Hub City and the Spartanburg County Historical Association celebrated the release of When the Soldiers Came to Town at a reception and book signing at the Regional Museum of History, 100 East South Main Street, Sunday, Nov. 21. In addition to getting a book and author signatures, patrons toured the wide-ranging historical exhibit of Camp Wadsworth (1917-1919) and Camp Croft (1941-1945) artifacts.

During World War I and World War II, more than 350,000 men on their way to battlefields abroad came to Spartanburg to learn to be soldiers at the training camps of Wadsworth and Croft. The story of how wartime preparation changed them, and how they in turn changed Spartanburg, is the focus of Hub City's newest history book, a lively, illustrated history edited by Susan Turpin, Carolyn Creal, Ron Crawley, and James Crocker of the Spartanburg County Historical Association.

The writers who contributed to this remarkable history include Wes Hope, Ron Crawley, Bill Sapp, Susan Thoms, Doyle Boggs, Jeffrey Willis, Fritz Hamer, John Brinsfield, Susan Turpin, Roger Wilkie, Phillip Stone, George Fields, and Melissa Walker. In addition, there are 19 first-person "dispatches" from people who remember the two camps.

"The story of these military camps is one of the great stories of our community, and we are excited to finally present this history in a Hub City book," said Betsy Teter, executive director. "The staff and volunteers of the Historical Association have done a tremendous service in compiling this volume." Few traces remain of the 2,000-acre Wadsworth training facility and the 20,000-acre Croft complex. Many of the soldiers who trained there are gone as well. But this collection of photographs and memories ensures that Spartanburgand the rest of the worldwill not forget what went on at those bases in those short years. It also shines a light on the dynamic beginnings of the Spartanburg Memorial Airport, site of numerous "war games" that trained thousands of American flyboys in the early 1940s.

Along with engaging oral histories, there are more than 400 photographs herefrom soldiers parading in Morgan Square and dining in local restaurants to digging combat trenches and learning bugle calls. The paperback book, which sells for $19.95, will also be available at area book stores and gift shops or can be ordered the catalog on this website. Hardback copies of the book are available to donors who contribute $100 to the Hub City Writers Project during 2004.

With this comprehensive compilation, the Hub City Writers Project is pleased to salute the American soldiers who fought for liberty in two world wars and the Spartanburg townspeople who hosted them.