CAMP PENDLETON MARINE CORPS BASE, 75TH ANNIVERSARY, MILITARY MAGAZINE

Marine Corps Base

Camp Pendleton C eleb r ating 75 Y e a rs

A publication of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Camp Pendleton Historical Society.

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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Marine Corps Base

Camp Pendleton C e l ebr at i ng 75 Y e ars

TABLE O F C O NTENTS 4 8 10 12 14 17 18 20 22 26 28 29 30 32 36 42 44 47 49 50 52 54 58 60 62 66

1769–1942: Pre-Marine Corps Base History Timeline: Camp Pendleton Through the Years Major General Joseph Henry Pendleton Land Survey and Acquisition Major General Joseph Fegan: First Commanding General Base Statistics March Aboard: From Camp Elliott Base Dedication Ceremony: FDR Visits 1942–Present: Camp Joseph H. Pendleton Base Housing: From Quonset Huts to Now Navajo Code Talkers Camp Pendleton Logo: The Flying T and Hanging O Base Commanding Generals & Sergeants Major Staff Sgt. Reckless: War Horse Hollywood and Camp Pendleton Presidents Who Visited the Base Historic Structures on Base Structures and Roads Named for Famous Marines Camp Pendleton Marines Who Became Commandant Stewardship of Camp Pendleton’s Natural Resources Marine Raiders: MARSOC World Famous Camp Pendleton Rodeo Women Marines Operation New Arrivals: Camp Talega Origins of Camp Names and Places Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton: Then and Now

Marine Corps Base

Camp Pendleton Ce l ebr atin g 75 Y ea r s

icemen, es for 75 ounty!

A publication of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Camp Pendleton Historical Society.

928 N. Coast Highway, Oceanside, CA 92054 www.oceansidechamber.com

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Credits

Produced and published by the staff of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce 928 North Coast Hwy., Oceanside, CA 92054 760-722-1534 • www.OceansideChamber.com Copyright Oceanside Chamber of Commerce 2016 All Rights Reserved.

Articles: Paul Durrance, Cal Frantz, Bo Hellman, Faye Jonason, Lauren Kelly-Hill, Bill Parsons Advertising: Scott Ashton Concept: Scott Ashton and Kristi Hawthorne Project Manager: Scott Ashton Design, Layout and Prepress: Tiffany Smith Cover Photo: Oceanside Historical Society Photo Collection Photos: Unless otherwise noted, Courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives and Oceanside Historical Society Special Thanks to all of our advertisers!

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Pre-Marine Corps Base History

by Lauren Kelly-Hill, Camp Pendleton Historical Society Often we, as Americans, get hung up on the origins of ownership of our land in this great country. “Who was here first?” But in reality, there will always be someone who owned your land before you. And for the parcel of land here in North San Diego County, which is now Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, it is no different. We are just stewards of our little section of America.

Each tribe, familia, family, and unit that has worked on or owned the land now known as Camp Pendleton will always be a part of the story. The identity has changed over the years from names like Alta California to Southern California and more personally from Pio and Andre Pico’s rancho to the home of the Flood, O’Neill and Magee families, to Camp Pendleton today.

To really know this land, you have to see how it grew up, how it was raised. We know that Native Americans inhabited this land long before people like Captain Gaspar de Portolá made his way north from Loreto, Baja California Sur heading towards Monterey Bay in 1769. The date of his arrival on July 20th of that year was also the holy day of St. Margaret. So they christened the land Santa Margarita. This name would be carried through the coming years, no matter who would become its steward.

If ever there was a true melting pot in one person, it would be Pio Pico. He was born in Alta California to parents who came up on the DeAnza expedition and who were from the area of New Spain, which we now know as Mexico. His paternal grandmother was mixed race with African ancestry, while his paternal grandfather was indigenous MexicanSpaniard descended from a possible duke of Italy. This made Pio Pico and his siblings Spanish, Italian, African and Indian.

Pico was one of the wealthiest men in Alta California, owning ranchos and land from the current Camp Pendleton area up north to Los Angeles, including present day Whittier. He also served as Governor of Alta California twice.

In his quest for land during the Secularization of Alta California, he and his brother Andres were granted 89,742 acres which included Rancho San Onofre y Santa Margarita, south of Mission San Juan Capistrano. Three years later, Pio added Las Flores to his Rancho Santa Margarita holdings keeping the original name given by Captain de Portola to create the Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores. An ownership validation request was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852. A patent was issued in 1879.

Pico didn’t want California to become a U.S. territory; rather he favored it becoming a British Protectorate. During the Mexican-American War, he retreated to Baja, California to try and convince the Mexican Congress to defend Alta California.

He only returned to Los Angeles after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which automatically granted him U.S. citizenship. As a gambling man, he began to lose his land and assets to swindlers. Pico’s sister, Ysidora, married John Forster, an Englishman. Forster paid off his brother-in-law’s debts and assumed his mortgage, giving Forster the deed to the Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores in 1864.

Forster and his wife expanded the ranch house during the 18 years that they lived there. He also gave Marcus, his son, permission to build the Las Flores Adobe home for his family. After Forster died in 1882, his heirs decided to sell the rancho, as a series of droughts plagued the land and new laws requiring properties to be fenced proved too costly to maintain. A wealthy San Francisco banker named James Flood

Rancho Santa Margarita, circa 1917; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

purchased the ranch. He asked his friend, Richard O’Neill, a local butcher and a man familiar with cattle ranches, to manage Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores. But just six years later, in 1888, James Flood passed away. By 1906, his son, James Flood, Jr. gave Richard O’Neill half ownership. By 1923, James Flood, Jr. formed a partnership as a corporation with Richard’s son, Jerome O’Neill, in order to manage Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores.

As with many rancheros in the old west, owners of ranchos throughout California contended with hard times financially, but were also forced to defend themselves and their properties against cattle rustlers and others who wanted their land. Henry Magee married Victoria de Pedrorena who was from a prominent family originally from Madrid, Spain.

She was well educated and saw to it that her nine children would also be the same. The story goes that it was Victoria who overheard rustlers who were planning to raid cattle

at the Fallbrook entrance of the rancho and relayed the information to Richard O’Neill. When Victoria died in 1886, her nine children were left without a mother or caretaker.

The oldest daughter, Jane “Jennie” Magee was 24 years old when her mother Victoria died. Richard O’Neill remembered what Victoria had done for him and offered Jane and her siblings, the youngest of which was 2 years old, the Las Flores Adobe to live in. So she and her younger brother, Hugh, 22, began to farm the Las Flores land for lima beans.

Jane was quite a business woman and grew the business to a profitable entity. Jane and her brother worked the farm while the O’Neill family worked their cattle ranch at Santa Margarita y Las Flores.

As years went by, both the O’Neills and the Magees worked the land and grew their families. One Magee descendant, Clifford May, left his mark in Southwestern architecture; he became renowned for his ranch home designs based on the

Notable Rancho Owners

James Flood (1826-1889) James Flood grew up in New York. In 1849, he sailed for San Francisco and the Gold Rush.

In 1857 he opened a saloon near the Mining Exchange, handling stock from the Nevada silver mines. In 1858, he and his partner, Willian O’Brien, sold the saloon and went into business as stockbrokers. After the discovery of silver in Nevada in 1859, they invested in mining stocks. In 1882, Flood and friend Richard O’Neill became equal partners of the Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores in northern San Diego.

Flood is considered to have been one of the 100 wealthiest Americans.

Pio Pico (1801-1894) Pío de Jesús Pico was born at Mission San Gabriel. Pio used land grants and purchases to build wealth. At 25, he entered into politics as a member of the Mexican Territorial Assembly. He was the last governor of Alta California under Mexican rule from 1845 to 1846. By 1855, he and his brother Andres held title to more than 532,000 acres of land. Due to bad business dealings, his inability to speak or read English and natural disasters, Pio Pico was left in ruins; he died penniless in 1894.

Don Juan Forster (1814-1882) Englishman John Forster left his native Liverpool at the age of 17 to work in Mexico; he later took charge of San Pedro Harbor in Los Angeles.

In 1836 he became a Mexican citizen and married Ysidora Pico, sister of Pio Pico, who enabled him to acquire substantial land holdings.

Don Juan Forster assisted his brother-in-law, Pio Pico, to escape capture. Forster and his wife had six children, three of whom survived to adulthood. The 68-year-old land baron died in 1882 at his Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores estate. www.oceansidechamber.com

Richard O’Neill (1824-1910) Richard O’Neill was born in Ireland. He sailed to the US and ran a butcher business in San Francisco during the Gold Rush.

O’Neill met another Irishman, James Flood, and became good friends.

Later, O’Neill successfully managed a couple of ranches, one of which was for Flood. In 1882, O’Neill agreed to inspect prospective ranch properties in Southern California for Flood. Forster’s heirs decided to sell their ranchos including Santa Margarita y Las Flores. Flood invested capital to buy the ranchos and formed a partnership with O’Neill on a handshake; O’Neill became the ranch manager for the 205,000 acres. Richard O’Neill gave his half interest to his son Jerome, passing away at the age of 83.

Source: Camp Pendleton Archives CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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adobe at Las Flores where the Magees yet lived.

Suddenly, on Dec. 7, 1941 the attack on Pearl Harbor stirred President Roosevelt into the realization that perhaps military advisors were correct in the belief that the west coast should have a military presence. Major General Joseph H. Pendleton, long since retired, had himself fought for many years to have a U.S. military installation built on the San Diego County coastline. The Department of the Navy acquired the Santa Margarita y Las Flores area in March 1942 to build temporary structures and create a military base for U.S. Marines to train for World War II. When the War Powers Act was passed, it was the family’s understanding that their land and structures would be returned to them within six months after the war had ended.

President Franklin Roosevelt, along with General Pendleton’s widow, Mary Fay, dedicated the base on Sept.

25, 1942 as Marine Corps Base Joseph H. Pendleton. Shortly afterwards, Mrs. Flood wrote a letter to President Roosevelt thanking him for insisting that the Marines not touch or change any part of the Ranch House. The government indicated to Jane Magee that as long as she and her immediate family were still living, they could continue to live in the adobe home and farm their land.

A Second War Powers Act was passed, and because a West Coast presence was paramount to the security of the United States, the Department of the Navy took over the property.

The O’Neill family was given approximately $35 an acre and forced to sell part of their land to the government for

Cross on a hill overloo king Ranch House, circ a 1917; photo courtesy of Cam p Pendleton Archives

a permanent military installation. But the Ranch House remained protected and intact, as requested by President Roosevelt. And Jane Magee and her family lived at the Las Flores Adobe until the last Magee passed in 1968.

Today, 75 years after the former rancho became Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, visitors can enjoy tours of both of the old adobes, provided by the Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores Docents, and learn about the lives and times of Pio and Andres Pico, John and Ysidora Forster, the Flood, O’Neill and Magee families and the Marines who followed them. As the current caretaker of the land, the United State Marine Corps continues to protect these heritage assets, working to preserve the rich history of the base from 1769 through the rancho period to the military installation it is today.

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1940s

1950s

Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese attack Pearl Harbor

June 1950 Outbreak of the Korean war sees peacetime activities come to an end; Reserve Marines arrive at the base and begin processing and training for subsequent deployment to Korea. Over 200,000 Marines would pass through Camp Pendleton on their way to Korea.

March 1942 U. S. Navy announces the purchase of 132,000 acres of Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores. Construction of Camp Pendleton begins soon thereafter.

July 1942 Federal Court condemnation order gives the U.S. Marine Corps immediate possession of Ranch Santa Margarita y Las Flores; the U.S. Government pays $4,110,035 for the land September 1942 Sept. 1–4, 1942 - 9th Marine Regiment, under command of Col. Lemuel Shepherd, Jr. and Marines from 1st Battalion, 12th Marines, march from Camp Elliott (San Diego) to Camp Joseph H. Pendleton.

Sept. 25, 1942 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt visits Camp Pendleton to officially dedicate the base as Marine Barracks, Camp Joseph H. Pendleton.

1943 Women Marine Reserves arrive at Camp Pendleton

June 1950 – July 1953 Korean War 1953 Camp Pendleton officially designated as Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton in September 1953.

1956 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment marches over 100 miles of the base to show their readiness.

1960s 1st Marine Division deploys to Southeast Asia for involvement in the war in Vietnam. Marines rotating to Vietnam arriving at Camp Pendleton were assigned to Staging Battalion and were provided with 12 to 15 intensive training days before deployment to Vietnam.

President Roosevelt receives a lariat from Pancho Brown at the historic Ranch House, Sept. 1942

1944 Camp Pendleton declared a “permanent” installation in October 1944.

1945 June 22, 1945 - Americans secure Okinawa Aug. 15, 1945 - Victory over Japan (VJ) Day 1946 U.S. Marine Corps Commandant, Gen. Alexander A. Vandegrift, announces Camp Pendleton will be the center of all West Coast Marine Corps activities and home of the 1st Marine Division.

1947 The 1st Marine Division arrives at Camp Pendleton after combat and occupation duty in the Pacific.

1947 – 1950 Base commanding general, Maj. Gen. Erskine, battles for the base’s ‘Little Red School House’ 8

September 1950 Marines participate in invasion of Inchon.

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

Aug. 7, 1964 Congress passes resolution giving President Johnson free hand in Vietnam.

June 1966 1st Marine Division is headquartered in South Vietnam.

1970s 1971 I Marine Amphibious Force (I MAF) is relocated to Camp Pendleton.

1975 1st Marine Division supports evacuation of Saigon Refugees from Vietnam arrive at Camp Pendleton from April through October 1975. Over 50,000 Vietnamese refugees were processed through Camp Pendleton and located at eight different camps in the northern portion of the base.

A tent city at Camp Talega built

by Marines to house an expected 18,000-20,000 refugees

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Camp Pendleton Through the Years 1980s

2004 The 1st Marine Division relieves the 82rd Airborne Division in Iraq’s Sunni Triangle. During Operation Iraqi Freedom II, the 1st Marine Division conducted counter-insurgency operations throughout the Al Anbar Province, culminating in Operation Al Fajr, which liberated the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah and enabled the first legitimate elections to occur in Iraq.

Marine Corps “amphibious” operations became “expeditionary” as land, air and support units are incorporated into expeditionary forces.

1988 I Marine Amphibious Force (I MAF) is re-designated in February 1988 as I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF).

Marines conducting amphibious assault training; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

1990s August 1990 – March 1991 Marines from I MEF deploy to Saudi Arabia in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

May 1991 1st Marine Division assists in relief efforts in Bangladesh and the Philippines.

1992 I MEF units participate in Operations Restore Hope 1993 Overflow of the Santa Margarita River causes significant flooding on the Base, resulting in serious damage to the Air Station, Basilone Road, Ranch House Chapel, and numerous Flood damage to Ranch House Chapel, 1993;

portions of the Base. photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

2000s 2002 I MEF units deploy to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

2003 The 1st Marine Division deploys by air and sea to link up with its advanced headquarters deployed to Kuwait under I Marine Expeditionary Force in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. 1st Marine Division conducts the longest ground march in Marine Corps history attacking Baghdad alongside the U.S. Army. www.oceansidechamber.com

2005 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions successfully conducted the largest relief in place in the history of the Marine Corps.

2006 The 1st Marine Division deploys to Iraq as the ground combat element for I MEF. 2007 Camp Pendleton launches the Marine Corps Grow the Force facilities recapitalization/renovation program consisting of 50+ projects worth in excess of $1 billion.

2008 Camp Pendleton begins the Marine Barracks Recapitalization program to replace and renovate 42 barracks at a cost of $1.4 billion.

2009 Camp Pendleton receives $653 million as part of the President’s American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for 22 recapitalization/renovation projects.

2010s 1st Marine Division personnel and units deployed to Afghanistan provide advisory support and maneuver elements in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

2012 1st Marine Division deploys to Afghanistan to serve as the headquarters for Task Force Leatherneck, the ground combat element for Regional Command (Southwest).

2014 The new $456 million, 500,000 square foot four-story Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton is officially dedicated and opened; this facility replaces the old hospital (dedicated in 1974) located at Lake O’Neill.

2015 Construction and opening of the Pendleton Fisher House, a $2.65 million, eight-suite, 8,000-plus square-foot home serving military families with a hospitalized service member at Camp Pendleton.

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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Major General

Joseph Henry Pendleton "San Diego is an ideal location for an advance base of Marines, and history will prove I am right. . . ."

Colonel Joseph H. Pendleton, San Diego, 1914

Following the purchase of the vast Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores in 1942, the new West Coast Marine Corps training base would be named for Maj. Gen. Joseph Henry Pendleton, who had pioneered Marine Corps activities in the San Diego area during his 46 years of distinguished service from 1878 to 1924.

Born in Rochester, Pa., on June 2, 1860, “Uncle Joe” Pendleton, as he would later be known, graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U. S. Marine Corps on July 1, 1884.

Gen. Pendleton’s service included duty in the jungles of Nicaragua, Santa Domingo, Guam, and the Philippines, in addition to several stateside and shipboard tours. In 1914, the 4th Marine Regiment was re-activated and Gen. Pendleton was ordered to organize and command this expeditionary force. Gen. Pendleton and his regiment served on board the USS South Dakota and Jupiter, when it withdrew to land at Camp Howard, North Island (San Diego) on July 10.

With the arrival of Pendleton’s regiment in San Diego, his love affair with the area began. He immediately recognized the value of San Diego with its good weather and harbor as an ideal choice for the Marine Corps’ Advance Base Force to be stationed on the West Coast.

Gen. Pendleton openly advocated a major Marine Corps installation in San Diego from his first stay on North Island until his retirement 10 years later. Between July 1911 and June 1916, Gen. Pendleton and his regiment improved facilities at North Island while the Marines made a favorable impression on the San Diego community. Meanwhile, visits of high-ranking dignitaries to various expositions during this period helped to win government support for a large Marine base at San Diego.

