Read More: Marines Arrive

Lieutenant Colonel W.P.T. “Pete” Hill
Lt. Col. W.P.T. Hill

LtCol W.P.T. Hill, first Commanding Officer of Marine Barracks New River (May – September 1941).
On 1 May 1941 Lieutenant Colonel W.P.T. "Pete" Hill was designated as the first Commanding Officer of Marine Barracks New River, and on that date the post was officially established. Hill's, and Camp Lejeune's, first headquarters was located in the former Gurganus farmhouse in Tent Camp. On 27 April; however, ground was broken for a headquarters building, Building B-1-3, an SH-9 type wooden storehouse at the corner of 1st and "C" streets in the tent camp. After the remarkably short time period of eight days, the new headquarters building was opened on 8 May, the first building erected on the base and the base's second headquarters. The Gurganus farmhouse was then occupied by the 1st MarDiv, which used it as its first headquarters.

Quartermaster Sergeant Morris Miller
At Montford Point, Quartermaster Sergeant Morris Miller had taken over an abandoned tobacco barn to help accommodate the initial influx of administrative supplies and equipment. This previously unremarkable structure then gained the distinction of having been the "First Base Warehouse."

Lieutenant Colonel Arthur D. Challacombe
On 5 May 1941 Lieutenant Colonel Arthur D. Challacombe convoyed up from Parris Island, South Carolina with the first significant contingent of Marines, 180 strong, and occupied Walter Simpson's old hotel on Simmons Point. They were there to serve as an advance guard and for fire protection.