Field Guide to Fort Ord

Field Guide to Fort Ord is a 100-page economical full-color paperback keepsake with images of Fort Ord's past and present, including hand-painted maps, archival photographs from Fort Ord yearbooks and the only comprehensive documentation of the soldier murals of Fort Ord. It is not a comprehensive history of the base. It is a companion to the Planet Ord project - documenting historic Fort Ord after it was closed, and in some ways, abandoned. Fort Ord is significant historically. It was the primary training site for soldiers during the Vietnam War. It was the first military base to integrate across race and gender. Fort Ord was the first home of VOLAR (volunteer Army) and later, the evolution of the innovative Lightfighters. A portion of the land was designated a National Monument in 2012. The original base is roughly the size of San Francisco, and is a critical wilderness area in California. Over 1 million soldiers served at Fort Ord.