An interesting and enlightening evening was experienced by all in attendance at the Rose Caracappa Center in Mount Sinai on Monday, June 11, 2018.
Camp Upton was one of sixteen cantonments built to train soldiers upon the United States’ entry into World War I. The camp was located on nearly 20,000 acres of scrub pine forest on Long Island. It was the home of the 77th “Liberty” Division, many from the New York area, whose soldiers distinguished themselves in battle in the Argonne Forest. Its most famous soldier, Irving Berlin, wrote “God Bless America” and “Yip Yip Yaphank” while training at Camp Upton. It is now the site of Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Co-authors Suzanne Johnson and David Clemens will speak about the history of Camp Upton. Suzanne Johnson served as local history librarian, assistant director and director of the Longwood Public Library in Middle Island. She is the author of “Longwood Long Ago”, a history pamphlet for students. David Clemens was the director of the Longwood Public Library from 1983 to 2010. He is a member of the Company of Military Historians. The images in their book come primarily from the Thomas R. Bayles Local History Collection in the Longwood Public Library. Their talk will include additional photos discovered since the book was published in December 2017.