Gen. Pendleton himself bought a house in Coronado near the harbor and became active in the civic affairs of the city. He served as mayor of Coronado from 1928 - 1930. Married to the former Mary Helen Fay, he died in San Diego in 1942 at the age of 81.

Source: Camp Pendleton 50th Anniversary - Celebrating a Historic Half Century, special edition to the Blade Citizen and Scout newspapers, Sept. 24, 1992 Photos Courtesy Pendleton/Brown Collection

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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Land Survey and Acquisition condemnation and purchase of camp pendleton land area At the turn of the In December 1941, Las Pulgas Canyon, Rancho Santa Margarita, May 1942; 20th century, the after the attack on photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives Marine Corps’ image, Pearl Harbor and role and function fall of Wake Island, were nowhere orders came down near permanently for the Pacific Fleet decided. The idea to cover and hold the of amphibious Hawaii-Midway line operations became and to keep channels a firm doctrine in open between the the development of West Coast of the the “Advance Base United States and Force,” which began Australia. To keep its exercises as early these channels as 1901. open, a large-scale The modern Marine amphibious force, Corps is the result “Marine Amphibious of the realization of Force in the Pacific”, the importance of would be required. ready shore access On Feb. 27, 1942, and control to Naval Lt. Gen. Thomas operations as a whole. In the Pacific, the amphibious Holcomb, Commandant of the Marine Corps, requested doctrine of Major Earl H. Ellis, a Marine officer whose that the Navy acquire the ranch.

The Secretary of the obsession with the strategy of a trans­Pacific war with Japan Navy approved the request on March 5, 1942 and the served as an uncanny prediction of what was to come. By Commander, Eleventh Naval District announced the the outbreak of World War II, the techniques and tools of purchase of 120,000 acres of this San Diego County rancho large-scale amphibious operations were ready, but the land. training of troops for such warfare was still being conducted on a limited scale.

On March 27, 1942, the passage of the Second War Powers Act enabled the military to occupy land as soon as it was On the west coast, the Marine Barracks at San Diego stood condemned. as the home base of Marine Corps activities in the Pacific region. In 1916, Colonel Joseph H. Pendleton and his 4th Three and a half months later, Acting Secretary of the Navy Marine Regiment were stationed where Marines first raised James Forrestal requested that the Justice Department the American flag in 1846. As for field training, the former start condemnation proceedings. In less than a month, the Camp Elliott (now MCAS Miramar) provided some room for Federal Court in San Diego gave 113,000 acres of the ranch small maneuvers but no permanent facilities. to the Marine Corps. Final title, however, did not go to the Navy until Dec. 31, 1942.

During the late 1930s, Marine officers were looking for a training area of a more ambitious size, and visited several The Federal government condemned 121,387 acres in 1942 prospective areas on the west coast. One of the visits was to and followed this in 1943, with an additional 1,676 acres of the Santa Margarita Ranch, where the clear beaches, broad land for the Marines and 1,574 acres for the Department of mesas, rolling hills and canyon-cleft mountains seemed the Interior. When all was done, the Marines had 124,637 ideal for their purposes. The economic situation was also acres of land for training. favorable, with the Ranch becoming a financial liability to The Santa Margarita Ranch, with three large parcels the owners, and might just as well be sold. distributed among the heirs of the Flood-O’Neill owners, At this point, however, the planners were not counting on left one-third intact in Orange County under Richard any grand mobilization of the Corps, and had to bear in mind O’Neill, with the remaining two-thirds purchased by the that such an installation would not be a base in the true United States from the Flood and Baumgartner heirs for sense - it would have to be logistically dependent on San $4,239,062.

Diego, in a status similar to that of Camp Elliott.

Sources: The Pendleton Story, Pendleton Scout newspaper, Aug. 22, 1969; In May 1941, the United States government bought 9,000 Construction is put on fast track, by Major James R. Davis, USMC (Ret), Traditions acres of the rancho to establish the Naval Ammunition Magazine, May-June 1996.

Depot at Fallbrook. www.oceansidechamber.com

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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Construction of

camp pendleton J. E. Haddock, Ltd. and Engineers, Limited, prime contractors at Camp Joseph H. Pendleton, delivered the Marine Corps training base in a record time of sixteen months. In building Camp Pendleton, the contractors called on more than 100 years of experience in every phase of building and heavy construction.

Work assigned included barracks, warehouses, dispensaries, a complete hospital unit, administration buildings, mess halls, training tanks, shop buildings, schools, fire station, cold storage buildings, reservoirs, highways, railroads, water, sewage, electrical distribution and waterfront facilities, including dredging and breakwater construction.

All told, there were a total of 518 buildings erected with a floor coverage of four and one-half million square feet, equivalent to approximately 100 acres. Highway work included 14 miles of paved four-lane highway; 30 miles of secondary paved roads, and 65 miles of unpaved roads.

As an adjunct to construction, there were seven huge warehouses for receiving, storing and shipping of materials, small tools and equipment. There was also a lumber yard and mill which handled a peak load of 9 million board feet of lumber during a single month, and a steel yard in which was stored 1,500 tons of reinforcing steel at one time.

Other job site facilities included a plumbing and heating shop, a sheet metal shop, electric shop, machine shop, brass foundry, blacksmith shop, welding shop, garage and repair shop, cat shop, and pipeline shop.

Also operated at job site were a base plant, asphalt hot plant, aggregate plants, hatching plants, and a quarry. A notable savings was effected in the development of the job site quarry, where breakwater rock was quarried and transported to the harbor in 50-ton trucks, thus saving hundreds of miles of transport of rock from the nearest available commercial quarry.

Manufactured products from the contractor’s sheet metal shop were particularly notable and included fan housings, range hoods, flashings, kitchen tables, meat racks, steam tables, metal-covered doors and boiler stacks. Craftsmanship was especially noteworthy.

Job site operation of shops for repair and maintenance of equipment saved thousands of dollars in costs and time.

The ingenuity of the contractors in the devise and use of sound cost and time saving methods was a highlight of construction. Magnitude of the project is perhaps best illustrated by the area in which the work was performed.

Construction of Camp Joseph H. Pendleton began in 1942. Contractors for the construction were Engineers Ltd., of San Francisco and Los Angeles, and J. E. Haddock, Ltd., of Pasadena.

Photo courtesy Oceanside Historical Society

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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Camp Pendleton Construction Statistics

Prime Contractors: J. E. Haddock, Ltd. and Engineers, Limited Construction Duration: 16 months Cost: $35 million (initial contract) Employees: 5,500 (peak) from San Diego and Los Angeles.

Construction Area: Pacific Ocean to Riverside county line and between the city limits of Oceanside and San Clemente Elevations: sea level to more than 3000 feet above sea level Initial Facilities Built: 518 buildings consisting of 4.5 million square feet (approx. 100 acres) Roads Built:  14 miles of paved four-lane highway  30 miles of secondary paved roads  65 miles of unpaved roads Major Contractor Support Facilities:  lumber yard and mill: over a billion board feet of lumber; handled peak load of 9 million board feet during a single month.  steel yard stored 1,500 tons of reinforcing steel at one time  warehouses, blacksmith/welding/machine shops, aggregate plants, concrete plants, and a quarry

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Source: 1944 Souvenir Edition, Reprint of the Oceanside Daily Blade-Tribune, 1943 Progress Edition

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Elevations ranged from sea level and below to more than 3,000 feet above sea level, and extended from the Pacific Ocean on the west to the Riverside county line on the east, and from the city limits of Oceanside on the south, beyond the city limits of San Clemente on the north.

Following completion of the original contract, which totaled approximately $35 million exclusive of land investment, Haddock-Engineers, Limited, was awarded additional work in excess of $7.5 million. This work included an extensive building project at the Boat Basin, in addition to a complete laundry and dry cleaning plant, a chapel to seat 600, barracks for WAVES adjoining the hospital area, a bakery and a number of school houses and store houses in Camp Pendleton proper.

Construction at its peak employed 5,500 workers, procurement and transportation of which presented major problems because of the comparative remoteness of the project from the normal source of labor supply at San Diego and Los Angeles. These problems were in large measure overcome through establishment and operation of a commissary and barracks in which several thousand workers were fed and housed.

Source: Progress Edition, Supplement to the Oceanside Daily Blade-Tribune, Oct. 25, 1943

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Major General

Joseph Fegan FIRST COMMANDING GENERAL Maj. Gen. Joseph C. Fegan, USMC, who served as a Marine Officer for more than 36 years, was the first commanding general of Camp Pendleton when it was activated in 1942.

Born in Dallas, Texas, Nov. 6, 1886, General Fegan was first commissioned as a second lieutenant in January 1909.

General Fegan served on foreign duty in Panama (1905-10), in Cuba (1913), in the Philippines (1916-18), in Santa

Domingo (1923-24), and in Haiti (1929-32). He was on active duty at sea on board the USS FLORIDA from 1911 to 1913, and on the USS CINCINNATI in 1917. He served at numerous posts and stations on both the east and west coasts, and from 1924 to 1929 was on duty at Marine Corps Headquarters as Officer in Charge of Recruiting and as Marine Corps Athletic Officer.

From 1929 to 1932, he served with the Garde d’Haiti, as Commander of the Department of the North, with headquarters at Cape Haitian. He returned to Marine Corps Headquarters in June, 1933, for duty as Public Relations Officer, in which capacity he rendered highly valuable service. In June 1936, he was ordered to the Naval War College, Newport, R.I., to take the Senior Course at that Institution. Upon completion of the course Maj. Gen. Fegan commanded the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. In July 1936, he was detailed as Aide to the President on the latter’s official visit to the Governor-General of Canada.

Maj. Gen. Fegan commanded the 4th Marine Regiment at Shanghai, China, from August 1938 to December 1939.

On his return to the United States, he served as Director of the Marine Corps Reserve at Headquarters, Marine Corps, from January 1940 to January 1941, when he assumed command of the 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, Marine Corps Base, San Diego, California. In 1942, Maj. Gen. Fegan assumed command of the new training base at Camp Joseph H. Pendleton, Calif. In 1944, he transferred to the Department of the Pacific in San Francisco. Placed on the retired list for Marine Corps Officers in August 1945, he was relieved from active duty in December 1945.

General Fegan died of injuries received in an automobile accident on May 27, 1949 at Carlsbad, Calif. where he made his home. He was 62 years old.

Source: Official Biography, Headquarters, U. S. Marine Corps

Official USMC Photo; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives 14

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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Myron Hunt

they remained in business until 1947 when the firm was dissolved.

Architect of Camp Pendleton

In April 1942, Myron Hunt and H. G. Chambers, Architects was awarded a $35 million dollar contract for Architectural and Engineering Services by the U. S. Navy under A-E Contract NOy-5483 with the Bureau of Yards and Docks, for Camp Joseph H. Pendleton, Oceanside, CA. Previous to the U. S. Navy work, they completed two large contracts for the U. S. Army, where all Architecture and Engineering services, including field surveying, were accomplished by their firm; they were responsible for the supervision of construction at Camp Callan and the Fort Rosecrans addition.

Myron Hunt was born in Massachusetts in February 1868. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as Northwestern University, where he studied architecture.

He first worked as a draftsman in Boston for the firm that designed Stanford University and was involved in that project. He moved to Chicago in 1895 and became acquainted with Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, and joined Wright’s firm and became a lifelong friend and admirer. By 1902, Myron Hunt had designed 39 buildings in the Chicago area (mostly homes).

In 1903, Hunt moved to Pasadena, California, where he lived the rest of his life. From 1911 to 1920, Myron Hunt had his own independent architectural firm. In 1920, Myron Hunt and H. G. Chambers formed Myron Hunt and H. G. Chambers, Architects, which was based in Los Angeles;

e of m o H , ton e l d n e Camp P

S E O R E H 5 Years

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Notable civilian buildings designed by Myron Hunt included the Henry Huntington Home (now the Huntington Art Gallery), Huntington Library, Huntington Hotel, Huntington Memorial Hospital, Occidental College, Pomona College, the Rose Bowl, California Institute of Technology, Mission Inn (Riverside), the Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles) and the Bank Building at 1000 State Street, in Santa Barbara.

Myron Hunt died in May 1952 at the age of 84.

Source: Camp Pendleton Archives; Online Archive of California - http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/ tf596nb0s6/

CMU congratulates Camp Pendleton on its 75 years of exemplary service to our country.

For 21 of those years, Central Michigan University has served the educational needs of the great men and women who have served at Camp Pendleton. Our work here continuously deepens our respect for the unique place Camp Pendleton holds in defending our nation and in the training of today’s soldiers.

» CMU at Camp Pendleton 760-725-0485

cmich.edu/CampPendleton Camp.Pendleton@cmich.edu

Central Michigan University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. CMU is an AA/EO institution, (see cmich.edu/OCRIE). 45696 7/16

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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BASE STATISTICS  Purchased for $4.2 Million  125,547 Acres / 195 Square Miles  17.5 Miles of Shoreline  530 Miles of Roads  3,119 Buildings & Structures  375 Miles of Water Main Lines  335 Miles of Electrical Distr. Lines  4 Sewage Treatment Plants  153 Miles of Sewage Lines  145 Miles of Natural Gas Lines  18 Separate Cantonment Areas  211 Ranges and Training Areas  7 Base Entry Gates  11 Fire Stations  13 Gyms & Fitness Centers  2 Landfills & 3 Recycling Centers  3 Libraries  5 On-base Public Schools  Golf Course  Horse Stables  Recreational Beaches

BASE POPULATION  43,000+ Service Members  36,300+ Family Members  4,300+ Civilian Employees  Avg. Daily Population = 85,000+ Source: Base Public Affairs Office, May 2016 www.oceansidechamber.com

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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at Camp Pendleton es 9th Marines arriving Maj. Gen. Fegan address hives Arc ton dle Pen p Cam photo courtesy of

, September 194 2;

Marines march aboard Camp Pendleton, September 1942; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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MARCH ABOARD

From Camp Elliott

In late August 1942, Camp Pendleton was alerted to receive its first combat troops, even though construction of the base was still in full swing. The honor of being first fell to the 9th Marines, a reinforced regiment and the largest organized unit then training at Camp Elliott (now Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar).

This time the distance of the camp was not to be an important factor. The 9th Marines was led by Col. Lemuel Shepherd, Jr., who was later to be Commandant of the Marine Corps; on his staff were two officers who were also to later distinguish themselves: Lt. Col. Edward A. Craig, his executive officer, and Maj. Robert E. Cushman, a battalion commander.

Col. Shepherd had come into the Marine Corps in 1917, when it was a customary for Marines to march everywhere.

He saw the trek to Camp Pendleton as an opportunity for his regiment to engage in a practical exercise. He sent one of his companies ahead to Camp Pendleton, in trucks, to prepare bunks for the rest of his regiment. Then, reconnoitering the back country route, along what is now US 395, spots were chosen for simulated attacks against Col. Shepherd’s marching troops.

The march to Camp Pendleton started on Sept. 1, 1942 and lasted four days, during which Col. Shepherd kept his troops constantly on the alert, as though they were marching in enemy territory. Around each new bend in the road was an enemy force which had to be defeated before marching on.

The pretense was made easy by the constant real fear that the Japanese might attack the Southern California coastline at any minute. A Japanese sub had already tossed a couple of shots at Santa Barbara, hitting an oil tank and causing panic.

irregular layout of the barracks, coupled with effects of the beer, was too much. They slept in any bunk they could find and waited until daylight to get oriented.

Col. Shepherd found the new camp ideal. Everything required by a reinforced regiment was provided, except for one thing: a chapel. The chaplain was inclined to skip the services but Shepherd insisted on following the regulations, which stated that divine services would be held every Sunday. He installed the chaplain in an unused brig.

The room to roam was a new experience. In the old days, if Marines broke through a farmer’s fence, they were required to leave a detail to repair it. At Camp Pendleton, they could clip the barbed wire and move on without worrying.

Col. Shepherd, fresh out of school at Quantico, was eager to test classroom theories. After choosing training sites and setting up a rigorous schedule, he started maneuvers.

He instilled so much enthusiasm into his men that more than one Marine insisted that he saw Japanese landing by parachute at the northern end of the reservation.

By the time the 9th Marines sailed from San Diego on Jan. 24, 1943 for an “unknown destination” (New Zealand), Col. Shepherd was able to write proudly in his diary: “We have a fine group of officers and men. After ten months of intensive training we are ready to take our place alongside our comrades in the Southwest Pacific.” The regiment, designated as a part of the new 3rd Marine Division, consisted of 5,500 officers and men.

Source: Excerpt from “Marines of the Margarita: The Story of Camp Pendleton and the Leathernecks who train on a Famous Rancho”, by Robert Witty and Neil Morgan; Copley Books (1970)

Col. Shepherd’s tired regiment was met on the hills back of the Mainside area by Maj. Gen. Joseph Fegan, newly chosen as the base’s first commanding general. General Fegan reportedly gave a lecture on preserving the heritage of the camp and not spoiling the scenery. The regiment and reinforcing units resumed their march down the hill to their living quarters.

No sooner had the men reached their barracks than word was passed that cold beer was available at the post exchange (PX). Leaving their equipment on their bunks, they hurried through the beginning darkness to the PX. Much later that night they left the PX to discover they couldn’t find their barracks. A heavy fog had set in; the www.oceansidechamber.com

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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Base dedication ceremony, (l to r) Mary Fay Pendleton, President Roosevelt, Gunnery Sgt. Ostrom, Sept. 25, 1942; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

BASE DEDICATION CEREMONY

by Cal Frantz, Camp Pendleton Historical Society Camp Pendleton came into being on Aug. 3, 1942, when the U.S. Navy acquired the property then known as the Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores. Maj. Gen. Joseph C. Fegan, USMC, became the first commanding general of the base, and the Marines began the process of turning the ranch into the world’s largest amphibious training base. But the actual dedication ceremony for the base did not occur until almost two months later on Sept. 25, 1942.

Unfortunately, very little is known about that ceremony.

