1951 – Virginia, Ft. Belvoir ERTC

Basic Training

Grover entered the U.S. Army in 1951 and completed his basic training at Fort Belvoir’s Engineer
Replacement Training Center (ERTC), Virginia prior to shipping out overseas to Japan. During his time at Ft. Belvoir, he captured hundreds of pictures of his day to day experiences, and sent copies back home to his sister, Dot. When these pictures were removed from his personal photo album to be scanned, we discovered he had written notes on the back, providing a glimpse into his thoughts at the time.

Photo Album

Service Buddies

Ft. Belvoir Engineer Replacement Training Center

Here is some interesting information I found regarding the ERTC. Compare the historical pictures included in the article with Grover’s pictures taken around the same time and you can really get a sense of what life was like on the base.