As stated above, I am currently busy preparing for "adult summer camp" also known as the National Matches that are held annually at Camp Perry, Ohio. I won't go into a detailed history of the National Matches. There are plenty out there for those who are interested. Suffice to say, there have been several occasions since 1907 when the Matches were not held at Perry: WWI, WWII, the Korean War, covid, and a couple others.
In the shooting world, "Perry" is like a religious experience. Not that I want to invoke religious references, but when you see what some shooters go through to prepare for the matches, it is a near-religious experience. In that regard, I'm glad to be more of a "just shoot" kind of competitor.
A little about Camp Perry, again without going down into the weeds. Camp Perry is an Ohio National Guard Training Facility. An Army installation. It is located on the south shore of Lake Erie approximately 40 miles east of Toledo, Ohio. During WWI, it served as a concentration camp. During WWII, it served as a POW camp for members of the Italian contingent of the Afrika Korps. It was a good break from the stress of spreading fascism across North Africa. Many of the huts that were constructed to house the prisoners still stand to this day with many of those having been refurbished. I have stayed in those huts. It is part of the Perry experience.
Camp Perry is also the ONLY US Army installation named after a Naval officer. Why? Well, during the War of 1812, the Battle of Lake Erie was fought in the very headwaters of the lake right off the beaches of the post. Commodore Perry's victory over the British ensured the securing of the lake for the remainder of the war and kept the British forces confined to the area of Detroit.
When the Army was looking for a suitable location for a training facility, the State of Ohio was all too happy to oblige. When the State said the proposed post must be named after the Commodore, the Army of course balked. After all, he was a naval officer and this was to be an Army installation. The State basically said "you all don't understand. The Battle of Lake Erie was fought here and this is how we want to honor Commodore Perry. If you want the land, this is what the terms are". Gen. Critchfield, who would be the Adjutant General for the Ohio National Guard and oversaw the construction of Camp Perry, agreed and that became the start for the premier shooting matches in the US. The Critchfield Trophy, introduced at the National Matches in 1934, is in honor of the General.
Among many of Camp Perry's claims to fame is that a number of its members were in the Philippines shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and America's entry into WWII. Those men were captured and endured the infamous Bataan Death March. Many of those men did not come home. The Bataan Chow Hall, long since destroyed by a hurricane, was named in honor of those men. I've eaten many a meal in the chow hall before it was destroyed.
Famous dignitaries who entertained troops there during WWII include Bing Crosby, Loretta Young, and Bob Hope.