The reason for this sparse knowledge is World War II. The country had been at war since Dec. 7, 1941 and the Marines were into their second month of fierce combat at 20

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

FDR Visits

Guadalcanal. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt came to Camp Pendleton for the dedication in September 1942, there was a complete news blackout of his whereabouts and itinerary. No TV cameras, no multiple news channels covering the events of the day, no grandstands full of dignitaries and visitors. None of that.

What we do know about the base dedication ceremony comes primarily from journal entries kept by Grace Tully, President Roosevelt’s personal secretary at the time. Grace writes the following about the ceremony, “The President’s cavalcade of cars was underway from the www.oceansidechamber.com

ranch house at 3:00 and a short stop was made a moment or two later to permit the President to view a small lake nestled in the low hills of the training grounds. About five minutes later the President’s car drew up before the Headquarters of Camp Pendleton and came to a stop while the Marine Band plays “Hail to the Chief.” Following this, Mrs. Joseph H. Pendleton, the widow of Maj. Gen. Joseph H. Pendleton, for whom this camp was named, bent on to the halyards of the flagpole a large United States flag, and, as Old Glory was hoisted and unfurled in the breeze, the band played the National Anthem. Following this, Maj. Gen. Fegan read his orders and the camp was considered to be dedicated and formally placed in commission. This was a most impressive ceremony.”

For the Marines, there was more to the president’s visit than just the dedication ceremony. Noted in Grace Tully’s journal that the president’s cavalcade “...was underway from the ranch house at 3:00...” The President’s visit to the ranch house was perhaps as significant as the dedication ceremony itself, and what took place there reverberates down to the present day.

It is conventional wisdom among Marines that President Roosevelt directed the Marines to preserve the ranch house as an historic site. But what did he really say?

The fact is, we don’t really know. The official record available to us does not include any specific comments by the president directing preservation of the ranch house.

Again, Grace Tully’s journal appears to be the only eye witness account of the president’s visit to the ranch house, or record of comments he made there. The following synopsis of the President’s day in Southern California is based on the Tully journal.

President Roosevelt’s visit to Southern California on Sept.

25, 1942 began at 9 a.m. at the Douglas Aircraft plant in Long Beach. Later, a train ride brought his party to San Juan Capistrano at about 1:15 p.m., where he was met by Maj. Gen. Murray, commanding general of the Southern California sector of the Western Defense Command, and by Maj. Gen. Fegan. A drive down U.S. Highway 101 brought the party to Camp Pendleton about 2:25 p.m. that afternoon. At this point in the Tully journal, a brief history of Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores is inserted into the narrative. The last paragraph of this Rancho history reads as follows: “Upon authorization of the Secretary of the Navy, on Aug. 3, 1942, Camp Pendleton became a reality on the ranch site. The Marines will harden their men for battle over the historic hills and canyons and teach them to swim and handle boats in the surf of the long stretch of beach line. The historic Ranch House, which was built in 1828, will be preserved as an Officers’ Club, to house distinguished guests.”

Following this rancho history, the Tully journal narrative continues with an account of the president’s inspection of the ranch house, where the President spent about 20 minutes touring the site. While there, he joked with the Marine officers conducting the tour that they certainly had all the comforts of home, and that he was “going to pass a www.oceansidechamber.com

law making this place available to ex-Presidents.”

While in the ranch house patio, the president was introduced to 20-year ranch hand “Pancho” Brown, who told the president about the old days at the ranch. The president told Pancho that he, the president, was going to see that the ranch was kept “just the way it is now.”

Following inspection of the ranch house, the president’s party drove to the headquarters for the dedication ceremony. At about 3:10 p.m., the president’s party left for San Diego to visit the Naval Hospital at Balboa. Total time aboard the base was less than one hour; a whirlwind pace even by today’s standards.

Nowhere in the journal are there any words quoted from the president directing preservation of the ranch house.

Only two comments by the president are enclosed in quotation marks in the journal, indicating that he actually said the words quoted. The first is the joking remark that he was “going to pass a law making this place available to ex-Presidents.” The second is his promise to an old ranch hand that he, the president, was going to see that the ranch was kept “just the way it is now.” This second remark was perhaps meant to comfort a man who had just lost his job, but the Marines never intended to keep the ranch “just the way it is now.” They intended to turn it into a massive amphibious training base, and that is exactly what they did.

The first quoted remark was obviously facetious.

So whence cometh the idea that President Roosevelt himself told the Marines to preserve the ranch house?

A hint comes in the last paragraph of the rancho history inserted into the journal. Apparently there was some provision in the Secretary of the Navy’s authorization for the base that the ranch house was to be “preserved as an Officers’ Club, to house distinguished guests.” Further, as reported in Linda McIntosh’s 2011 article in the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, the day following the president’s visit, Maj. Gen. Fegan wrote the following to Marine Corps Commandant Maj. Gen. Thomas Holcomb: “He told me as I jockeyed him through what he thought should be done with it... He wanted to make a shrine of it.” That is a clear indication that President Roosevelt expressed his ideas about the future of the Ranch House, but what he actually said was apparently not recorded.

Whatever was said, the Marines have considered it their duty to preserve the ranch house ever since acquiring the property in 1942, quite as if they had a presidential mandate to do so. While its designation as an Officers’ Club was of very short duration, it served continuously as living quarters for the base commander until 2007. The overall structure and several of the rooms have always been preserved as historically faithful to their 1942 status.

And the Navy Secretary’s provision to keep the ranch house as a place to house distinguished guests has indeed been honored. The ranch house is currently scheduled for a thorough, and expensive, structural upgrade beginning in 2018. This upgrade will continue the Marine Corps’ commitment to preserving the ranch house as a national historic treasure and will, as far as possible, keep the ranch house “just the way it was” in 1942.

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Camp Joseph H. Pendleton The first Marines aboard Camp Pendleton slowly trudged from the hills of the 14 Area, tired, dusty, and ready for a bunk and a beer. Under the command of future Marine Corps Commandant Col. Lemuel Shepherd, Jr., the 9th Marines had just completed a four day march from Camp Elliott (San Diego) to be the first troops to occupy the newly acquired West Coast training base, later known as Camp Joseph H. Pendleton.

The time was September 1942, and because the U.S. was involved in World War II, Col. Shepherd used the opportunity to prepare his Marines for a future combat role and marched to Camp Pendleton as if they were marching through enemy territory.

Building activity aboard the new base was continuing at a frenzied pace to transform the former cattle ranch into a fast-paced military installation capable of training a large number of Marines for deployment to the Pacific.

Throughout World War II, tens of thousands of Marines and three divisions of troops passed through the camp on their way to the bloody battles in the Pacific, living in rapidly constructed tent camps throughout the sprawling hills.

Training areas were constructed to provide realistic preparation for combat. A miniature Tarawa was used to train beach assault troops in DeLuz Canyon, complete with trucked-in sand and log barriers. Pillboxes were built exactly like those found in the Pacific.

During these early days, one of the famed Raider Battalions was formed and trained here under Lt. Col. James Roosevelt, son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Combat Marines were not the only ones to populate Camp Pendleton. Women Marine Reservists arrived here in 1943 and kept the administration of the base running smoothly.

The Ranch House Chapel was restored and opened primarily for their use.

Following the war, Camp Pendleton was inundated with troops returning from the Pacific, impatient to get home.

The deserted tent camps were once again bursting with activity. Working overtime, the Redistribution Regiment was able to discharge about 200 Marines a day. As the months rolled by, the Marine Corps continued to lower the number of points necessary for discharge until the Corps was a skeleton of its former strength.

Camp Pendleton was declared a “permanent” installation in October 1944, and in 1946 Gen. Vandegrift stated that 22

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

the base’s future role was to be the center of all West Coast Marine activities and the home of the 1st Marine Division with a peacetime strength of 12,500.

It was during this period that Maj. Gen. Graves Erskine, commander of the base, known then as Marine Barracks, Camp Pendleton, was determined to develop the base into, “the finest Marine post in the world.” Tent camps were torn down and Quonset huts put in their place, the 17 Area barracks were renovated into officers’ quarters, a $130,000 Spanish beach club was opened at San Onofre and “I want Pendleton to be a place where Marines will want to come and live and to work, and a post where they will enjoy serving.”

Maj. Gen. Graves Erskine Quoted from the July 10, 1947 Pendleton Scout newspaper in a featured article.

a commissary opened in 1948. The base library opened in 1950 in a small wood-framed building across from Division headquarters.

Camp Pendleton also became “Hollywood South” as celebrities like Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Lucille Ball, and Jane Russell headlined victory shows at Camp Pendleton. Movie makers continued to seek out Pendleton’s brown hills for movies such as “Sands of Iwo Jima”, “Flying Leathernecks”, and “Battle Cry”.

Relations with surrounding communities were not always cordial. In 1947, Maj. Gen. Erskine was embroiled in a bitter dispute with the Oceanside School District over his right to operate a separate school for the children of Marines.

The “Little Red Schoolhouse” was built in the 17 Area and operated for two years until it was turned over to Oceanside in 1950.

Water was at the root of another controversy that resulted in a long and complicated legal battle involving Camp Pendleton and Fallbrook area residents who felt entitled to use water from the Santa Margarita River that flowed through the base. Highly publicized in national publications such as “Reader’s Digest” and “Saturday Evening Post,” the water rights trial became the longest trial in history. www.oceansidechamber.com

Peacetime activities power was repeatedly Marines train in Combat Town, circa 1968; photo courtesy Oceanside Historical Society came to an abrupt halt in demonstrated through 1950 with the outbreak military operations of the Korean War. conducted by Camp Thousands of Reservists Pendleton Marines crowded into Camp in Grenada, Panama, Pendleton, headed for Persian Gulf, Somalia, the front, faster than Bosnia, and Haiti. the base could process In January 1993, record them. Throughout the rainfalls caused flood war, replacements were waters of significant hurriedly trained and proportions, engulfing sent to the Far East. large portions of Camp The training, however Pendleton. Considerable hurried, was tough and damage was caused: realistic. A combat town Basilone Bridge, which connects the northern and southern was constructed to simulate a North Korean village where ends of the base, was washed out; fifty aircraft at the troops were exposed to as much realism as possible. Camp nearby Marine Corps Air Station were damaged; and Pendleton’s role as a Training and Replacement Command the historic Ranch House Chapel was heavily damaged, was reflected in the nearly 200,000 Marines that passed requiring a major reconstruction effort. Despite the through the base on their way to the Far East. reported $70 million of damage, reportedly no serious The Vietnam war years again saw a buildup of Marines bound for Southeast Asia. The movement of the 1st Marine Division from Camp Pendleton to Vietnam occurred more gradually than in World War II or Korea. Replacements were rotated in and out of combat zones through Staging Battalion, which took a Marine arriving at Camp Pendleton and gave him between 12 and 15 intensive training days before sending him to Vietnam. Troop ships were replaced by airplanes and the Korea combat village became a Vietnamese jungle village, complete with simulated deadly booby traps. The combat environment and training the methods had changed over the years, but the purpose remained constant - train Marines to fight and get them to the battle.

With the war in Southeast Asia over in April 1975, the base would soon be host to tens of thousands of refugees who were being evacuated to the United States from Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. On the morning of April 28, 1975, the first refugees arrived at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro on their way to Camp Pendleton. The base, with support from the 1st Marine Division and 1st Force Service Regiment, provided housing, feeding, medical, communications, and other facilities for the thousands of refugees. Within six days, Marines erected basic necessary facilities throughout eight refugee camps located throughout the northern portion of Camp Pendleton. Over 50,000 refugees passed through the refugee camps before Operation New Arrivals officially ended on Nov. 15, 1975.

During the 1980s and 1990s, the Marine Corps broadened its mission capabilities as “amphibious” became “expeditionary”, combining infantry, armor, logistics, and air power according to the task at hand. Troops and equipment could now be deployed halfway around the world in days as part of a self-sustaining air-ground combat team. The rapid projection of this military power was clearly demonstrated when Camp Pendleton-based forces and equipment was deployed halfway around the globe in days. This successful employment of expeditionary military www.oceansidechamber.com

injuries occurred.

After the terrorist attacks on the United States in September 2001, initiating a concerted global war on terrorism, Camp Pendleton once again became a significant training base to prepare its Marines for the decade-long fight in the Middle East in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom (Iraq) and Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan).

Tens of thousands of Marines and Sailors were trained

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

23

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division was activated aboard the battleship USS Texas on Feb. 1, 1941.

It is the oldest, largest, and most decorated division in the Marine Corps. After service in World War II, the Division came to Camp Pendleton in July 1947. The 1st Marine Division deployed to the Korean war from 1950 through 1952 and Vietnam war from 1965 through 1971. In the 1990s, the Division deployed in support of Operation Desert Shield (1990) and Operation Desert Storm (1991); supported disaster relief efforts in Bangladesh (Operation Sea Angel) and the Philippines (Operation Fiery Vigil); and supported Operation Restore Hope in Somalia (1992-1993). In early 2003, the Division deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, conducting the longest ground march in Marine Corps history. In March 2004, 1st Marine Division relieved the 82rd Airborne Division in Iraq’s Sunni Triangle in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II, conducting counter-insurgency operations throughout the Al Anbar Province, culminating in Operation Al Fajr. In 2005, 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions successfully conducted the largest relief in place in the history of the Marine Corps. In 2006, 1st Marine Division once again deployed to Iraq as the ground combat element for I Marine Expeditionary Force. During Operation Enduring Freedom, 1st Marine Division units deployed to Afghanistan to provide both advisory support and maneuver elements. In 2010, 1st Marine Division deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan as the ground combat element for Task Force Leatherneck.

In 2012, the Division deployed again to Afghanistan to serve as the headquarters for Task Force Leatherneck, the ground combat element for Regional Command (Southwest). Currently, 1st Marine Division units are in Afghanistan supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

3rd Marine Division The 3rd Marine Division was officially activated on Sept. 16, 1942 at Camp Elliott, San Diego.

Most of the original members of the division were drawn from the cadre staff of the 2nd Marine

24

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

Division. The division was initially built around the 9th Marine Regiment. The division was inactivated on Dec. 28, 1945. The division was reactivated on Jan. 7, 1952 at Camp Pendleton, for service in Korean. On May 6, 1965, the 3rd Marine Division opened the Marine compound at Da Nang Air Base, Vietnam; the division departed South Vietnam in November 1969 and relocated to Camp Courtney, Okinawa (Japan). From 2004 to 2011, elements of the 3d Marine Division participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom. From March to May 2011, the Division participated in humanitarian relief efforts during Operation Tomodachi.

4th Marine Division The 4th Marine Division was formally activated on Aug. 14, 1943 at Camp Pendleton. The Division shipped out on Jan. 13, 1944 and conducted four major amphibious assaults in the battles of Kwajalein (Roi-Namur), Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima. The Division was deactivated Nov. 28, 1945. In February 1966, the Division was reactivated as the only division in the Marine Forces Reserve and is headquartered in New Orleans. 4th Marine Division has 200 units located throughout the United States. A number of the Division’s subordinate units deployed in support of Operation Desert Shield (1990) and Desert Storm (1991) and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

5th Marine Division The 5th Marine Division was officially activated on Jan. 21, 1944 at Camp Pendleton, California. The 5th Marine Division saw its first combat action during the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. The 5th Division was deactivated on Feb. 5, 1946. The Division was reactivated on March 1, 1966 at Camp Pendleton, during the Vietnam War. After deploying to Vietnam, the 5th Marine Division was formally deactivated on Nov. 26, 1969 at Camp Pendleton.

Source: Camp Pendleton Archives

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and repeatedly deployed from the base, adding to the latest chapter in a history of unequalled service by Camp Pendleton Marines and Sailors.

With more than 125,000 acres of varied terrain and 17 miles of coastline, Camp Pendleton is one of the Department of Defense’s busiest training installations offering a broad spectrum of training facilities for many active and reserve Marine, Army and Navy units, as well as national, state and local agencies. The base’s varied topography, combined with its amphibious training areas, inland training ranges and airspace, offers maximum flexibility and a realistic combat training environment.

Camp Pendleton is currently home to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and two of its major subordinate commands, 1st Marine Division and 1st Marine Logistics Group, along with numerous tenant units, including Marine Corps Installation-West, Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 1st Marine Raider Battalion, Wounded Warrior Battalion-West, Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity, Weapons & Field Training Battalion (Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego), School of Infantry-West (Training Command), Assault Craft Unit 5, Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, and Marine Corps and Army Reserve Forces.

Sources: 50th Anniversary Section, “Celebrating a Historic Half Century”, Blade-Citizen and Scout newspapers, Sept.24, 1992; Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton web site, http://www.pendleton.marines.mil/About/Introduction/

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Dorothy’s Military Shop Dry Cleaning, Tailoring, Laundry, Name Tapes, Ribbon and Medal Mounting 213-217 N. Tremont St. Oceanside, CA 92054

760-722-6555

Camp Pendleton:

Home of the 1st Marine Division since 1947

1st Marine Division Association:

Join us in fostering, encouraging, and perpetuating the memory, spirit and comradeship of the 1st Marine Division and all who have served https://www.facebook.com/1stMarineDivisionAssociation/ with or in support of the Division. www.1stmarinedivisionassociation.org www.facebook.com/1stMarineDivisionAssociation/ www.oceansidechamber.com

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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BASE HOUSING:

From Quonset Huts to Now

Camp Pendleton has seen many variations in housing facilities for its Marines, Sailors, and their families. Over the past 75 years, a wide spectrum of bachelor and family housing programs resulted in a mixed array of living accommodations.

Starting with the initial base construction in March 1942, a portion of the reported 5,000 civilian workers building the base lived in barracks specifically constructed for them while lived aboard the expansive former rancho. As a lure to workers, the Navy built temporary barracks and messing facilities for 500 and established a trailer camp.

For Marines of the 9th Marine Regiment who marched from Camp Elliott and initially occupied the base in early September 1942, the newly constructed “temporary” wood-framed H-Style barracks provided superior accommodations. Housing for Marines in the other infantry units, who would eventually occupy the three “tent camps” in the central and northern areas of the base, was exactly that...tents.

