Fort George G. Meade: The First 100 Years

SCRAPBOOK MEMORIES
Staff Sgt. Rollin Lewis (Ret.) – Cockroach Heaven
My wife and I transferred to Fort Meade
from Germany in September 1974. Our new
temporary home was in an old WWII building.
We lived on the second floor and the offices for
the Criminal Investigative Division were on the
ground floor.
We didn’t know anyone in Maryland but
Fort Meade was the closest post to my home
of record other than Fort Dix, New Jersey. We
chose to go to Meade. Our "home" consisted
of green Army metal bunks with Army
blankets, mattresses and pillows. We were
provided nothing besides the beds and bedding.
Thankfully it was summertime and still warm.
We requested government quarters
immediately upon arrival and were finally
assigned what the housing office called
“Substandard Quarters.” Even though they
were substandard, they were still better than the
second floor barracks. The home we moved into
was the home we called, “cockroach heaven”
and located in Meade Heights. The home was
badly infested with cockroaches. We found
them in the closets and kitchen. We reported it
to the Army post engineers and they did a very
good job of spraying to get rid of them. (Left)
Housing demolition.
175
(Above) Neighborhood known as Cockaroach Heaven located across HWY 175.