Boys Summer Camp at Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads

In the 1920s, the U.S. Navy sponsored two "experimental" summer camps for boys between the ages of 16 and 20 at Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads and Naval Training Station Great Lakes. Shown here are "before" and "after" pictures of the boys attending the camp at NOB Hampton Roads (now Naval Station Norfolk). The "before" picture was taken in July 1921 and the "after" picture was taken on the base's parade grounds in August 1921.

The camps were forerunners to the modern-day Sea Cadets program. At the camp, active duty sailors introduced teenage boys to life in the U.S. Navy. Boys who graduated from the summer camps entered the U.S. Naval Reserves as active-duty sailors and were automatically accepted into advance training schools. This, of course, depended upon the boys' parents' consent in order to send their sons off to Naval service.