In July 1943, the contractors’ barracks was relocated and reconstructed in order to house the Women Marines who had arrived aboard the base. In 1944, forty Homoja housing units were built in Area 24 near the base headquarters; these units provided furnished two bedroom family units in each 20 foot by 48 foot Quonset hut, complete with kitchen and toilet facilities, including a bath.

It was not until 1944 when housing was specifically constructed for families of Camp Pendleton Marines and Sailors. Work began on the initial 448 units, consisting of one-, two-, and threebedroom apartments,

Quonset Hut family housing, March 1946; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

in December 1944 and in May 1945, the first sixteen families moved into Sterling Housing, located off base in Oceanside.

Soon after construction began, the number of units to be built was increased to 648. This $1.65 million family housing complex would remain until 1988 when it was demolished as part of a $23-million agreement, resulting in the construction of the 632 Serra Mesa housing units just inside the San Luis Rey gate.

In 1947, Camp Pendleton underwent numerous changes to make it a more permanent facility. Marines tore down tents and replaced them with Quonset huts in the outlying camp areas and renovated numerous barracks, including thirteen 17 Area barracks which were converted into married officers’ apartments.

In the 1950s, available family housing options included the Homoja Area, Sterling, South Mesa Trailer Housing, and Wherry housing (DeLuz and Wire Mountain consisted of 1,324 homes).

Camp Pendleton’s first ten permanent barracks were built in 1952 in the Chappo area. Four new camps (San Mateo, Las Pulgas, Horno, Margarita) housing 13,000 Marines each were constructed; new “flat top” barracks were built using pre-cast or ‘tilt-up’ construction. These reinforced concrete buildings were considered more efficient and economical than wood framed barracks or Quonset huts.

In the 1960s, the base began replacing “temporary” construction and building permanent facilities. Permanent bachelor enlisted and officer quarters and family housing was built at Camp Del Mar. When 5th Marine Division was activated in 1966, nearly two-thirds of the 6,500 new arrivals occupied 16 foot by 32 foot tents while permanent barracks

Tent Camp #1, Las Pulgas, 1944; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

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Current Base Housing Information: Family Housing:  Family Housing Areas: 22  Family Housing Units: 7,545

Bachelor Housing:  Bachelor Housing Areas: 14  Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ): 188  Capacity: 38,000+

were being built; the Marines eventually moved into new barracks at Las Flores in 1967. World War II-era structures in the San Luis Rey area were demolished, making room for new houses for field grade officers and their families.

In the early 1970s, a Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) modernization program included renovation of open bay barracks, providing modern-style BEQs with separate rooms designed to house two to three Marines and included a bathroom and lounge area. New BEQs were built in five of the major camps throughout the base; these modern BEQs closely resembled college dormitories.

To alleviate a continuing family housing shortage, over 2,200 additional two-, three-, and four-bedroom homes were built in the Wire Mountain, O’Neill Heights (Deluz Canyon), South Mesa, and San Onofre areas. A mobile home park was also built in San Onofre.

Following the Vietnam War, construction and modernization programs resulted in renovation or replacement of a majority of temporary World War II facilities. Over 1,400 family homes were built in San Onofre, South Mesa/Forster Heights, and O’Neill Heights. Modern BEQs were built in over half of the 18 cantonments aboard the base.

Housing projects in the 1980s and 1990s included a 300unit complex at San Onofre for company grade officers and junior enlisted personnel and 104 units for junior enlisted personnel in the South Mesa housing area. New bachelor

quarters were built in six cantonments across the base.

In 1996, Congress established the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) to increase service members’ quality of life by improving their housing. This initiative attracted private sector financing, expertise and innovation to revitalize and privatize military housing. A private entity therefore became responsible for construction, renovation, and maintenance of Public Private Venture (PPV) housing.

For Camp Pendleton, the result was a series of substantial family housing improvements. Conducted in phases, the first PPV executed in November 2000 privatized 512 existing DeLuz housing units which included constructing 200 new units. The next venture in October 2003 redeveloped 3,210 existing housing units in four and a half years. In October 2004, 76 units were privatized at San Mateo Point. In September 2006, the remaining existing 2,771 units were privatized. Between 2007 and 2014, 315 new homes were built, with the remaining 250 to be completed in mid-2017.

The base’s two PPV partners will manage military family housing until 2050.

Between 2008 and 2011, the Marine Corps Barracks Recapitalization program funded 42 barracks projects worth $1.4 billion at Camp Pendleton. Newly constructed or renovated barracks resulted in individual rooms accommodating up to two Marines or Sailors, allowing between 90 and 180 square feet of living space (rank dependent) with a shared or private bathroom.

Fortunately, tent cities, wood-framed H-style barracks, corrugated steel Quonset huts, and reinforced concrete “flat top” barracks with open squad bay living accommodations and community-style bathrooms are a thing of the past.

Sources: Camp Pendleton Archives; Marines of the Margarita: The Story of Camp Pendleton and the Leathernecks who Train on a Famous California Rancho, Robert M. Witty and Neil Morgan (1970); Building the Navy’s Bases in World War II website, www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/Building_Bases/bases-15.html; various issues, Oceanside Daily Blade Tribune newspaper; FY2002 Department of the Navy Budget Submission; Commander, Navy Installations Command website, www.cnic.navy.mil/ffr/housing/HQ_Housing_Programs/ppv. html

Aerial view of Sterling Homes, military housing within the City of Oceanside, location on Mission Avenue. Circa 1945

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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Navajo Code Talkers in formation at Camp Pendleton, c. 1943; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

Navajo code talkers

on Camp Pendleton

The Marine Corps Navajo Code Talker Program was established in February 1942 when 29 Navajos were recruited and completed boot camp at Camp Elliott in San Diego.

The program started as a result of Philip Johnston's recommendation to Maj. Gen. Clayton B. Vogel, Code Talkers on Saipan, June 1944; Commanding General of the photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet. Johnston, the son of a missionary to the Navajo tribe, was fluent in their language and believed its use could guarantee communications security because it was an unwritten language completely unintelligible to anyone except the Navajos.

Upon Vogel's recommendation, the Marine's established a pilot program using the original twenty-nine Navajos, and after successful results set up a permanent program at Camp Elliott and Camp Pendleton.

Following basic boot camp at Camp Elliott, the Navajo recruits were sent to the Field Signal Battalion Training 28

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

Center at Camp Pendleton (located in Area 13) where they were trained in standard communication procedures and equipment.

Instruction included operation of radios, running and repair of communications cable, and sending and receiving Morse code.

While at Camp Pendleton, the first group of Navajos devised Navajo words for military terms that were not part of their language.

Once they had completed training these Marines were assigned to one of the Marine's three combat divisions. By the end of the war in 1945, nearly 420 Navajos were involved. The Code Talkers proved to be highly successful in their training and in combat situations, where they were able to reduce the delivery time of messages, which would have taken longer if using conventional cryptographic techniques.

President George W. Bush presented the Congressional Gold Medal to four of the five living original 29 Navajo Code Talkers and to relatives of the other 24 Native Americans on July 26, 2001; President Bill Clinton signed a bill on Dec. 21, 2000, to grant the Congressional Gold Medals to the original 29 code talkers and Silver Medals to about 300 Navajos who followed them to the Pacific Theater during World War II. Source: Camp Pendleton Archives; USMC History Division website, www.usmcu. edu/content/navajo-code-talkers-world-war-ii; U.S. Department of State website, iipdigital.usembassy.gov www.oceansidechamber.com

camp pendleton logo

by Paul G. Durrance, Chairman Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores Docents In branding lingo, it was the “flying T” and the “hanging O”. That symbol of a “T’ sitting on top of an “O” featured prominently on signs, badges and in books throughout Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton has long been recognized as an old 1884 historic cattle brand by only a few Old California Rancho history enthusiasts.

Before President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated Camp Joseph H. Pendleton in September 1942, it’s vast hills and verdant valleys was the largest rancho in San Diego County, California, totaling 133,441 acres. The rancho was named Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores, or Saint Margaret and the Flowers. On this massive rancho, thousands of cattle and horses sported this brand.

In 1882, Richard O’Neill, with the help of his partner James Flood, purchased the Ranch from the prominent Don Juan Forster family after the Don’s untimely death. The Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores was shy of quality cattle causing Richard O’Neill to journey to Texas to purchase several thousand head of cattle. The cattle purchased in Texas bore the “T and O” brand and Mr. O’Neill decided to use the brand and left it on the cattle. In those days there were no brand laws in the state of California. Not An original branding iron, Rancho Santa until 1913 did California Margarita; photo by Deb Hellman require brands to be registered with the Department of Agriculture. Some suggest that the “T” stands for Texas and the “O” stands for Oklahoma or the “O” stands for O’Neill but this couldn’t be further from the truth.

In December 1844, Richard O’Neill registered his Rancho Margarita brand with the County Recorder of San Diego County, initially for the horses and then the cattle. When he www.oceansidechamber.com

registered his “T and O” brand he registered it “O and T”, or upside down. Over the years that registered “O and T” brand has been resurrected as the “T and O” brand. Merely conjecture, but some old cowboys always read the brands from the bottom up. This might explain the confusion and how we have the hanging “O” and the flying “T” today.

Prior to 1942 when the Rancho assets were divided up between the Floods, Baumgartners and O’Neills, the Flood family received the use of the good name of Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores and the “T and O” brand through legal documents. The story goes that Mr. J. Baumgartner Jr. phoned Mrs. Flood and asked her if she had any idea what she was going to do with her brand and she said “No, not really; I thought maybe we would keep it, but if you want it you can have it.” Mr. Baumgartner promptly registered the “T and O” brand (located on the left hip of the steer) with the California Department of Agriculture.

When the Marine Corps acquired the rancho property in 1942, it was given permission to continue the use of the “T and O” brand as the Camp Pendleton logo. After acquisition of the rancho lands, the brand was initially painted on all vehicles and carved into tables and chairs at the Ranch House when it was used as an Officer’s Club.

This historic brand, which at one time graced livestock on land holdings totaling 220,058 acres, is a reminder of the historic bygone days of early San Diego County and of the baronial cattle ranches that once dotted the landscape. This brand recalls the ranchos littered with cattle tended to by hard riding Vaqueros who would brand the cattle during spring and early summer rodeos, and the rancho life and times of Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores that has long since vanished.

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

29

Base Commanding Generals BASE COMMANDER

FROM

TO

BASE COMMANDER

FROM

TO

Maj. Gen. Joseph C. Fegan

August 1942

May 1944

Maj. Gen. Stephen G. Olmstead

July 1978

June 1980

Maj. Gen. Charles F. B. Price

June 1944

July 1945

Maj. Gen. Hugh W. Hardy

June 1980

August 1980

Lt. Gen. Holland M. Smith

July 1945

May 1946

Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Robinson

August 1980

August 1983

Lt. Gen. Harry Schmidt

May 1946

June 1947

Maj. Gen. Anthony Lukeman

August 1983

July 1984

Brig. Gen. John T. Walker

June 1947

July 1947

Maj. Gen. Robert E. Haebel

July 1984

June 1987

Maj. Gen. Graves B. Erskine

July 1947

July 1950

Maj. Gen. Matthew T. Cooper

June 1987

April 1988

Maj. Gen. Alfred H. Noble

July 1950

June 1951

Maj. Gen. J.ames J. McMonagle

April 1988

June 1988

Maj. Gen. Oliver P. Smith

June 1951

May 1953

Brig. Gen. Richard.H. Huckaby

June 1988

June 1990

Maj. Gen. Robert H. Pepper

May 1953

August 1953

Maj. Gen. John P. Monahan

June 1990

August 1990

Brig. Gen. William J. Scheyer

August 1953

October 1953

Lt. Gen. Walter E. Boomer

August 1990

September 1990

Maj. Gen. James P. Riseley

October 1953

November 1953

Brig. Gen. Michael I. Neil

September 1990 June 1991

Maj. Gen. John T. Seldon

November 1953 April 1955

Lt. Gen. Walter E. Boomer

June 1991

Maj. Gen. George F. Good, Jr.

April 1955

July 1957

Lt. Gen. Robert B. Johnston

September 1991 June 1992

October 1959

Maj. Gen. B. Don Lynch

June 1992

May 1994

Maj. Gen. Reginald H. Ridgely, Jr. July 1957 Maj. Gen. Alan Shapley

November 1959 March 1961

Maj. Gen. Claude W. Reinke

May 1994

August 1998

Brig. Gen. Raymond L. Murray

March 1961

June 1962

Maj. Gen. Edward Hanlon, Jr.

August 1998

June 2001

Maj. Gen. James M. Masters, Sr.

June 1962

April 1963

Maj. Gen. David F. Bice

June 2001

June 2002

Maj. Gen. John C. Munn

May 1963

June 1964

Maj. Gen. William G. Bowdon

June 2002

July 2004

Maj. Gen. Robert E. Cushman, Jr. July 1964

March 1967

Maj. Gen. Timothy E. Donovan

July 2004

April 2005

Maj. Gen. Lewis J. Fields

March 1967

June 1968

Maj. Gen. Michael R. Lehnert

April 2005

October 2005

Maj. Gen. Wood B. Kyle

June 1968

July 1968

Col. John C. Coleman

October 2005

May 2006

Maj. Gen. Donn J. Robertson

July 1968

August 1970

Col. James B. Seaton III

May 2006

June 2009

December 1971

Col. Nicholas F. Marano

June 2009

March 2012

Maj. Gen. Herman Poggemeyer, Jr. December 1971 November 1973

Brig. Gen. Vincent A. Coglianese

April 2012

August 2013

Maj. Gen. Robert L. Nichols

November 1973 August 1974

Brig. Gen. John W. Bullard

August 2013

August 2014

Brig. Gen. Leonard E. Fribourg

May 1974

June 1974

Brig. Gen. Edward G. Banta

August 2014

July 2016

Brig. Gen. Paul G. Graham

August 1974

June 1975

Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Killea

July 2016

present

Maj. Gen. Carl W. Hoffman

June 1975

June 1978

Source: Camp Pendleton Archives

Maj. Gen. George S. Bowman, Jr. August 1970

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September 1991

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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Base Sergeants Major

FROM TO

Sgt. Maj. Edwin L. Schwaner Sgt. Maj. Milburn N. Zell Sgt. Maj. Otis B. Joyner Sgt. Maj. William J. Scheffer Sgt. Maj. Edgar R. Huff Sgt. Maj. Warren W. McElliott Sgt. Maj. George E. Parker Sgt. Maj. Homer L. Akin, Jr. Sgt. Maj. Mike D. Mervosh Sgt. Maj. Henry M. Kajdacz Sgt. Maj. Daniel A. Misernay, Sr. Sgt. Maj. L. C. Johnson Sgt. Maj. Eleanor L. Judge Sgt. Maj. Donald L. Dolan Sgt. Maj. Lawrence C. Lookenbill Sgt. Maj. Dearl R. Fraze Sgt. Maj. Joe R. Rodriguez Sgt. Maj. Raymond T. Fitzhugh Sgt. Maj. Lee M. Bradley Sgt. Maj. Michael J.Baumhover Sgt. Maj. Harold A. Robinson Sgt. Maj. James I.L. Celestine Sgt. Maj. Mikel R. Beal Sgt. Maj. Chris A. Crawford Sgt. Maj. Richard W. Smith Sgt. Maj. Carlos R. Ramirez Sgt. Maj. Richard E. Jones Sgt. Maj. Michael G. Markiewicz Sgt. Maj. Jerome B. Price Sgt. Maj. Juan F. Sandoval, Jr. Sgt. Maj. Javier A. Nicholas Sgt. Maj. Wayne R. Bell Sgt. Maj. Kenneth W. Jones Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey H. Dixon Sgt. Maj. Ramona D. Cook

November 1956 March 1960 January 1961 October 1962 October 1966 May 1968 October 1968 May 1970 March 1972 August 1972 October 1975 November 1978 March 1980 September 1980 October 1982 November 1983 February 1984 July 1985 July 1986 March 1987 May 1990 September 1991 November 1992 June 1994 September 1995 November 1997 December 1998 June 2000 August 2002 April 2004 February 2006 November 2006 January 2007 May 2007 March 2009

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February 1960 December 1960 September 1962 October 1966 May 1968 October 1968 April 1970 February 1972 August 1972 September 1975 October 1978 March 1980 September 1980 September 1982 November 1983 January 1984 July 1985 July 1986 March 1987 April 1990 September 1991 November 1992 June 1994 September 1995 November 1997 December 1998 June 2000 August 2002 April 2004 February 2006 November 2006 January 2007 May 2007 March 2009 April 2012

Marine Corps Installations West (MCIWEST) Sergeants Major Sgt. Maj. Wayne R. Bell February 2006 January 2007 Sgt. Maj. Barbara J. Titus-Tention January 2007 April 2009 Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey H. Dixon April 2009 June 2011 April 2012 Sgt. Maj. Derrick Christovale, Sr. June 2011 MCIWEST-MCB Camp Pendleton Sergeants Major Sgt. Maj. Derrick Christovale, Sr. April 2012 June 2013 Sgt. Maj. Scott R. Helms June 2013 May 2016 Sgt. Maj. Julio E. Meza May 2016 Present Source: Camp Pendleton Archives

Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores Docents

Come visit the Ranch! Docent tours provided aboard MCB Camp Pendleton to learn about early California history.

2017 tour dates: 1st Tuesday, 2nd Wednesday and 3rd Thursday of the month.

For more information on tours or becoming a docent call (760) 725-5758 or visit our website: www.rsmylf.org. www.facebook.com/RSMYLF/ CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

31

STAFF SGT. RECKLESS

In LIFE Magazine’s “Celebrating Our Heroes,” listed alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, is a small Mongolian mare named Reckless, who became the great war hero horse in American history.

