinson Bridge Road is using one of the military buildings . The Camp Claiborne chapel was relocated to Clarence in Natchitoches Parish , where it is still used for worship services by the Clarence Baptist Church . The balcony , now a storage area , was used by African American troops who were segregated in worship from white soldiers who used the pews of the lower tier . Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Marksville Avoyelles Parish purchased an old building from Camp Claiborne after World War II , for conversion as a rectory . Some buildings were purchased by Southeast Louisiana State University . Today . The U . S . Forest Service ( USFS ) manages the property where the camp once was , not much is left , part of a gate and a handful of scattered shells of buildings , some of which have been fenced off and sealed with sheets of metal . Many streets still exist as well as parking lots and footings of all the old buildings . The USFS also maintains Claiborne Trail , a trail system for hiking , walking , and biking through the area . Today the U . S . Army Corps of Engineers ( USACE ) is in the process of evaluating the grounds of the former camp to see how feasible it would be to remove possible unexploded ordnance .