The Camp Desert Center was a sub camp of the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

Desert Training Center The Desert Training Center (DTC), also known as California–Arizona Maneuver Area (CAMA), was a World War II training facility established in the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert, largely in Southern California and Western Arizona in 1942. It ...

Riverside County, California Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...

. The main headquarters for the Desert Training Center was

Camp Young The General George S. Patton Memorial Museum, in Chiriaco Summit, California, is a museum erected in tribute to General George S. Patton on the site of the entrance of Camp Young, part of the Desert Training Center of World War II. Exhibits in ...

, where

General Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (11 November 1885 – 21 December 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, then the Third Army in France and Germany after the Alli ...

's 3rd Armored Division was stationed. Camp Desert Center was at

Desert Center, California Desert Center is a census designated place in the Colorado Desert in Riverside County, California. It is in southern California, between the cities of Indio and Blythe at the junction of Interstate 10 and State Route 177, about halfway between ...

, in Riverside County, California in the

Colorado Desert The Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert located in California, United States, and Baja California, Mexico. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella, Imperial and Mexicali valleys. It is home to ...

. This sub camp was in

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, between the cities of

Indio Indio may refer to: Places * Indio, Bovey Tracey, an historic estate in Devon, England * Indio, California, a city in Riverside County, California, United States People with the name * Indio (musician), Canadian musician Gordon Peterson * Índi ...

and

Blythe The name Blythe ( or ) derives from Old English ''bliþe'' ("joyous, kind, cheerful, pleasant"; modern ''blithe''), and further back from Proto-Germanic ''*blithiz'' ("gentle, kind"). People *Blythe (given name), including a list of people named ...

, at the junction of

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

and State Route 177, about halfway between Phoenix and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. It is located just south of

Joshua Tree National Park Joshua Tree National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, US National Park located in southeastern California, straddling north-central Riverside County, California, Riverside County and part of southern San Bernardino County, ...

near the

Colorado River Aqueduct The Colorado River Aqueduct, or CRA, is a water conveyance in Southern California in the United States, operated by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The aqueduct impounds water from the Colorado River at Lake Havasu on ...

. Camp Granite was designated a

California Historic Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

(No.985). Army divisions were not stationed at Camp Desert Center. Rather, the camp was used as a supply depot, maintenance repair depot, and an evacuation hospital run by the 92nd medical unit.

History

Camp Desert Center was built in April 1942, to prepare troops to do battle in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, fighting the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. When completed the camp had shower buildings, latrines, evacuation hospital, weather station (Type D), wooden tent frames, Ammo depot, Quartermaster store, water storage tanks and water treatment plant. The 18th Ordnance Battalion operated out of the camp. The camp was closed on 16 December 1944 and the US Army buildings was removed.

92nd Army medical unit

The 92nd Evacuation Hospital at Camp Desert Center was a 300-bed

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

. The Evacuation Hospital was in operation from May 1943 to December 1943 at Camp Desert Center. The 92nd medical unit had medical doctors, nurses and surgery room. Treating troop suffering from desert dehydration to emergence surgery. Before arriving at Camp Desert Center the 92nd medical unit was stationed at the Camp Freda Hospital at the Camp Freda Quartermaster Depot. The 92nd medical unit used did not move out to the

North African campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

like most of the thousands of troops that trained in the desert camps; it was transferred to fight in the South Pacific theatre of war. Its first actions were in the

New Guinea campaign The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Territory of New Guinea on 23 January and Territory of Papua on ...

, the

Battle of Luzon The Battle of Luzon (; ; ) was a land battle of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II by the Allied forces of the U.S., its colony the Philippines, Mexico, and allies against forces of the Empire of Japan. The battle resulted in a U ...

, and the

Battle of Leyte The Battle of Leyte (; ; ) in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the amphibious invasion of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American forces and Filipino guerrillas under the overall command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fou ...

. At the end of the war the 92nd was part of the

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

Desert Center Army Air Field

The US Army Desert Center Army Air Field was built in 1942 with two 5,500 foot runways, near the Camp Desert Center. The

74th Reconnaissance Group The 74th Reconnaissance Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 91st Air Division at Stewart AFB, New York. History The unit was first activated at Lawson Field, Georgia in February 1942 as the 74th Observa ...

was the first to use the Air Field, followed by the 377th Service Squadron, 475th Base Headquarters and 1111th Guard Squadron. Over 40 buildings were built at the Army Air Field to support the training at the many desert camps. Desert Center Army Air Field was built about 5 miles northeast of Camp Desert Center. The Camp Desert Airfield air landing strip was used to support the camp reconnaissance activities and the evacuation hospital. In 1943 the 475th Base Headquarters & Air Base Squadron was headquartered here. Stationed at the Desert Center Army Air Field were:

Curtiss O-52 Owl The Curtiss O-52 Owl is an observation aircraft used by the United States Army Air Corps before and during World War II. They were used for anti-submarine searches in Americas and by lend-lease also used on the Eastern Front in Europe by the So ...

Stinson L-1 Vigilant The Stinson L-1 Vigilant (company designation Model 74) is an American liaison aircraft designed by the Stinson Aircraft Company of Wayne, Michigan and manufactured at the Vultee-Stinson factory in Nashville, Tennessee (in August 1940 Stinson be ...

Piper L-4 The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is P ...

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allies of World War ...

Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by th ...

and

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...

. When the Camp Desert Center closed in 1944, the airfield was turned over to the

Fourth Air Force The Fourth Air Force (4 AF) is a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California. 4 AF directs the activities and supervises the training of more than 30,000 Air Force Reserv ...

who rarely used it; only occasional

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

training flights from

March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 m ...

landed at Camp Desert Airfield. After the war the field was renamed

Desert Center Airport Desert Center Airport is a private-use airport located five nautical miles (6 mi, 9 km) northeast of the central business district of Desert Center, in Riverside County, California, United States. The airport is located at ...

(CN64). At the end of its military use, the airfield was turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers. It was later sold and is now a private-use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

.. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective April 5, 2012.Desert Center Army Air Field
/ref>

External links

Training Center Boogie - Sony by John Malcolm Penn, song about : Desert training camps

References

{{reflist Military in Riverside County, California Military installations in California Former training facilities of the United States Army History of Riverside County, California California in World War II Formerly Used Defense Sites in California California Historical Landmarks 1942 establishments in California 1944 disestablishments

History

92nd Army medical unit

Desert Center Army Air Field

External links

See also

References