Abandoned Fort Chaffee Hospital
The Hospital located at Fort Chaffee Arkansas, has been abandoned for many years. The medical complex at Fort Chaffee opened on December 7, 1941 (Pearl Harbor Day). The medical complex itself is an enormous site with 128 buildings all held together by long hallways. The complex has its own exchange and theater. It even had its own four lane bowling alley, not to mention being a 1,595 bed hospital.
Satellite image taken on January 7th 2006 of the Hospital Complex at Fort Chaffee.
Fort Chaffee Timeline
- September 9, 1941, construction started on Camp Chaffee.
- December 7, 1941, the first soldiers arrive, combat training initiated
- 1943-1946 some 3,000 German prisoners of war were held at Camp Chaffee.
- 1948-1957 it was the home of the 5th Armored Division
- 1961- 1974 Fort Chaffee was declared inactive and placed under caretaker status
- 1975 Refugee Processing Center for Indochinese refugees. 50,809 Vietnamese refugees were processed.
- 1980-1982 25,390 Cuban refugees were processed.
- 1983 the motion picture “A Soldiers Story” was filmed
- 1986 Joint Readiness Training Center pilot program announced.
- 1987 the movie “Biloxi Blues” was filmed
- 1995 the defense Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission recommended the permanent closure of Fort Chaffee.
- 2005 Hurricane Katrina victims were processed
- January 29, 2008, fires that burned 150 buildings, mainly old barracks that in the past housed soldiers, Vietnamese and Cuban refugees, and Hurricane Katrina evacuees.
Fort Chaffee Hospital Image Gallery
Abandoned Hospital Fort Chaffee – Images by Greg Disch
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Greg Disch is a freelance photographer located in Arkansas. Greg specializes in nature, scenic, wildlife, and other outdoor subjects in Arkansas and other areas of the country. Most of the images on this site are available for sale as prints, personal use, or rights managed stock photos.
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I arrived from Wake Island (original from Saigon, S. Vietnam) back in the early of May 1975. The sky was dark when i got off an Air Force cargo plane (C-130) and went through the process of migration paper work. When to my barrack and straight to the building across for food. I never forget Salvation Army truck hand out free coffee and cookies to the Vietnamese refugee like me. The welcome of so many soldiers, staffs and volunteers at that first moment I step on US soil, what I call My Home Land now. The love and care I received that night change my life, and become a good US citizen in the last 45 hard working years. That’s the least I can do for My Country USA, it’s just the way to say Thank You United States Of America. Fort Chaffee is always in my heart as long as my heart beat. God Bless Our Nation. Thank You America.
I enjoy your photos and info all of the time. Thank you for all the hard work you put into your projects. Wish you were on social media.
thank you for your info, i served with the 1st battalion 2nd infantry in ft riley, we took part in guarding cuban refugees in january 1981 while winter training there. i was originally a apc driver for the T.O.W. but replaced the gunner and fired my only missile while in the army. just reminiscing i guess, thanks again