Camp Shelby preparing for reunion of World War II veterans

CAMP SHELBY, Miss. (WDAM) – Camp Shelby is preparing to host a special reunion of World War II veterans that was postponed due to COVID-19.

About a half dozen veterans from the 65th Infantry Division and dozens of their family members will attend a reunion at Camp Shelby during the week of Nov. 8.

The 65th was activated at Camp Shelby in 1943 and it served in Europe during the last months of the war.

Reunion attendees will take part in Veterans Day activities in downtown Hattiesburg and will also participate in a special ceremony at Camp Shelby on Nov. 13.

“It’ll involve a pretty big ceremony,” said Tommy Lofton, director of the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby. “We’ll have soldiers in formation, we’ll actually have the flag of the 65th Division, we’ll be rolling and casing for them and we’ll actually have five veterans that day from World War II also receiving awards from the French government.”

He added, “it’s going to be a pretty unique experience for them, for us and for any people who feel inclined to come out here and take part in that ceremony and honor these World War Two veterans.”

The reunion was originally set to take place in 2020, but was rescheduled due to the pandemic.

The last reunion of the 65th was held at Camp Shelby in 2015.

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