The Flu Strikes Fort Belvoir: Camp A. A. Humphreys and the Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918
Each year, as the fall and winter months approach, many Americans become concerned with getting their annual flu shots to ward off the latest strains of influenza, a potentially deadly disease. In the summer and autumn of 1918, the Spanish influenza pandemic struck Europe and the Americas, killing millions of people during the closing stages of World War I. This article will examine how the flu struck Camp A.A. Humphreys (now Fort Belvoir), Virginia, in 1918 and how military authorities coped with its effects.
701st Military Police Battalion
The 701st Military Police Battalion, one of the first such battalions in the U.S. Army, was activated at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on 1 February 1941. Filled with draftees, the battalion was assigned to VII Corps to serve as internal security and Zone of Interior troops, thus releasing combat troops from that duty.
