Camp Elmore, Norfolk, Va. -- U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command held a ceremony, where Camp Allen was rededicated as Camp Elmore in honor of Korean War Navy Cross recipient Pfc. George W. Elmore, Nov. 27, 2018 at Camp Elmore.
In the mid 90’s, Elmore was the first enlisted Marine in history to have a Marine installation named in his honor.
“In 1953, Lt. Gen. Graves Erskine, former Commanding General of U.S. Fleet Marine Forces, Atlantic, honored Pfc. Elmore's heroic achievements and his ultimate sacrifice by naming the land that accommodated Fleet Marine Forces Atlantic Marines and personnel for him,” said Col. Thomas H. Campbell, the commanding officer of Headquarters and Service Battalion, MARFORCOM. “Today the spirit of that naming lives on as we have a unique opportunity to name all historical spaces and buildings on what was formerly part of Camp Allen for Pfc. Elmore alongside his family, friends, and the community in which our command has worked and lived for more than 70 years.”
Elmore, while serving in Korea with George Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division was killed February 26, 1951. As an automatic rifleman, Elmore was covering the evacuation of casualties from an unprotected position when enemy fire fatally wounded him. For this he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
“He did what he thought was the right thing to do; he sacrificed himself for others to be rescued,” said Deborah Hager, Elmore’s niece. “It kind of weakened my knees a little bit.”
Camp Elmore, formerly known as Camp Allen, was first commissioned February 11, 1953 and served as a billeting and training area for the Navy SeaBees, a Camp for German prisoners of war and subsequently by the Army for personnel attached to the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation. In recent years, it has served as a billeting and training area for Marines assigned to Charlie Company, Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team (FAST), U.S. Marine Corps Security Force Regiment.
“The Corps' commitment to remember its fallen comrades is unfortunate in its necessity,” Campbell said. “However, events like this remind us that brotherhood is timeless and that slogans like "never forget" are not just words, they are time-honored calls to action.”