On March 25, 1958, Elvis Presley spent his first full day as a private in the US Army by receiving his official army haircut. It remains the "most photographed haircut in the world" and resulted in one of Elvis' most famous phrases - "Hair today, gone tomorrow". That haircut took place at Fort Chaffee, AR in building 803. Luckily, for history's sake, that building was spared in the fire that raged through Fort Chaffee yesterday. Unfortunately, for history's sake, many buildings at the site were destroyed.
Fort Chaffee had a great history, even if you don't include Elvis' haircut. It was a key military training installation from the moment the first soldiers arrived the week of Dec. 7th, 1941 (sound familiar? this is the day Japan attacked Pearl Harbor) all the way through 1993. In the 70's, the fort became home to 50,000 Southeast Asian refugees and later 20,000 Caribbean refugees. Additionally, Biloxi Blues and A Soldier's Story were both filmed on location there.
I'm very sad to hear about the fire. They have not yet ruled out arson as the cause. I sure hope that's not the case.
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