On Oct. 26, 1952, Lt. Eric Pedersen purchased Reckless for $250 from a young Korean man who sold his beloved horse to buy an artificial leg for his sister who lost hers in a land mine accident.

During the pivotal five-day Battle of Outpost Vegas in late March 1953, she made 51 roundtrips in a single day – most of them solo – from the ammunition supply point to the firing sites.

She carried 386 rounds of ammunition totaling more than 9,000 pounds and walked over 35 miles through open rice paddies and up steep mountains, as enemy fire exploded at the rate of 500 rounds per minute.

Reckless provided a shield for front-line Marines, carried the wounded to safety, and herself was wounded twice. But she never quit until the mission was complete.

Reckless was so heroic during the Korean War she was officially promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant by the Commandant of the Marine Corps, a rank never before or since bestowed upon an animal.

Staff Sgt. Reckless is buried at the Stepp Stables here on Base, where she spent her final years before her death in 1968. On Oct. 26, 2016, sixty-four years to the day of her enlistment, a life-sized bronze monument of her was dedicated at the Pacific Views Event Center, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

Military Decorations: • Two Purple Hearts • Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal • Presidential Unit Citation • Navy Unit Commendation • National Defense Service Medal • United Nations Service Medal Korea • Korean Service Medal w/3 Stars • Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation • PDSA Dickin Medal • Ambassador for Peace Medal She wasn’t a horse – She was a Marine!

1

2

3

Source: Program, “OPERATION: RECKLESS” - Dedicating a Monument to America’s Greatest War Hero”, Oct. 26, 2016

6 32

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

5

4 www.oceansidechamber.com

Above: War horse Staff Sgt. Reckless monument at Pacific Views Event Center on Camp Pendleton, Calif., Oct. 26, 2016. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Dylan Overbay, USMC Opposite Page, clockwise: 1. Sgt. Reckless at the front gate of Camp Pendleton.

2. Sgt. Reckless being promoted to Staff Sergeant in 1959 pictured with one of her offspring, Fearless.

3. Sgt. Reckless in San Francisco attending a USMC Birthday Ball at the Marines’ Memorial Club.

4. Staff Sgt. Reckless pictured with LtGen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller one of the few Marines permitted to ride her.

5. Staff Sgt. Reckless with Lt. Pedersen at the Ranch House.

6. Sgt. Reckless under fire on the battlefields in Korea.

Photos courtesy Camp Pendleton Archives

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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CREDIT UNION

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

35

HOLLYWOOD

and Camp Pendleton Cast and crew of “Sands of Iwo Jima” including active duty Marines and star John Wayne.

Photo courtesy Oceanside Historical Society

36

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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by Faye Jonason, Director Camp Pendleton History Museum A favorite location for film, the Marine Corps’ premier expeditionary training base at Camp Pendleton is attractive for its more than 125,000 acres of terrain, varied military training, Marine and Sailor “extras”, and the largest undeveloped coastline in Southern California boasting natural beaches, bluffs, mesas, canyons, mountains and the region’s only free-flowing river. Formerly a production site for cowboy movies, Camp Pendleton became a choice location for military films, as the following sampling shows.

1942 – War Dogs. Directed by S. Roy Luby, starring Billy Lee as the boy who donates his police dog and best friend, played by Ace the Wonder Dog, to the Dogs for Defense during World War II. 1943 – Gung Ho! The Story of Carlson’s Makin Island Raiders. Directed by Raymond Enright and starring Randolph Scott, the movie tells of the early World War II offensive ground attack on Japanese-held Makin Island, based on the raid by the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, led

by Lt. Col. Evans Carlson who also served as film’s technical advisor. The Navy’s film liaison, Lt. Albert J Bolton, insisted that neither Carlson nor his executive officer, James Roosevelt, be singled out in the movie which was filmed at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and Camp Pendleton with Marine extras.

1943 – Salute to the Marines. Directed by S. Sylvan Simon, starring Wallace Beery. Movie is set during World War II in the Philippines. A tough retired Sergeant Major who finally sees action as a civilian and dies in his dress blues uniform while blowing up a bridge.

1943 – Guadalcanal Diary. Directed by Lewis Seiler and produced in 1942 just months after the actual allied invasion, the film shot mostly on Camp Pendleton starring Preston Foster, Lloyd Nolan, William Bendix, Richard Conte, Anthony Quinn and Richard Jaeckel. Marines were filmed on maneuvers or had small speaking parts.

1944 – Winged Victory. A joint endeavor by 20th Century Fox and the U.S. Army Air Forces and directed by George Cukor, starring Lon McCallister, Jeanne Crain, Edmond O’Brien. The movie depicts the training of young men for pilot duty. One set worker said 20th Century Fox sent laborers to Camp Pendleton to build the set of a Japanese Pacific island base over a week’s time to include water tank, gun entrenchments, sand-bagged trenches and living quarters. In the movie, heroes dive bombed and blew it up in less than four minutes.

1949 – Sands of Iwo Jima. Directed by Allan Dwan, starring John Wayne. Filming required the cast to go through intensive three day training by a tough Marine sergeant selected by General Graves Erskine. Political struggle for funding and survival inspired the Marine Corps to support the film. The movie was an enormous success, securing several Academy Award nominations including John Wayne’s first for Best Actor. Workers built plaster palm trees, pillboxes, gun emplacements, laid thousands of feet of barbed wire. One Marine extra reported Camp Pendleton’s beach was covered with asbestos to simulate Iwo Jima’s volcanic sand. Actual newsreel war footage blended into the film’s battle scenes. www.oceansidechamber.com

Proud to be named a

Military Friendly Institution

by Victory Media/GI Jobs Magazine

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

37

Movies FILMED ON Camp Pendleton War Dogs (1942) Gung Ho: The Story of Carlson’s Makin Island Raiders (1943) Salute to the Marines (1943) Guadalcanal Diary (1943) Winged Victory (1944) Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) Halls of Montezuma (1951) Flying Leathernecks (1951) Retreat Hell! (1952) Battle Cry (1955)

The D.I. (1957) The Outsider (1961) To the Shores of Hell (1966) First to Fight (1967) Baby Blue Marine (1976) Midway (1976) MacArthur (1977) Heartbreak Ridge (1986) Rules of Engagement (2000) Green Dragon (2001) Battle: Los Angeles (2011)

Progress Edition, Oceanside Daily Blade‐Tribune, 1944; image courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

1951 – Halls of Montezuma. Directed by Lewis Milestone, starring Richard Widmark, Richard Boone, Jack Palance, Karl Malden and Robert Wagner. The film depicts Marines fighting on a Japanese-held island and included actual color film war footage. The Marine Corps cooperated by providing accurate military equipment, weapons, tanks and uniforms as well as the manpower to create the logistics of a wartime Marine battalion. Camp Pendleton was utilized including beaches to simulate landings. The film was used for recruitment and proceeds from the movie’s premiers were donated to Marine Corps-associated charities.

1951 – Flying Leathernecks. Directed by Nicholas Ray, produced by Edmund Grainger, and starring John Wayne as the strict new commanding officer of VMF-247, the “Wildcats” squadron of Marine pilots which he transforms into battle-ready warriors to fight against the Japanese Kamikaze during the Battle of Okinawa. The movie was bankrolled by Howard Hughes, himself a pilot; Hughes decided to film in Technicolor, enabling adding color wartime combat footage to the film. Photography began at Camp Pendleton and El Toro Marine Corps bases and moved for studio sound stage sequences. Grumman F6F Hellcats and Vought F4U Corsair fighters were featured.

1952 – Retreat Hell! Directed by Joseph H. Lewis and starring Frank Lovejoy, the movie is a fact-based account of valiant 1st Marine Division Marines who temporarily stemmed the Communist tide during the Korean War; former Marine Milton Sperling produced and co-wrote the film. The Marine Corps approved the request by Warner Brothers to depict the offensive by Chinese Communist Forces. Commandant Lemuel Shepherd allowed six weeks of filming at Camp Pendleton, bulldozing of a road by film crew and sprinkling it with gypsum to simulate snow and Marines to create accurate Korean villages for the film. Marine Corps requests influenced the Hollywood Production Code Office to finally approve the title in spite of its ban on the word “hell.”

1955 – Battle Cry. Produced and directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, James Whitmore, Tab 38

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

Hunter, Anne Francis, Dorothy Malone, Raymond Massey, and Mona Freeman, the movie was based on the novel by former Marine Leon Uris who wrote the screenplay. The film was set at the beginning of the Pacific War. 1957 – The D.I. Directed, produced, and starring Jack Webb, the movie depicts a Parris Island Recruit Depot drill instructor’s story. Portions of the film were shot at Camp Pendleton. The Marine Corps premiered the film at Parris Island and used the film for the training of Marine Corps Drill Instructors, due to positive Marine Corps portrayal and the lack of profanity or physical abuse.

1961 – The Outsider. Directed by Delbert Mann and starring Tony Curtis as Ira Hayes, the film documented the Native American who fought in World War II and participated in the Iwo Jima flag raising. The film ends with Ira Hayes’ death at age 32 due to exposure, ten years after the battle at Iwo Jima.

1966 – To the Shores of Hell. Directed by Will Zens and starring Marshall Thompson, Richard Arlen, Dick O’Neill and Robert Dornan, this Vietnam War film is about a Marine Major who works to rescue his physician brother from the Viet Cong. The movie begins using footage of amphibious landing exercises at Camp Pendleton.

1967 – First to Fight. A Warner Brothers film starring Chad Everett, Marilyn Devin, Dean Jagger, Bobby Troup and James Best, the movie was shot at Camp Pendleton and is loosely based on the story of Medal of Honor recipient, Gunnery Sergeant “Manila” John Basilone.

1976 – Baby Blue Marine. Produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg and directed by John D. Hancock, the Metrocolor film starred Jan-Michael Vincent and Glynnis O’Connor and was set during World War II. Some scenes were shot at the former Amphibious Vehicle Museum at the top of Rattlesnake Canyon Road in Camp Pendleton’s Mainside area.

1976 – Midway. Directed by Jack Smight and produced by Walter Mirisch, the movie stars Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Hal Holbrook, Toshiro www.oceansidechamber.com

Mifune, Robert Mitchum, Cliff Robertson, Robert Wagner, James Shigeta, Pat Morita, Robert Ito, and Christine Kokubo. The film portrays Navy Admiral Chester Nimitz leading an outnumbered unit in the Pacific to break Japanese encryption codes. Some documentary footage of John Ford’s 1942 film, “The Battle of Midway”, was used in this film, splicing in scenes of Colonel James Roosevelt, President Franklin Roosevelt’s son. truck and rv rentals 1977 – MacArthur. Directed by Joseph Sargent and starring PackInG MaterIals Gregory Peck in the title role, the biographical film covers the story of General Douglas MacArthur from the Battle of M-F: 7:30-5:00; SAT: 7:30-3:00 Bataan through the war in the South Pacific and his 1952 ouster by the President.

1986 – Heartbreak Ridge. Directed, produced, and starring Clint Eastwood and co-starring Mario Van Peebles, Marsha Mason, and Everett McGill. The movie depicts a decorated Army Medal of Honor veteran, who served at Heartbreak Ridge in the Korean War, at his last duty station as a Marine Gunnery Sergeant preparing young and inexperienced JiM, Connie & ShAd wArner Marines for combat. Initially, the Marine Corps allowed filming aboard Camp Pendleton at Camp Talega for the barracks, Chappo Flats for parachute rigging, and Mainside for 1st Marine Division headquarters. The final scene of Gunnery Sergeant Highway’s platoon returning from deployment features the 1st Marine Division Band, betraying the reality of filming on the West Coast, not at Cherry Point where the scene is set. The Department of Defense withdrew backing of the film after a 1986 preview because of language and the negative portrayal of Marines.

2372 induSTry ST., oCeAnSide, CA 92054 2000 – Rules of Engagement. Directed by William Friedkin and starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson in a mystery war-drama film. The filmmaker negotiated cooperation from the Department of Defense for the film.

2001 – Green Dragon. Directed by Timothy Linh Bui and written by Bui’s younger brother, Tony Bui, the movie starred Patrick Swayze, Forest Responsible Military Lending for Over 65 Years Whitaker and Duong Don. The Bui brothers came to the United States with their family in 1975 as refugees • Fixed rate loans from from Vietnam. The film recreates $500 to $10,000 Southeast Asian refugee experiences at their first home on Camp Pendleton • Fast, Friendly and where the movie was also filmed.

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Sources: Camp Pendleton Archives; change to Marines of the Margarita by Robert Witty and Neil Morgan (1970); Turner Classic Movies Presents Leonard Maltin’s Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era Through 1965 by Leonard Maltin (2015); and The Movie Book by the Editors of Phaidon Press (1999) www.oceansidechamber.com

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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MILITARY REUNIONS IN OCEANSIDE Recon 50 Reunites in Oceanside 50 years ago, a group of brave young Marines were sent into Vietnam for covert missions as the eyes and ears for both land and air operations.

These acts of service and valor forged a bond like no other; but returning to civilian life in their various hometowns had made it difficult to keep in touch over the years.

Flash forward to April 2015 as nearly 200 retired Marines and Corpsmen with family members, from across the country, gathered in Oceanside for the Recon 50 Reunion. The four-day event included social receptions, shopping and activities for the spouses, guided tours on base and an emotional memorial service to honor their fallen brothers.

Exploring the new restaurants and updated Harbor while visiting old stomping grounds around town was a highlight. “This was a special time to reunite our band of brothers and reminisce, and the community really embraced us”, says John Baker, USMC - Recon Reunion Coordinator. “We felt right at home with the strong military presence and appreciation. Oceanside was the perfect place for our reunion but I needed help with the planning and Visit Oceanside had the connections and expertise we needed to make it happen.”

Why Oceanside?

When it’s time to gather again to celebrate your service and reflect on memories shared, choosing a reunion location that understands, embodies, and honors military life should top your list.

With great pride and gratitude, Oceanside welcomes our Heroes and their families for military reunion groups. This is the perfect home base for your events and activities as neighbor to Camp Pendleton and centrally located for day trips to many patriotic sites.

Visit Oceanside Conference & Visitors Bureau and the California Welcome Center Oceanside are here to help!

“Visit Oceanside worked tirelessly to match my hotel, transportation, and event requirements with Oceanside’s resources.

Their dedication, expertise, initiative and recommendations far exceeded my expectations and met my reunion goals.”

C. Kershaw, USMC – Recon 50 Planner

“Visit Oceanside secured an unheard of hotel group rate and found a great conference venue to meet all requirements for our main event. They are consummate professionals who provide outstanding customer service and went above and beyond our expectations.

I highly recommend their services and the quality of product in Oceanside.”

– American GI Forum Planner

Photo: Dave Thomas

Heroes WELCOME Is your reunion looking to have fun in a patriotic and historic community that is relaxing and affordable? Think of Oceanside for your next Southern California gathering.

Ask about our Pick a Perk Promotion to receive sponsorship dollars towards dinner banquet, airport shuttle, or group activities!

Complimentary Reunion Planning Assistance includes: • Room blocks and group rates • Itineraries and group activities • Shuttle transportation and more

Learn more at: www.visitoceanside.org/military-reunions or call Dana Higgins at 760-637-9953

PRESIDENTS

who visited the base

President Franklin D. Roosevelt President Roosevelt officially dedicated Camp Joseph H. Pendleton on Sept. 25, 1942. During his visit, he reportedly urged the base’s commanding general at the time, Maj. Gen. Joseph Fegan, to preserve the historic Ranch House as an important part of California heritage. President Roosevelt returned to Camp Pendleton in July 1944 to observe an amphibious landing exercise.

President Lyndon B. Johnson President Johnson visited Camp Pendleton on Nov. 11, 1967 in honor of the 192nd anniversary of the Marine Corps. He sampled a 200-pound celebratory birthday cake alongside the base’s oldest and youngest serving Marines. During this time, troops from Camp Pendleton were returning to Vietnam after serving multiple tours.

President Richard Nixon A Southern California native, President Nixon visited Camp Pendleton a number of times and is said to have enjoyed walks on North County beaches. He visited the base in 1971 to present the Presidential Unit Citation to the 1st Marine Division as it returned home from Vietnam.

President Ronald Reagan Former President Ronald Reagan spoke to over 800 families at Camp Pendleton on March 1, 1991, thanking them for their sacrifices after the Gulf War and for helping to save world democracy.

President George W. Bush President Bush paid multiple visits to Camp Pendleton, but he also witnessed San Diego’s 2007 wildfires first-hand after authorizing federal aid to help extinguish them.

President Bush spoke to a hundreds of firefighters, toured neighborhoods and flew over the damage in the Presidential helicopter, Marine One. 42

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

Front page of Oceanside Blade Tribune newspaper, Oct. 1, 1942

President Barack Obama President Obama spoke to 3,000 Marines, sailors and their families in an air station hangar at Camp Pendleton in August 2013, praising them for their service and sacrifice in Afghanistan and Iraq over the prior twelve years.

Source: 6 U.S. Presidents Who Have Visited North County San Diego, yournorthcounty.com/us-presidents-whohave-visitednorth-county-san-diego www.oceansidechamber.com

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historic structures

by Faye Jonason, Director Camp Pendleton History Museum 1. Camp Talega World War II Quonset Huts: Situated in the northern-most portion of Camp Pendleton, the only part of the base located in Orange County, Camp Talega was first established as Tent Camp 3 during World War II; early references also identify this camp as “Tent Camp 3-1/2.” At that time, each tent camp had its own combat and qualification range. The tents were subsequently replaced during the war by versatile, multi-use Quonset huts.

2. Hand of Hope: Designed by artist Nguyen Luu Dat and built by two Marines, the piece includes an inscription that reads, “This statue commemorates the warm reception given by the American people to thousands of Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees during ‘Operation New Arrival’ in 1975.” The sculpture is located on Cristianitos Road.

