World War II On July 16, 1942, a U.S. Navy truck drove off Shore Drive, the scenic highway along the south shore of the
Chesapeake Bay between the resort areas of
Ocean View in
Norfolk and
Virginia Beach in
Princess Anne County. The resort town was located on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean several miles south of
Cape Henry, at the entrance to the bay. Near an inlet called "Little Creek", the truck stopped in a waterlogged bean field of the Whitehurst family's farm. For days thereafter, trucks loaded with lumber and equipment rolled into the area in almost continuous succession. The reason for this mass assault in a bean field northeast of Norfolk was that, early in
World War II, Navy planners saw a necessity for landing large numbers of American troops on foreign shores in the face of enemy gunfire. That such operations would be difficult was also evident. New methods and techniques in landing troops would have to be developed. Training would be needed before sufficient men were proficient in the complicated art of the
amphibious assault, which would enable U.S. troops to drive to the heart of the enemy. The base was initially established in the farmland of
Princess Anne County. During the early phases of World War II the base was a combination of farmland and
swamps. Four bases were constructed on this area: Camp Bradford, Camp Shelton, U.S. Naval Frontier Base, and
Amphibious Training Base. Camps Bradford and Shelton were named for the former owners of the land. Camp Bradford was a training base for Navy
Seabees, but in 1943 it was changed into a training center for the crews of
landing ship, tanks. Camp Shelton was an armed guard training center for
bluejackets serving on board merchant ships as gun crews. At the end of World War II it served as a separation center. The Frontier Base was the forwarding center for amphibious force personnel and equipment destined for the
European theater. The Amphibious Training Base (also known as "Little Creek") was the center for all types of amphibious training and the training of ship's crews for
landing ship medium,
landing craft infantry, and
landing craft utility;
landing craft mechanized and
landing craft vehicle personnel boat crews were also trained at Little Creek. In a few months, the trained men who were to land fighting forces from Africa to
Normandy were ready for sea. During World War II, over 200,000 Naval personnel and 160,000 Army and Marine Corps personnel trained at Little Creek.
Post-World War II The four bases were partially inactivated at the end of hostilities of World War II. Shortly thereafter, however, the bases at Little Creek, because of their central location on the Atlantic coast, excellent and varied beach conditions, proximity to the naval facilities of
Norfolk, berthing facilities for amphibious ships through the size of LSTs, and other advantages, were consolidated into the present installation and renamed the
Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek with a commissioning date of August 10, 1945. It was designated a permanent base in 1946. Growing over the years to meet the needs of the amphibious force, the base has developed into one of the most modern in the Navy. Thousands of men and women from all branches of the Armed Forces, as well as military students from foreign nations, now pass through the gates of the Naval Amphibious Base yearly for training in amphibious warfare. Today nearly 13,000 sailors, Marines, and civilian employees are assigned to the various stations or attend schools at the Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek in support of the Navy/Marine Corps team. == Tenant commands ==