John Dowdle letter to Raymond R. Dowdle (1918) This letter was written in 1918 by John Dowdle (64 yrs old at the time) to his son Raymond R. Dowdle (22yrs old at the time). Camp Zachary Taylor was a military training camp in Louisville, Kentucky. It opened in 1917, to train soldiers for U.S. involvement in World War I, and was closed three years later. Its name (and some of its buildings) live on as the Camp Taylor neighborhood of Louisville. It is named for Louisville resident and United States President Zachary Taylor. (source: Dowdle family and Wikipedia)