3. Los Cristianitos Baptism Site: In 1769, two dying Indian infants were baptized by Padre Francisco Gómez, a member of the Portolá Expedition, marking the first baptisms in Alta California. A white wooden cross marks the site’s entry along Cristianitos Road on Camp Pendleton; a small spring

on Base

can still be found at the site. The site was officially named a California State Historical Landmark in December 1956.

4. Las Flores Estancia National Historic Landmark: Located near the coast at the mouth of Las Flores Creek, the Las Flores Estancia is a Mission Period compound built on a pre-historic Indian midden, which served as a Mission San Luis Rey cattle ranch under the jurisdiction of Fr. Antonio Peyri. The estancia enabled the missionaries to trade tallow and hides, known then as “California dollars,” for European goods such as printed pottery. The estancia was the site of the April 1838 one-shot Battle of Las Flores over governorship between the forces of Carlos Antonio Carillos and Juan Bautista Alvarado. The site later became a Native American pueblo during secularization, and finally was absorbed into the property of Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores. Only the ruins of the original estancia exist today.

5. Las Flores Adobe National Historic Landmark: The Las Flores Adobe, located 14 miles north of the Ranch House, dates from 1868 when Marco Forster, son of Don Juan

Las Flores Estancia, 1849 drawing by H.M.T. Powell; image courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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Generals Who Lived in the Santa Margarita Ranch House Maj. Gen. Graves B. Erskine Maj. Gen. Alfred H. Noble Maj. Gen. Oliver P. Smith Maj. Gen. Robert H. Pepper Maj. Gen. John T. Selden Maj. Gen. George F. Good, Jr. Maj. Gen. Reginald H. Ridgely, Jr. Maj. Gen. Alan Shapley Maj. Gen. James M. Masters, Sr. Maj. Gen. Robert E. Cushman, Jr. Maj. Gen. Lewis J. Fields Maj. Gen. Donn J. Robertson Maj. Gen. George S. Bowman, Jr. Maj. Gen. Herman Poggemeyer, Jr. Maj. Gen. Robert L. Nichols Brig. Gen. Paul G. Graham Maj. Gen. Carl W. Hoffman Maj. Gen. Stephen G. Olmstead

July 1947 July 1950 June 1951 May 1952 November 1953 April 1955 July 1957 November 1959 June 1962 July 1964 March 1967 July 1968 August 1970 January 1971 November 1973 August 1974 June 1975 July 1978

July 1950 July 1951 June 1953 August 1953 April 1955 July 1957 July 1959 March 1961 June 1964 May 1967 June 1968 August 1970 December 1971 November 1973 August 1974 April 1975 June 1978 June 1980

Forster, built Las Flores Adobe as a home for his family.

After Juan Forster died in 1882, his sons sold Las Flores Adobe as part of Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores to Richard O’Neill and James L. Flood. The Magee family moved onto the Las Flores ranch in 1888 where Jane Magee successfully raised lima beans and became known as the “Lima Bean Queen”. When the U. S. government acquired the ranch land in 1942, Jane Magee retained a life tenancy from 1942 until the 1968 passing of the last Magee of her generation.

Designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1968, Las Flores Adobe is one of a small number of surviving 19th century Monterey - Colonial style residences, a style typified by a mix of New England and Southwestern building techniques. Since 2005, staff and students from the University of Vermont’s Graduate Program in Historic Preservation have worked to reverse serious deterioration and restore the Las Flores Adobe.

Maj. Gen. Hugh W. Hardy Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Robinson Maj. Gen. Anthony. Lukeman Maj. Gen. Robert E. Haebel Brig. Gen. Matthew T. Cooper Brig. Gen. Richard H. Huckaby Lt. Gen. Walter E. Boomer Lt. Gen. Robert B. Johnston Lt. Gen. George R. Christmas Lt. Gen. Antony C. Zinni Maj. Gen. Claude W. Reinke Lt. Gen. Bruce B. Knutson, Jr. Lt. Gen. Michael Hagee Lt. Gen. James Conway Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler Maj. Gen. Michael Lehnert

June 1980 August 1980 August 1983 July 1984 July 1987 June 1988 August 1990 September 1991 July 1993 June 1994 September 1996 May 1998 July 2000 November 2002 October 2004 August 2006

August 1980 August 1983 July 1984 June 1987 April 1988 June 1990 September 1991 June 1993 May 1994 April 1996 August 1998 July 2000 November 2002 September 2004 August 2006 September 2007

Source: Camp Pendleton Archives

The Bunk House was dedicated as a museum in 1978 with the help of Col. James Roosevelt, USMC. Today it displays early rancho historical implements, tools and artifacts.

The complex of the Santa Margarita Ranch House National Historic Site was registered on the National Register of Historic Places in May 1971.

7. El Camino Real Bell: This bell is one of a series which marks the original El Camino Real or “King’s Highway”

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6. Santa Margarita Ranch House National Historic Site: Widely known simply as the “Ranch House,” the 30-acre property is located at the corner of Vandegrift Boulevard and Basilone Road and includes the Ranch House Chapel, the Bunk House Museum and the Ranch House. This site was the headquarters of the Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores, largest Mexican land-grant in California and served as home to the base’s commanding generals and their families from 1947 until 2007. Built with white adobe walls as thick as 9 feet, the Ranch House rooms are filled with historical artifacts from previous owners providing an interactive immersion into California and American history including the visits of U. S. Presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to George W. Bush.

The Ranch House Chapel is the oldest structure on the base with an estimated date of 1810. It features nine beautiful stained glass windows constructed of Canterbury Glass.

After the 1993 flood which destroyed two major walls of the Chapel, the numerous weddings, baptisms and funerals held at the Chapel inspired the local communities and the Base to rebuild it. www.oceansidechamber.com

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The Marine Corps Mechanized Museum as it appeared in January 1946, used to process thousands of Marines after World War II; image courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

linking all of the California missions. Two miles from the I-5 Main Gate, this site is located on Ysidora Flats, an area used by Marines for helicopter landing and training.

8. Camp Pendleton Veteran’s Memorial Garden: Established in 2002 by the Base Commanding General, Maj. Gen. William Bowdon, as a native plant garden for monuments honoring veteran units, it provides meandering walkways lined with cottonwood trees, blue palms and Western sycamores for relaxing and reflective strolls past monuments and tributes. Volunteers planted hundreds of drought-tolerant species ranging from deer grass and sage to aster, agave and aloe in this garden facing the Pacific View Event Center entrance.

Commandant Alexander A. Vandegrift designated Camp Pendleton to become the permanent home of the 1st Marine Division, which became reality in 1947 when the 1st Marine Division returned to the United States from overseas wartime duty and was permanently assigned to Camp Pendleton.

11. San Onofre Beach Club: Home to the world famous Trestles surfing break, this original 1946 Myron Hunt designed structure is significant to Southern California beach culture for its beach activities, camping, and social functions.

Myron Hunt incorporated Spanish Revival aesthetics into the Club’s design. This National Register of Historic Places eligible structure underwent a two-year, $3.5 million Old Bell and Arch Gate, Santa Margarita stabilization, earthquake structural retrofit, Ranch House National Historic Site, c. 1940s; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives and renovation as its building elements 9. Staff Sgt. Reckless Monument: were custom-fabricated to replicate what Dedicated by the Base Commanding was originally constructed in 1946. In late 2015, restoration General, Brig. Gen. Kevin Killea, on Oct. 26, 2016, this work was completed and the facility was re-dedicated and life-sized bronze statue of the famous Korean War pack re-opened in 2016. horse is located in front of the Pacific Views Event Center.

Significant funding for the statue was provided by the Camp Pendleton Historical Society. Reckless was a Korean race horse purchased and adopted by the 5th Marines during the Korean war to carry heavy loads of 75mm recoilless rifle ammunition. She was named “Reckless” after the nickname for the recoilless rifle.

10. Division Headquarters Building (Bldg 1133): Known as the “White House”, this two-story wood structure, designed by famous American architect Myron Hunt, served as the Command Post to three Marine divisions that deployed to the Pacific during World War II. In 1946, Marine

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

12. Marine Corps Mechanized Museum: One of many of Myron Hunt’s World War II temporary wood structures developed for the new Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in 1942, this building boasts the world’s largest collection of vintage U. S. Marine Corps vehicles and artillery pieces.

Originally a hospital warehouse building, thousands of troops were processed through this building on their way to and from World War II. The 120 piece collection dates from 1942 to the present, reflecting the world conflicts in which Camp Pendleton Marines have served.

Source: Camp Pendleton Archives

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structures and roads Named for Famous Marines Medal of Honor On Dec. 9, 1861 Iowa Sen. James W. Grimes introduced S. No. 82 in the United States Senate, a bill designed to “promote the efficiency of the Navy” by authorizing the production and distribution of “medals of honor”.

On Dec. 21, 1861 the bill was passed, authorizing 200 such medals be produced “which shall be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen and marines as shall distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other seamanlike qualities during the present war (Civil War).”

President Lincoln signed the bill and the (Navy) Medal of Honor was born.

Two months later on Feb. 17, 1862 Massachusetts Sen. Henry Wilson introduced a similar bill, this one to authorize “the President to distribute medals to privates in the Army of the United States who shall distinguish themselves in battle.”

Over the following months wording changed slightly as the bill made its way through Congress. When President Abraham Lincoln signed S.J.R. No. 82 on July 12, 1862, the Army Medal of Honor was born.

Since then there have been 3,498 recipients of the Medal of Honor; today there are 76 Living Recipients of the Medal of Honor.

• Since 1862, 297 Marines have been awarded the Medal of Honor.

• The first Marine awarded the Medal of Honor was Cpl. John F. Mackie (awarded on July 10, 1863) • The most recent awarding of the Medal of Honor a Marine was Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter awarded on June 19, 2014.

• Marines serving in combat with Camp Pendleton-based units have been awarded the Medal of Honor including Gen. Alexander Vandegrift (1942), Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone (1942), Col. Merritt Edson (1942), and Col. Mitchell Paige (1942).

Sources: Congressional Medal of Honor Society website, http://www.cmohs.org/medalhistory.php; United States Marine Corps History Division website, https://www.usmcu. edu/historydivision/frequently-requested/people.

Image courtesy of Combat Camera, MCB Camp Pendleton

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Maj. Gen. Joseph H. Pendleton (1860-1942) Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton The West Coast’s premier expeditionary training base, named in honor of Maj. Gen. Joseph Henry Pendleton, is a fitting tribute to him. A pioneer of Marine Corps activities in the San Diego area during his distinguished Marine Corps career, Maj. Gen. Pendleton was born in Rochester, Pa. in 1860, graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy and commissioned a second lieutenant in 1884. Gen. Pendleton’s 46 years of service included duty in the jungles of Nicaragua, Santo Domingo, Guam, and the Philippines, in addition to various stateside and shipboard tours. In 1914, as the 4th Marine Regiment was reactivated, then-Col. Pendleton was ordered to organize and command this expeditionary force, serving aboard the USS South Dakota and USS Jupiter, when it withdrew to land at Camp Howard, North Island, San Diego on July 10, 1914. With the arrival of his regiment in San Diego, Gen. Pendleton’s love affair with the area began. He immediately recognized the value of San Diego with its good weather and harbor and strongly advocated for the Marine Corps’ Advance Base Force in San Diego from his first stay in 1914 until after his retirement in 1924.

After retirement from the Marine Corps, he served a term as mayor of Coronado, on the city council, and as a member on the board of education. Married to the former Mary Helen Fay, he died in 1942 at the age of 81.

Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone (1916-1945) Basilone Road John Basilone was one of ten children, born in Buffalo, N.Y., in November 1916; he enlisted in the Army at the age of 18 and completed a three-year enlistment.

In July 1940, he enlisted in the Marine Corps, with CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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service at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in addition to training at Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia; Parris Island, South Carolina; and New River (later Camp LeJeune), North Carolina. Known as “Manila John”, due to his prior service with the Army in the Philippines, he deployed to the Pacific, serving with 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal. As Heavy Machine Gun Section Leader, his heroic actions on Oct. 24, 1942 earned him the Medal of Honor, the first to be awarded to an enlisted Marine in World War II. In September 1943, he returned to the United States and participated in war bond tours, touring the country and raising money for the war effort. After repeated requests to return back to the operating forces and turning down a commission and tour of duty in Washington, D.C., he returned to combat in the Pacific. In February 1945, while serving as a Machine-Gun Section Leader, Company C, 1st Battalion, Twenty-Seventh Marines, 5th Marine Division on Iwo Jima, Gunnery Sgt. Basilone again distinguished himself by single-handedly destroying a Japanese blockhouse while braving heavy enemy bombardment and caliber fire. For his actions, he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

Basilone Road, a main road traversing through the interior of Camp Pendleton, was named in his honor.

Col. Mitchell Paige (1918-2003) Paige Fieldhouse Mitchell Paige was born in August 1918 in Charleroi, Pa. and enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1936. As Platoon Sergeant with 7th Marine Regiment, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on Guadalcanal in October 1942, when he made a desperate lone stand against enemy Japanese; while on Guadalcanal, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the field in December 1942. From 1943 - 1944, he was engaged in combat operations on Cape Gloucester, New Britain. After World War II, he was assigned to Camp Matthews, Calif., Marine Corps Recruit Depot (San Diego), 2nd Marine Division (Camp LeJeune, N.C.), 3d Battalion 7th Marines (Camp Pendleton), Marine Corps Recruiting Station (San Francisco), Inspector-Instructor, 7th Infantry Battalion (San Bruno, Calif.), Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps (Washington, District of Columbia ), U.S. Army Language School (Monterey, Calif.), and Executive Officer, Marine Barracks (San Diego). He was placed on the Retired List in November 1959 and promoted to colonel (for being specially commended - Medal of Honor - in combat).

Col. Paige died in November 2003 at the age of 85. Paige Fieldhouse, a fitness center located on Mainside Camp Pendleton, was named in his honor.

Maj. Gen. Merritt A. Edson (1897-1955) Edson Range Born in April 1897 in Chester, Vt., Merritt Edson was commissioned a Marine officer in 1917. A competitive 48

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

shooter, he was as part of the 10-man team that won the National Rifle Team Trophy for the Marine Corps. He earned his pilot’s wings in 1922, commanded the Marine Detachment on board the USS Denver, and spent 14 months in efforts to rid Nicaragua of Augusto Sandino, earning his first Navy Cross and came away with the nickname “Red Mike” (in honor of the colorful beard he sported in the field). In 1942, Col. Edson formed and commanded the 1st Marine Raider Battalion; he was awarded a second Navy Cross for actions as commanding officer of the Tulagi Combat Group in August 1942 and the Medal of Honor for actions on Guadalcanal in September 1942. Other assignments included Chief of Staff, 2d Marine Division at Tarawa, assistant division commander on Saipan and Tinian, Chief of Staff for the Fleet Marine Force Pacific, and Commanding General, Service Command, Fleet Marine Force Pacific, rounding out 44 months of continuous service in the war zone. He retired from the Marine Corps in August 1947. After retirement from the Corps, he served as Director of the National Rifle Association. He died in August 1955. Edson Range, built to replace the rifle range at Camp Matthews (La Jolla, Calif.) in 1964, was named in his honor.

The range is used for teaching marksmanship training to recruits from Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.

Gen. Alexander A. Vandegrift (1887-1973) Vandegrift Blvd Gen. Alexander Archer Vandegrift was awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II, and served as the 18th Commandant of the Marine Corps. Born in March 1887 in Charlottesville, Va. and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1909. He commanded the 1st Marine Division in the battle for Guadalcanal and the 1st Marine Amphibious Corps in the landing of Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, during World War II. For outstanding service as the commanding general of the 1st Marine Division during the attack on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Gavutu in the Solomon Islands, he was awarded the Navy Cross; for the subsequent occupation and defense from Aug. 7 to Dec. 9, 1942, was awarded the Medal of Honor. In 1944, General Vandegrift declared that Camp Pendleton would be a permanent installation. During his visit to the base in July 1946, he outlined the base’s future role, which was to remain the center of all Marine Corps activities on the West Coast and was to be permanently maintained as the home of the 1st Marine Division. The base’s main east-west road is named Vandegrift Boulevard in his honor.

Source: Camp Pendleton Archives Photos courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

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Camp Pendleton Marines Who Became Commandant 18th Commandant General Alexander Vandegrift, USMC Commandant from January 1944 to December 1947.

General Vandegrift was the Commanding General of the 1st Marine Division (deployed) during World War II. General Vandegrift died in 1973.

28th Commandant General Paul X. Kelley, USMC Commandant from July 1983 through June 1987. General Kelley was the Commanding Officer of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment in Vietnam as well as Commanding Officer of 1st Marine Regiment in 1970.

19th Commandant General Clifton B. Cates, USMC Commandant from January 1948 through December 1951. General Cates was the Commanding Officer of the 1st Marine Regiment during World War II and Commanding General of the 4th Marine Division during World War II. General Cates died in 1970.

33rd Commandant General Michael W. Hagee, USMC Commandant from January 2003 through November 2006. General Hagee was the Commanding Officer of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit in 1990; Commanding General of the 1st Marine Division in 1998; and Commanding General of the I Marine Expeditionary Force in 2000.

20th Commandant General Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr., USMC Commandant from January 1952 through December 1955. General Shepherd was the Commanding Officer of the 9th Marine Regiment, the first unit to march aboard Camp Pendleton from Camp Elliott in September 1942.

General Shepherd died in 1990.

21st Commandant General Randolph M. Pate, USMC Commandant from January 1956 through December 1959. General Pate was the Commanding General of the 1st Marine Division during the Korea war. General Pate died in 1961.

22nd Commandant - General David M. Shoup, USMC Commandant from January 1960 through December 1963. General Shoup was the Commanding General of the 1st Marine Division in 1957. General Shoup died in 1983.

25th Commandant General Robert E. Cushman, Jr., USMC Commandant from January 1972 through June 1975.

General Cushman was the Executive Officer of the 9th Marine Regiment when they marched aboard Camp Pendleton in September 1942; he was the Base Commanding General from June 1964 through March 1967. General Cushman died in 1985.

