Military Information

PARRIS ISLAND
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The first U.S. Marines “landed” on Parris Island just before the turn of the century. In 1891, a small security detail, which was attached to the Port Royal Naval Station, was stationed on the island situated in the Port Royal Sound. By late 1915, it was official. Parris Island became a Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

The Parris Island District is made up of the first military homes constructed on the island between 1891 and World War I. They are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A causeway and a bridge over Archer’s Creek were built in 1929, ending centuries of ferry transportation to the island via the Port Royal docks.

The history of Parris Island comes to life at the Parris Island Museum, located in the War Memorial Building. It begins with the landing of French Huguenots in 1562 and continues through the arrival of English colonists in the late 1600s, to the skirmishes between islanders and the British troops during the Revolutionary War, to the capture of the Port Royal Sound by Union troops in the Civil War, to the establishment of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in 1915.

History buffs will revel in the museum’s study collection, research facilities and archival collection. These resources help scholars learn the details of regional military and Marine Corps history.

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION
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“Fightertown” is what the nearly 4,000 Marines and sailors assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 31 at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort call the 6,900-acre facility. MAG-31 is one of the world’s largest aircraft groups.

The facility was commissioned in 1943 as Naval Air Station Beaufort. During World War II, the base provided advanced training and operated antisubmarine patrols that were stationed along the southeastern seaboard of the United States.

Several marine squadrons are stationed at the Beaufort facility. Fightertown pilots train for air-to-ground combat at nearby Townsend Bombing Range in Townsend, Ga.

NAVAL HOSPITAL
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Located halfway between the Marine Corps Air Station and Parris Island, the Naval Hospital Beaufort has been serving the military community since 1949. The hospital, which is situated along the Beaufort River, occupies 127 acres of land that is steeped in Lowcountry history.

The hospital serves all active-duty Navy and Marine Corps personnel, retired military personnel and all military families in the Beaufort area. Health-care services provided at the Naval Hospital include anesthesia, audiology, aviation medicine, dermatology, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, anesthesiology, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, physical therapy, mental health, internal medicine, optometry, radiology, podiatry, occupational health, preventive medicine, emergency medicine and acute care, oral/maxillofacial surgery, social services, family practice, sports medicine, wellness center, gastroenterology and mammography.

The Naval Hospital is made up of the naval base and two branch medical clinics; one of which operates at the Marine corps Recruit Depot on Parris Island and the other at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.