 When war broke out in Europe in 1939 only New York was operating as a port of embarkation on the Atlantic seaboard.As the nation prepared for conflict a supply center in New Orleans was elevated to a POE with another facility at Charleston becoming a sub-port of New York POE with the War Department developing the concept for the fully developed Port of Embarkation concept operating after entry into the war.An Army "Port of Embarkation" (POE) is not simply some Army shipping terminal.