34th Commandant General James T. Conway, USMC Commandant from November 2006 through October 2010. General Conway was the Commanding General of the 1st Marine Division in 2000 and Commanding General of the I Marine Expeditionary Force in 2002.

36th Commandant General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., USMC Commandant from October 2014 through September 2015. General Dunford was the Commanding Officer of the 5th Marine Regiment in 2003; Assistant Division Commander of the 1st Marine Division; and Commanding General of the I Marine Expeditionary Force in 2009.

General Dunford is currently the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

37th Commandant General Robert B. Neller, USMC - Commandant as of September 2015. General Neller was the Deputy Commanding General (Operations) of the I Marine Expeditionary Force and Assistant Division Commander of the 1st Marine Division.

Source: Camp Pendleton Archives

26th Commandant General Louis H. Wilson, Jr., USMC Commandant from July 1975 through June 1979. General Wilson was assigned to the 9th Marine Regiment in September 1942; he was the Commanding Officer, Company D, Marine Barracks, Camp Pendleton in 1944; and was the Commanding Officer of 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment in 1955. General Wilson died in 2005.

27th Commandant General Robert H. Barrow, USMC Commandant from July 1979 through June 1983. General Barrows was a Company Commander with 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in 1950. General Barrow died in 2008.

Gen. Alexander Vandegrift Gen. Robert B. Neller Photos courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives Photo by Lauren Milner at 333 Pacific

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Natural resources sign along Interstate 5, 1978; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

Stewardship of Camp Pendleton's Natural Resources

by Environmental Security Department, Camp Pendleton Camp Pendleton provides stewardship of natural and cultural resources in an integrated sustainable manner using sound conservation and preservation methodologies that support the military mission and improves or enhances military use of training lands.

Camp Pendleton’s history of practicing responsible stewardship while accommodating multiple land uses dates back as far as the mid-1950s, beginning with a cooperative agreement with state fish and game biologists to establish a hunting and fishing program. Since then, the nation’s growing awareness of issues concerning pollution, habitat loss, and land degradation has resulted in an increase in environmental protection legislation. Camp Pendleton, likewise, has increased its investment in regulatory compliance and natural resources management.

The Camp Pendleton area has been occupied by human beings for millennia. Evidence prehistoric human occupation in North America has been dated to as early as 15,000 years ago. Locally, archaeological sites from the Channel Islands have been dated to as early as 11,500 year ago. The earliest occupied archaeological sites on Camp Pendleton date to as early as 9,400 years ago. Human occupation continued through the prehistoric period and into the historic period with the Spanish colonization during the Spanish Period (1769 to 1821 AD), through the Mexican Period (1821 to 1847 AD), to the American Period beginning in 1847 AD and has continued into the present time. Cultural resources present on Camp Pendleton represent this history including archaeological sites, ethnographic villages, Mexican Period ruins, historic adobe structures, and historic military buildings.

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

Camp Pendleton’s current approach to managing natural resources reflects the principles of ecosystem management, consistent with DoD and Marine Corps policy. The natural resources management approach for both installations seeks to balance the dual goals of maximizing land use for military readiness and maintaining native habitats.

The overriding focus of natural resources management is to implement a comprehensive, ecosystem-based management program for resource conservation that will facilitate maximum support of the installations’ military

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whose ancestral lands now comprise the base. These federally recognized tribes including La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians, California (formerly the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the La Jolla Reservation); the Pala Band of Luiseno Mission Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pauma & Yuima Reservation, California; the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pechanga Reservation, California; the Rincon Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Rincon Reservation, California; and the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians, California. The four nonfederally recognized tribes include the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians and three separate bands of the Juaneno Bands of Mission Indians also known as the Acjachemen Nation.

training missions and infrastructure, while simultaneously promoting both the sustainability of native species and habitat diversity, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

With 18 federally listed threatened or endangered species known to occur on the installation, and numerous additional sensitive plant and animal species, Camp Pendleton recognizes the need for an ecosystem approach to natural resources management, as this approach balances the needs of all ecosystem components (including mission, biological, economic, and human elements), provides comprehensive compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and integrates both DoD and Department of Interior (DoI) guidelines. The primary strategies for natural resources conservation and management aboard the installations include habitat enhancement (e.g., exotic species control, erosion control, seeding, and restoration) and the avoidance and minimization of adverse impacts through implementation of programmatic instructions (published rules and guidelines for land users on the installations).

Camp Pendleton’s natural and cultural resources management consists of a suite of conservation and preservation management programs managed by natural and cultural resources staff. Each program has specific elements, goals, objectives, and planned actions, which have been developed and prioritized to sustain military operational and support requirements, to achieve Camp

Pendleton’s overarching natural and cultural resources Camp Pendleton is obligated by statute, regulation, management goals, and incorporate the principles of and policy to manage and protect the cultural resources ecosystem management and sound preservation practice in under its purview. Camp Pendleton currently has over 840 all programs. archaeological sites recorded within its boundaries. One hundred twenty-one archaeological sites still required evaluation. Of which seven are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and 133 are eligible for listing. All of the listed Buying and/or selling a HOME can be very stressful! and/or eligible archaeological sites are considered historic properties as defined by the National Historic Preservation Act.

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Camp Pendleton also has four historic structures which are designated as historic properties. One (Las Flores Adobe Ranch House) is a National Historic Landmark and is afforded the highest level of protection under the law. The Santa Margarita Ranch House complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Two other structure (Buildings 1133 (1st Marine Division HQ) and 51833 (San Onofre Beach Club) are eligible to the National Register of Historic Places.

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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E N I R MA RS E D I A R ) c o s r a (m

Marine Raiders training at Camp Pendleton, 1943; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

Marine Raiders were elite units established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct reconnaissance, raids, and other special operations, especially behind enemy lines. The 1st Marine Raider Battalion and 2nd Marine Raider Battalion were reported to be the first United States special operations forces to form and see combat in World War II. In early 1942, the 1st Raider Battalion was organized and began their training in American Samoa; the 2nd Raider Battalion set up camp at Jacques Farm in the hills of the former Camp Elliott (now MCAS Miramar) and trained there before deploying to the Pacific; the 3rd Raider Battalion was formed in American Samoa in September 1942; and the 4th Raider Battalion in Southern California in October 1942.

The 3rd and 4th Raider Battalions arrived in Espiritu Santo in February 1943.

In March 1943, the Marine Corps created the 1st Raider Regiment and gave this new unit control of all four Raider battalions.

While most combat operations saw the Raiders employed as regular infantry, and combined with the resentment within the rest of the Marines that the Raiders were an “elite force within an elite force”, this led to the eventual abandonment of the experiment as their casualties couldn’t be replaced by similarly trained personnel.

In January 1944, all Marine Raiders units were disbanded when the Marine Corps made the decision that they had outlived their original intended mission. In February 1944, the 1st Raider Regiment was re-designated the 4th Marine Regiment; the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Raider Battalions became respectively the 1st, 3rd, and 2nd Battalions of the 4th Marine Regiment.

Notable commanders of the original Raider Battalions included:  Lt. Col. Evans Carlson - commanded 2nd Raider Battalion  Col. Merritt Edson - commanded 1st Raider Battalion; awarded Medal of Honor for actions  Lt. Col. Samuel Griffith II - served as Executive Officer and later commander of the 1st Raider Battalion and executive officer of 1st Raider Regiment  Lt. Col. Henry Liversedge - commanded the 3rd Raider Battalion and 1st Raider Regiment.  Lt. Col. James Roosevelt (President Roosevelt’s eldest son) - served as Executive Officer of 2nd Raider Battalion and commander of 4th Raider Battalion  Lt. Col. Alan Shapley - commanded 2nd Raider Battalion, 2nd Raider Regiment, and 1st and 2nd Raider Regiments.

The Marine Corps’ approach to special operations after World War II was to renew old capabilities and expand www.oceansidechamber.com

Marine Raiders on Bougainville, 1944; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) training standards; new units were not created. In 1983, the services were tasked by the Secretary of Defense to develop special operations capabilities to respond to future acts of terrorism and low intensity conflict. In 1987, the MAGTF Special Operations Capable (SOC) concept was instituted, thus certain MAGTFs must be capable of conducting maritime special operations to include overt or clandestine direct action, recovery operations, and special intelligence and reconnaissance operations.

Following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the Marine Corps assessed future plans to deal with evolving terrorist threats, leading to the formation and activation of Marine Corps Special Operations Command Detachment One on June 19, 2003 at Camp Pendleton. The Detachment mobilized in March 2004 and deployed with Naval Special Warfare Group One (Navy SEALS) to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. On Feb. 24, 2006, the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) was created as a major command within the Marine Corps and headquartered out of Camp LeJeune, N.C. MARSOC then became a co-equal component of the Special Operations Command (SOCOM).

With the formation of MARSOC, two Marine Special Operations Battalions (MSOB) and a Marine Special Operations Advisor Group (MSOAG) were created. In April 2009, the MSOAG was re-designated as the Marine Special Operations Regiment (MSOR) with three subordinate Marine Special Operations Battalions. In 2014, the Marine Special Operations Regiment and its units were renamed Marine Raiders after their World War II predecessors.

On June 19, 2015, the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command formally adopted the name Marine Raider, carrying on the rich heritage and legacy passed along the Raiders of World War II. Today’s Marine Raider Regiment consists of a Headquarters Company and three Marine Raider Battalions.

Sources: From Makin to Bougainville: Marine Raiders in the Pacific War, Marines in World War II Commemorative Series, by Major Jon T Hoffman, USMCR (1995); and USMC Forces Special Operations Command web site - www.marsoc.marines. mil/About/Heritage/ CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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Program, Camp Pendleton 16th Annual Rodeo, 1963; photo courtesy Oceanside Historical Society Collection

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Col. A. C. “Ace” Bowen Rodeo Grounds, June 1982; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

The annual base rodeo was described as the “largest single entertainment event” at Camp Pendleton. A previous mainstay of recreational activities aboard the base, the first rodeo was held aboard Camp Pendleton in 1948, instituted

by Maj. Gen. Graves B. Erskine.

That first rodeo was inaugurated on a reduced scale in 1948 with only a few Marines as participants. Directed by Lt. Col. William N. McGill, the rodeo featured egg relay races, hog calling and cracker eating contests, in addition to the usual rodeo events, including an enormous barbecue, designed to feed 8,000 Marines and their families.

Growing in popularity, the 1949 rodeo included some 13,500 fans who were entertained by events such as calf roping, bronc riding, and other Wild West events. The three day celebration also featured track, swimming and novelty events.

For the third year, the event would become a fundraiser for the Navy Relief Society; in later years, the rodeo generated money to benefit the Marines’ Morale, Welfare and Recreation Activity. To stimulate more interest in the rodeo and offer a variety of entertainment, base rodeo officials turned to the entertainment world for personalities.

The 1950 rodeo was scheduled to star Roy Rogers and Trigger but unfortunately with the growing conflict in Korea, Pendleton units were alerted to go to Korea, thereby cancelling the rodeo. In its place a Combat Review Parade was conducted by the 1st Marine Division in the parade field located at the auxiliary landing field (now known as MCAS Camp Pendleton) before Marines shipped out to Korea.

The following year, Roy Rogers and Trigger would entertain Marines and their families at the Camp Pendleton rodeo; the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Lemuel C. Shepherd, would also attend that rodeo. Rodeo attendance in 1950 soared to more than 30,000, with the Navy Relief Society benefitting through a substantial sum of money raised.

By 1952 it was apparent that the rodeos were at Camp Pendleton to stay. Although the rodeo participants have always been amateurs, professionals were engaged as callers and for exhibition events. At the 1954 Annual Navy www.oceansidechamber.com

Rodeo grounds dedication ceremony, Mrs. Bowen and Maj. Gen. Robinson, June 1982; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

ACE BOWEN Col. “Ace” Bowen was a veteran of 28 years of Marine Corps service. He enlisted in the Marine Corps as a private in 1942 and was commissioned shortly thereafter. He served as an intelligence officer in War II and Korea.

Col. Bowen was instrumental in designing and preserving the fresh water system enjoyed aboard Camp Pendleton and established the Base Natural Resources Department, a pioneer agency in the protection of wildlife and the environment in southern California.

Col. Bowen is best remembered in the civilian community for designing a system that reclaimed 50,000 acres of cropland in Imperial Valley in southeastern California. Employing relatively new reclamation concepts for this ambitious project, he received international recognition.

Col. Bowen also designed Camp Pendleton’s rodeo grounds and was an enthusiastic supporter of the annual rodeo. He retained close ties to the Marine Corps through participation in the Navy Relief, and promoted the rodeo until he became bedridden with cancer in 1980. He was past president of the Fallbrook Rotary Club and the San Diego Council of Rotary.

Col. Bowen died in Carlsbad, Feb. 4, 1981. The monument at the rodeo grounds consisted of a concrete pillar mounted with a brass plaque. The plaque designates the rodeo grounds as being the Colonel “Ace” Bowen Arena.1 1

Dedication of Arena Kicks Off Annual Rodeo, Sgt. F. L. Cooper, The Pendleton Scout, June 3, 1982 Brig. Gen. Raymond Murray and Lt. Col. “Ace” Bowen, 1962; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

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Relief Rodeo Carnival, more than 70,000 spectators turned out to watch professional rodeo riders perform their feats, and men, in the form of Marine cowboys, pit their talents against horses, bull and calves. In 1957, an estimated 65,000 people turned out to view the festivities and to aid the Navy Relief Society. In 1958, the audience almost doubled, with an estimated 120,000 spectators turning out to watch the rodeo and see the Hollywood celebrities, as the rodeo began to attract numerous celebrities. For decades, Hollywood personalities known for Western roles attended the Camp Pendleton rodeo. The stars were often guests of the base’s commanding general and typically rode in the grand entry, headed by the base commanding general.

The range of notable celebrities attending and entertaining at the Camp Pendleton Rodeo during its heyday included Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Trigger; Montie Montana (between 1953 to 1970); James Arness and Dennis Weaver (1957); “Gunsmoke” stars Amanda Blake and Milburn Stone (1957, 1958); Leo Carrillo, star of the “The Cisco Kid” (1956, 1958); the entire Cartwright family of “Bonanza,” - Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon (1960, 1961); “Rawhide” cast members Clint Eastwood, Paul Brinegar, James Murdock, Steve Raines, and Rocky Shahan (1960, 1961); Frank McGrath and Terry Wilson of “Wagon Train” and Glenn Ford and Bob Denver (1961); Don Collier from “The Outlaw” (1962); the “Lawman” John Russell (1963, 1964); and Judy Canova and John Agar (1964).

For the first four decades, the rodeo was free to the public

Congratulations to Camp Pendleton on

75 years of Excellence

and billed as “the world’s largest and best free rodeo”. The base began charging admission in the early 1990s to help offset the cost of running the rodeo.

The Camp Pendleton Rodeo Grounds, named after Col. Allen C. “Ace” Bowen, were dedicated in his name on June 5, 1982.

Col. Bowen was a horse lover who wanted to revive the equestrian traditions of the Marine Corps. He was influential in instituting the Camp Pendleton rodeo and the Mounted Color Guard with the primary goal of representing the Corps’ tradition of Marines on horseback and was influential in the revival of the base’s Western heritage.

The last rodeo was held in 2002 before the vacant rodeo grounds were converted to a paintball park (concession) in January 2011.

The base rodeo represented the early days of rodeos when vaqueros performed their feats of skill in annual roundup events during the 1860s when the present Camp Pendleton was Rancho Santa Margarita. In those early days, these “rodeos” were large, formal, social events and an opportunity for vaqueros to show off their expert roping skills and horsemanship.

Sources: Marines of the Margarita: The Story of Camp Pendleton and the Leathernecks who Train on a Famous California Rancho, Robert M. Witty and Neil Morgan (Frye & Smith, Ltd, 1970); First Pendleton Rodeo Started as 4th of July Barbecue, Blade-Citizen newspaper, June 3, 1992; Village News newspaper, http:// villagenews.com/sports/garrett-pendleton-rodeo-included-in-new-book-on-rodeoand-hollywood/, 2007; Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) web site - http://www.mccscp.com/stables/; Officials Ponder Dwindling Rodeo Attendance, Pendleton Scout newspaper, June 13, 2002; Program, 12th Annual Navy Relief Rodeo, 1959

MCRD Command Museum Where the Past Touches the Future

FLYING LEATHERNECK AVIATION MUSEUM

Come View the Aircraft and Bring the Kids

27 vintage aircraft flown by US Marine pilots, displayed outdoors 8 galleries of artifacts from WWI to present

Free Admission Tuesday – Sunday 9am – 3:30pm Public Entrance on Miramar Rd 4203 Anderson Ave, PO Box 45316 • San Diego, CA 92145

www.FlyingLeathernecks.org 56

CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

Museum Hours: Monday-Saturday, 8:30AM-4:00PM Free and Open to the Public Visit our website mcrdmuseumfoundation.org to learn more about our programs for recruits, Marines, veterans, their families, and the local San Diego community.

For information on program sponsorship or advertising with us, contact the Foundation at (619) 524-4426.

858-693-1723 www.oceansidechamber.com

Join us in Preserving a Historic San Diego County Treasure...

Camp Pendleton

CPHS supports: • Las Flores Adobe • Mechanized Museum • SSgt Reckless monument • Santa Margarita Ranch House • Educational speakers • Member events • And much more Do you want to know more about CPHS? Check out our website for information on how to get involved or donate: www.camppendletonhistoricalsociety.org

Follow us and like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/camppendletonhistoricalsociety/

To schedule a speaker on Camp Pendleton history contact us at: cphs.secretary@gmail.com

women marines Marine Corps Women's Reserve Permanent in Camp

by Faye Jonason, Director Camp Pendleton History Museum Women have been champions of social, economic, and cultural change. In 1918, the Secretary of the Navy allowed women to enlist for clerical duty in the Marine Corps.

