Camp Toccoa, GA: January 5-March 21, 1943
Nestled on the southern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Camp Toccoa was “a little camp outside a little town far off the beaten path.” The 511th PIR formed on January 5 under thirty-six-year-old LTC Orin D. Haugen who became known as "Hard Rock" due to the rigorous training he put his men through at the 17,530-acre camp, including their "three miles up, three miles down" runs on Currahee Mountain.