A total of 10 buildings dating to the start of World War II at Ford Leonard Wood in Missouri are scheduled to be demolished this month.
The U.S. Army stated in a news release that the buildings, constructed in 1941 as temporary structures, must be razed as the military branch “continues to evolve and transform to meet today’s mission.”
“They no longer have a designated use, don’t meet today’s building standards and are too expensive to renovate and maintain. They are quickly becoming a safety hazard,” said Mark Lenox, Department of Public Works director.
“We absolutely understand that these buildings hold a special place in our history and that many in our community, including me, will be sad to see them go. It’s a difficult but necessary decision. Our primary responsibility is to the Army’s mission,” Lenox said.
The 10 buildings scheduled for demolition were built in 1941 when Fort Leonard Wood was established as a training camp to train infantry and engineer Soldiers during World War II. […]
“We have a deep and abiding respect for our military history. However, we must also be practical and responsible. We looked at everything from future use to the high cost of maintenance. In the end, the buildings had fallen into such disrepair that we faced a tough choice — conduct a controlled demolition now or allow them to become a serious safety hazard for everyone on post,” Lenox said.
The condemned buildings are part of 12 World War II-era structures along Nebraska Avenue across from the Auto Skills Center. Two buildings that will be preserved are the restroom and the chapel.
The original buildings were conceived as barracks, mess halls, day rooms, storehouses and administrative space for the 182nd Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Leonard Wood during World War II.
After the war, the buildings continued tohouse and support soldiers until 1981. After that, they were converted to historic museum space. The museum stopped using these buildings about 2019.
Though Fort Leonard Wood technically isn’t on Route 66, it is strongly associated with the highway. The Route 66 town of St. Robert is nearby.
The base also trained at least 300,000 soldiers during World War II and continues to train 80,000 people annually. Route 66 was and is a key link to bring them there or send them elsewhere.
(Image of one of the Fort Leonard Wood buildings via U.S. Army news release)
I lived in one of these at Fort Leonard Wood (May well have been this one) just before shipping out to Vietnam.