Camp Van Dorn Slaughter

Prior to their assignment to Camp Van Dorn, the soldiers of the unit were involved in a racial incident in Phoenix, Arizona, known as The Phoenix Massacre, in which soldiers from the 364th rioted in Phoenix overnight. In June 1943, about 1,200 Negro soldiers were allegedly massacred by fellow white soldiers at Camp Van Dorn. An investigation by the U.S. Army has accounted for the whereabouts of all of the individual soldiers alleged to have been murdered.[1] This incident was alleged to have occurred by an Army clerk, Carrol Case, in his self-published book, The Slaughter. The soldiers protested racial strife in the base and surrounding community;[1] the Army confirmed at least half a dozen racial incidents occurred in the area.[3] The Army denies the massacre ever took place and although Case and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have found accounts of unrest, nothing has surfaced that hints at a massacre.[2] The bodies were said by the author of The Slaughter to have been buried on the outskirts of the base and covered by a lake.[2] One soldier, Private William Walker, is confirmed to have died, having been shot by a local sheriff while escaping from military police at the front gate. He was returning to base from rest and recuperation.[4] Following these incidents, the soldiers participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers and were stationed in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.[4] At the end of World War II, 1,000 of 3,000 original soldiers remained of the 364th, an attrition rate of at least one per day.[4] Other "troublemakers" were sent to various parts of the nation.[3]

Ronald Ridenhour, who had previously investigated the My Lai massacre, became interested in the story and began interviewing local Centreville residents. After his death the story of the alleged massacre was publicized in the two-part book, The Slaughter, by Carroll Case, a former banker who investigated the case.[5] Part one presents historical documentation and analysis of the case; part two is a fictionalized account in which Case attempts to further explain what happened at Camp Van Dorn.

The NAACP, under Kwesi Mfume, asked for an investigation into this incident by Janet Reno.[1]

• The Slaughter[6]