- Title
- Our state
-
-
- Date
- June 1998
-
-
- Place
- ["North Carolina, United States"]
-
Our state
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tar heel sports
by Gary Bedingficld
The Final Pitch
In the summer of 1 943. the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment Red Devils,
based in Camp Mackall. began playing catch on the warm Scotland County soil. By 1 945 they had
become a winning baseball team — and experienced one of humanity’s darkest hours.
Willi more than 1(H) military
installations operating
fiercely competitive sports
programs for troops during World
Win II. North Carolina was a veritable
gold mine ol baseball talent. But when
the 508th Parachute Infantry
Regiment Red Devils clinched the par¬
ticularly coveted Camp Mackall cham¬
pionship during the summer
«»!
I IMS.
they had little idea that the next game
they were to play would be 3.000 miles
away amid the chaos and devastation
of bomb-torn England.
The 508th. one of four regiments
assigned to the 82nd "All American”
Airborne Division, moved to Camp
Mackall from Georgia at the end ol
1012. Located west ol Fayetteville in
Scotland County, the 62.000-acre
camp was a remarkable example ol
wartime construction. Completed in
just four months, it featured heated
barracks, five movie theaters, a hospi¬
tal. and a three-runway airfield. It was
named for Private John T. Mac kall.
the first American paratroopei to Ik-
killed during the war.
Baseball at Camp Mackall began
with lazy afternoon games ol catch
dining off-duty hours. Because ol the
encouragement those- games provided,
a camp league was soon established.
The all-volunteer airborne lorces con¬
sisted ol men from diifcrcnt regions
ol the country, drawn, perhaps, as
much by the $50 monthly ha/ardouv
duty bonus as by the thrill and honor
of serving as a paratrooper, fhe 508th
lound it was rich in baseball talent.
In addition to several players with
semi-professional experience —
among them pitchci
О
key Mills of
Crab Orchard, West Virginia, and sec¬
ond baseman I-ce Reisenlciter of
Brentwood, Missouri — the Red Devils
were fortunate to have the services of
a prominent minor-league pitcher.
:* ,:,'v - •
84 Our State June 1998