THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 26, 1996 TAG: 9606230045
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MELISSA GUNDEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 43 lines
I was discharged from the Navy in May, 1946, at Camp Shelton, Va. It was around Norfolk someplace. Could you tell me where Camp Shelton's location is now or what is located there? I would love to go to that area again.
Camp Shelton is now part of the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base. The base developed out of four bases constructed during World War II - Camps Bradford and Shelton, the Amphibious Training Base and the Naval Frontier Base. The base consisted of three annexes named for the former owners of the property which included Shelton on the east, Bradford in the center and Whitehurst to the west.
A Secretary of the Navy letter in July, 1945, disestablished the four bases, and Little Creek was established. Little Creek was commissioned July 30, 1945, and designated a permanent base in 1946.
What is the oldest building at the Norfolk Naval Station?
The Cornick House is the oldest building at the Norfolk Naval Station. The house, which was built in 1904, sits on what is known as ``Admirals Row'' and predates the Jamestown Exposition, a world's fair celebrating the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown.
The house is named after Albert J. Cornick, a realtor who put together the expo.
This fair was held in 1907 and lasted seven months. Crowds were heavy and attracted visitors such as President Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain.
The second oldest building is the gymnasium on Gilbert Street.
Could you tell me what happened to the Navy ship Geiger? I went to England on it in September, 1954, from Fort Hamilton, N.J., or N.Y.
In the early '60s, the troop transport was transferred to the Military Sealift Command. In 1971, it was transferred to the Maritime Administration in Washington, D.C. It was later renamed Bay State and according to the Maritime Administration, the ship was scrapped in 1987.
I'd like some information on the Covington. My grandfather was stationed on the Covington in World War I.
Your grandfather served on the Covington (No. 1409). The ship was commissioned in 1917 and made six voyages from Hoboken, N.J., to Brest, France, transporting more than 21,000 troops for service with the American Expeditionary Force. She was torpedoed without warning by a German submarine off Brest on July 1, 1918, and sank the next day. by CNB