Fort Irwin's namesake profiled in new book

A newly released book seeks to uncover the stories behind the individuals, often unknown, who are the names behind military installations across the United States.

“In Their Honor: The Men Behind The Names Of Our Military Installations,” by Linda Swink, highlights the stories of 524 men recognized by the military, including Maj. Gen. George Irwin, for whom Fort Irwin, known as Camp Irwin in the past, was named in 1942.

Swink said she started investigating the historical backgrounds of the lives behind the installation names as a matter of personal interest.

“It started out as a curiosity,” said Swink, a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, who has a military background herself serving in the Air Force and Air Force Reserve from 1960 to 1981. “I discovered very little information was published about these men.”

Her curiosity grew into a six-year undertaking where she collected information about the lives of men like Irwin by starting with a Google search and then contacting each installation. In several cases, posts or bases had been inactive for years, which meant Swink had to track down the service member’s date of birth and hometown. That was the most critical piece of the puzzle, according to Swink. “Then it was just a matter of bits and pieces,” she said.

George LeRoy Irwin was born in Michigan on April 26, 1868. As Swink learned about Irwin’s life, she was most impressed by his length of service. Starting in 1898, Irwin served in the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection and the Cuban Pacification. He also fought in World War I in the second battle of the Marne.

“He had a very long military career,” said Swink. “That says something for the individual.”

Irwin died at age 62 while traveling aboard the steamer Virgil en route to Fort Hamilton in New York.
For Swink, her tribute to the men behind the American military installations is a way to distinguish a person from a sea of faces in military history.

“We do remember, collectively,” she said. “But we don’t know who they were individually.” Swink said “In Their Honor” will soon be available through the Barnes and Noble’s Web site at www.bn.com.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4122 or elee@desertdispatch.com