Since October 1943, when the first Women Reserves arrived on base, Camp Pendleton’s female Marines have served their country. The first 92 enlisted and two officers on Camp Pendleton were just a part of the 23,000 Women Reservists who entered active duty during World War II. A flag-raising ceremony was held in honor of the new arrivals, followed by a base-wide tour and the presentation of a pedigreed bulldog for their company mascot. The Women Reservists were established in wooden barracks in Camp Pico in the 24 Area, located near the former base headquarters at the junction of Vandegrift Boulevard and Basilone Road. The barracks had been completed two months before with enough room to house 600 enlisted and 40 officers. A fence surrounded the barracks complete with guards posted to discourage male Marines.

Women Marines leaving Main Gate, going on liberty, 1944; Official USMC Photo

In 1944, the Oceanside Daily-Blade Tribune featured the Women Reserves in its base anniversary edition with an article entitled, “U. S. Marine Corps Women’s Reserves now are permanent and attractive additions to post personnel at Camp Pendleton.” Living conditions described “individual beds, plenty of baths, laundry and ironing equipment.

Lounges are arranged on the first floor for entertainment and reception and the upper decks are used exclusively by women where they may lounge at ease, read and write.” It stated that a post-exchange was established for the Women Reserves making “genuine girdles, perfumes, candy, cigarettes, jewelry and many other items that please the feminine heart” available to them for purchase. The article further identified services such as free movies, a beauty parlor and a recreation hall on the second floor of their post exchange for the women. The women were able to attend dances regularly and go on Sunday hikes. Eventually, Camp Pendleton’s women would open their own “Green Hat Club” for entertainment.

The paper continued that the women worked “to free male Marines for combat” by pitching “in nearly all phases of camp work” and said that mess halls were run by women, “and serve the best of food, prepared with that ‘woman’s touch’”. While Women Reservists primarily performed clerical duties in offices, many served as photographers, aviation mechanics,

Marines, 7th Tank Battalion, December 1951; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives, Anna Hopkins collection

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Women Marines attending formal tea, 1960; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

Women Marines, circa 1960s; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

truck and jeep drivers, conducted weapons inventory and accounted for cold storage and other goods at the commissary.

It is interesting that the article noticed the different uniforms the Women Reservists wore, stating that “truck drivers wear specially designed dungarees and field shoes with a regular man’s overseas cap,” and identified several permitted uniforms. It stated that “conventional greens or seersucker greens” were used for office and evening wear and continued that “officers’ overseas caps” were allowed the women within camp boundaries.

As more Women Reserves arrived, a battalion was organized. By 1945, more than 1,000 Women Reserves were stationed at Camp Pendleton. In May 1946, with World War II over, the battalion, under command of Maj. Marna V. Brady, was disbanded.

Of the 20,000 women who had joined the Marine Corps during World War II, only 1,000 remained in the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve on July 1, 1946. In June 1948, the United States Congress passed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, and made women a permanent part of the regular Marine Corps, authorizing 100 regular Women Marine officers, 10 warrant officers, and 1,000 enlisted Marines. Boot camp for enlisted females was set up at Parris Island, S.C. with classes set up in Quantico, Va. for the training and indoctrination of women officers.

In 1950, the Women Marine Corps Reserves mobilized for the Korean War and 2,787 women were called to active duty to various posts in the Corps. At Camp Pendleton, in the mid1950s, the infamous chain-link fence was unceremoniously torn down from around the women’s barracks.

At the height of the Vietnam War, about 2,700 Women Marines had served in stateside and overseas assignments.

In March 1969, the base’s Women Marines moved to their new barracks in the 13 Area at Mainside becoming the nation’s first permanent barracks for Women Marines.

By 1975, the Marine Corps had approved the assignment of women to all occupational fields, except the infantry, artillery, armor, and pilot-aircrew.

Sgt. Maj. Eleanor Judge became Camp Pendleton’s first www.oceansidechamber.com

woman Base Sergeant Major in 1980 and the first female to serve as a Sergeant Major for a Marine Corps Base. It would be 29 years later when Sgt. Maj. Ramona D. Cook became the second female to take that post in 2009.

During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 to 1991, more than 1,000 women Marines from around the Corps were deployed in those conflicts.

Ninety-three percent of all occupational fields and 62 percent of all positions were open to women in 2006. Women accounted for 4.3 percent of all Marine officers and 5.1 percent of the active duty enlisted force in the Marine Corps.

In December 2015, the Secretary of Defense directed that all military occupational specialties become gender neutral, paving the way for women to serve in any capacity within the Marine Corps.

Today, women Marines serve in 93 percent of all occupational fields and 62 percent of all billets or jobs.

Women constitute 7.11 percent of the Marine Corps end strength and are an integral part of the Marine Corps.

Sources: 1944 reprint of the Oceanside BladeTribune Progress Edition, Oct. 15, 1943; Article, Fences Come Tumbling Down, Laura Kaufman, Traditions Magazine, May-June 1996; Article, Women of the Marine Corps, web site - www. usmcu.edu/content/ women-marine-corps; Women Marines Association web site, www.womenmarines.org/ wm-history; Marine Corps History, March 1966, Marine Corps Educational Center, Quantico; A History of the Women Marines 1946-1977; 1986, History and Museums Division, Washington D.C.

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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operation NEW ARRIVALS

Camp Talega

by Bill Parsons, Camp Pendleton Historical Society It’s late April 1975. The last of the American military and civilian personnel have left Saigon, Vietnam. The Vietnam War or, if you wish, Conflict, and America’s involvement is over. The protective shield of the South Vietnamese Regular Army (ARVN) has begun to crumble and will fall shortly. The ARVN can no longer stop the communist onslaught into South Vietnam. Citizens are fleeing the country by the tensof-thousands. They go by vehicle, by aircraft, or by boat. For most the goal is to reach American naval ships or nearby bases in the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. In a very short time the primary jumping off point to America will become Guam. Much of the transportation away from Vietnam is supplied by US military support through efforts such as “Operation Baby Lift” and “Operation Frequent Wind”.

We can call them refugees or boat people or whatever.

They flee the country because they fear for their safety.

They refuse to live under the mantle of communism and the retaliatory administration of the North Vietnamese government. Many want only to come to the United States

to begin life over in a nation that represents freedom of choice and a guarantee of civil rights they will never be able to enjoy in Southeast Asia.

As the refugees began to make their way to America it became apparent their relocation did not enjoy unanimous support. President Gerald Ford twice approached Congress asking for millions of dollars in funding to support the movement. Both times the amount asked for was reduced or outright denied. Many American people were against refugees being brought to this country. Why? Because it was too soon; we had just fought a nearly 10 year war in Vietnam; a war that had become extremely unpopular and, since the Civil War, incomparably divisive to the nation.

America had shed much blood and spent huge amounts of treasure on Vietnamese soil. As a nation, we needed time to heal. Or maybe the reason had a racial overtone?

The Vietnamese people, especially the children, would be better off living with their own kind. Or maybe the reason was economic? How would the cost of relocation add to

Refugees line up for meal at Camp Talega, 1975; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

Clemente, assisted in getting electricity and water to the base and Camp Talega.

As the refugees began to arrive, each was given documents and assigned to a housing unit. A notification board was centrally located in the camp with the name of each refugee. This allowed members of families or villages, who were separated within Camp Talega, to connect and helped with the transition into their new home. They were given complete physical examinations and assigned jobs to assist in the efficient operation of the camp. Classes in English were taught; as well as, the social and cultural aspects of America.

Vietnamese child with his belongings, Camp Pendleton, 1975; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

our economic woes? Would taxes go up? How much more money would be taken from pockets of the working man, and woman, to support and fund the refugees? The reasons were wide ranging and without focus.

Still the President continued to politick for support in aiding the Vietnamese. To shore up his position, President Ford pointed to the years since the end of World War II. In the years between then and 1975 the United States had welcomed, from several countries, 2 million refugees who were escaping the threat of Communism. The President, and his administration, believed we owed the same opportunities to the Vietnamese.

On April 28, 1975 Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton command is notified the Base has been chosen as one of four reception centers nationwide to receive Vietnamese refugees. And, not to put too much stress on an already stressful situation, refugees would begin arriving within twenty-four hours. Refugees began to land by transport at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, in Orange County and, by helicopter at Munn Field on Camp Pendleton. The refugees were then taken, via bus, to their new home on the base.

They would be given documents, medical examinations and become, in essence, Americanized.

It would be just wrong to not mention the refugees themselves. They were big contributors to their own wellbeing and smooth transition into American life. They came together to form committees that helped to improve everyday camp life. Camp Talega started to look very much like a typical American small town. The refugees formed what could be described as a court system to deal with minor disputes between residents. A mayor was even elected to oversee the operation of the camp from a refugee point-of-view and to act as liaison between the residents and military authorities.

To say this was a unified effort is to understate the facts.

Camp Talega, as a refugee Americanization camp, operated for a very short time. While in existence thousands of refugees passed through on their way to freedom. As each individual, couple or family acclimated and a sponsor was located they were allowed to leave Talega and assume their new roles in their new home. Most, as well as their children and their children’s children, became and have become accomplished well respected, contributing members of their communities.

Marine walking with child, Camp Talega, 1975; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

As with all other problems, the Marines dealt with this situation head-on. The base command almost immediately selected Camp Talega as the location where the incoming refugees would be housed. The camp was chosen because it is located at the northernmost region of Camp Pendleton where it was relatively separated from the personnel, training and day-to-day operations of the Base.

All other units assigned to Camp Pendleton gave, loaned or offered assistance to prepare for and accommodate the refugees. This assistance included everything from materiel for housing, buildings to conduct operations and the people to put these units together. Medical facilities, personnel, equipment and supplies were given. Clerical personnel, Base personnel necessary to handle routine duties were assigned on a daily basis, pipes to transport water or sewage. Even law enforcement was taken from the Base to monitor potential criminal activity and to keep non-essential military personnel and refugees separate.

Help came from other Marine facilities in the form of clothing, bedding, food, even utility poles for electricity and telephones. Civilian agencies, especially from the City of San www.oceansidechamber.com

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ORIGINS OF

Camp Names and Places Base Headquarters, 24 Area, (June 1964); photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

Camp Las Pulgas, 43 Area, 1964; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

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by Faye Jonason, Director Camp Pendleton History Museum On Sept. 25, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated and officially named Camp Joseph H. Pendleton, honoring the Marine Corps general who had promoted the concept of a West Coast Marine training base. The President told widow, Mary Fay Pendleton, “It is a tribute to Uncle Joe – and well-deserved!”

It is tradition to commemoratively name streets, buildings, and areas for Marines and Sailors who valiantly served the Nation. Medal of Honor recipients Cpl. Charles G. Abrell, Lance Cpl. Jedh C. Barker, Navy Chaplain Vincent Capodanno, Cpl. Tony Stein, and Pfc. Dewayne T. Williams are among the many remembered on street signs. In some cases, places are named after General Officers as is with Munn Field which honors Lt. Gen. John C. Munn.

We are reminded of actions taken during war such as the defense of Lunga Ridge in Guadalcanal by the naming of Edson Range, a tribute to Medal of Honor recipient Maj. Gen. Merritt A. Edson. Some base streets are named after Marines who gallantly served in Vietnam. Others are named for battles and significant regions as is with Hungnam Court and Pusan Drive in the DeLuz housing area in reference to the Korean War. Although the base and its street names reflect its Marine Corps history, the cantonment (camp) names reflect and call back to the land’s history in 1769. Some of the cantonment names are still preserved from those given to geographic locations by Spanish explorers, missionaries and the vaqueros, or cowboys, who managed cattle in the various camps on the rancho.

Del Mar (21 Area) Meaning “of the sea or belonging to the sea” Chappo (22 Area) The name may be derived from the word chaparral, the thick undergrowth found in the area. Some believe it is named for the chaps cowboys wear in their work with cattle.

Vado Del Rio (25 Area) At one time the Margarita River was much deeper and wider. Lore tells of small trading boats which sailed up the river from the ocean to trade goods behind the Ranch House. A bridge was constructed so that travelers could easily cross the river. Vado del Rio means “river crossing” and is given to the area overlooking the bridge over Basilone Road.

Margarita (33 Area) On July 20, 1769 the Portola-Serra Expedition rested in a broad valley which the padres blessed in honor of St. Margaret of Antioch. Before long, the river and its valley carried that name and eventually the giant rancho which occupied more than 133,000 acres became known as the Rancho Santa Margarita.

Las Flores (41 Area) On July 21, 1769, Father Crespi with the Portola-Serra expedition camped at the site where Las Pulgas is located today. Admiring the wild Castilian-like roses which grew in the canyon, he named the place La Canada de los Rosales which in English translates to Rose Canyon. When the Estancia was built and established in 1827, the wild roses and flowers at the mouth of the canyon called back to the name www.oceansidechamber.com

given by Father Crespi years earlier, so the name Las Flores, meaning “the flowers” was given to the area. It is located near what is today the Las Pulgas exit to Interstate 5.

Las Pulgas (43 Area) Spanish soldiers accompanying a survey party for the San Luis Rey Mission camped near the Las Flores location and were constantly bothered by fleas so named the area for the pests which in Spanish are called las pulgas. The tiny pests made a stronger impression than the physical beauty of the area.

San Onofre (52 Area) In keeping with the padres’ tradition of naming areas after patron saints, this area was named after the obscure Egyptian, St. Onuphrius.

Horno (53 Area) Perhaps named for the heat of the area, it is the Spanish word for the clay oven or kiln used by early settlers. Camp Horno is nestled below the coastal mountains which block the cooling ocean breezes. Marines stationed there can attest that it can get as hot as an oven in the summer.

San Mateo (62 Area) This site was named after Saint Matthew, whose name was a favorite with the Catholic missionaries.

Cristianitos (63 Area) As the Spanish priests of the Portola-Serra Expedition made their way northward, in 1769, they named the site of their encampment after St Apollinaris; but because the priests conducted California’s first Christian baptism for two dying Indian infants there, the soldiers referred to it as “Los Cristianitos” or the little Christians. The baptismal site is now a California State Historic Landmark.

Other places and sites aboard Camp Pendleton that are not specific cantonment sites: Aliso Meaning “sycamore”. Both Aliso Canyon and Aliso Creek are located aboard Camp Pendleton.

Deluz An Englishman by the name of Luce kept a corral of horses in the area north of the village of Fallbrook, and it became known by Spanish speaking neighbors as Corral De Luz which was later shortened to the name used today. Deluz also means “from light”.

Lake O’Neill Named for Richard O’Neill who managed the ranch and later became part owner, the lake was man-made and stocked with fish during the family’s ownership and originally named O’Neill Lake as noted on some early rancho maps. The lake was created for irrigating Rancho Santa Margarita crops in the late 1800s; today it serves as a recreational area.

Piedra de Lumbre Meaning “light or bright rock”. The Piedra de Lumbre Quarry aboard Camp Pendleton contains an outcrop of microcrystalline forms of relatively pure silica, known as Piedra de Lumbre Chert, located on a single ridge at the head of Piedra de Lumbre Canyon, hence its name.

Pueblitos Canyon Meaning “little Puebla or town”. Pueblitos Canyon is a west to east running canyon north of the Ysidora Basin.

Roblar Means “live oak” and also known as the place where extra pay was given to cowboys for bringing in cattle from the high mountains. Roblar Road connects Basilone Road with Case Springs Road near the Zulu Impact Area.

Ysidora Flats This widening of the Margarita River Valley now holds the name of Ysidora Pico Forster and is used for helicopter exercises and landings. Ysidora was the sister of Andres and Pio Pico, the first civilian owners of Rancho Santa Margarita, and the wife of Don Juan Forster who acquired the Rancho in 1861. Ysidora and her husband were well-known throughout the county for their hospitality and for the colorful fiestas held at the Santa Margarita Ranch House.

Source: Camp Pendleton Archives; Pendleton Scout newspaper, Feb. 20, 1958

Camp Talega, 64 Area, May 1991; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

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Map of Camp Pendleton, 1957; image courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

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Recreational Facilities Map, Camp Pendleton; image courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

Maps of Camp Pendleton TH

ANNIVERSARY

CAMP PENDLETON www.oceansidechamber.com

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Naval HOSPITAL

Camp Pendleton

In March 1942, the Secretary of the Navy acquired the Santa Margarita Ranch located in San Diego County as a Marine Corps Training Center. Subsequently, the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery recommended the construction of a hospital be built on the western shore of the Training Center’s Lake O’Neill. It was designated as U.S. Naval Hospital, Santa Margarita, Calif.

Naval Regional Medical Center, 1974; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives

As a result of confusion in mail delivery with a town of the same name, the hospital was re-designated as U. S. Naval Hospital, Santa Margarita, Oceanside, Calif. on Aug. 1, 1950.

Since then, the hospital had numerous name changes until 1983, when it was given the current name of Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton. The various other names included U.S. Naval Hospital, Camp Joseph H. Pendleton, Oceanside (1967); Naval Hospital/Naval Regional Medical Center (1972); and Naval Regional Medical Center (1974).

The construction of the original $5 million hospital took about one year. The facility was placed in commission on Sept. 3, 1943 with Capt. Joseph Schwartz, MC, USN, as the Commanding Officer. Although primarily built to care for patients returning from South Pacific warfare, it was also used to treat ill and injured Marines and Sailors in the area.

The hospital compound encompassed 117 acres of former farmland, 91 acres of river bottom, 7 acres of slough and steep hillside, and 37 acres of lake for a total of 252 acres.

The hospital complex consisted of 76 separate, temporary, wood frame buildings. The hospital had a 600 bed capacity and a network of corridors that connected the buildings.

In August 1967, the Commandant of the Marine Corps authorized the reassignment of ninety acres of land aboard Camp Pendleton to the Navy for the purpose of providing a site for the construction of a new, modern, nine-story,

Postcard, Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton, circa 1947 Courtesy Oceanside Historical Society

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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years

600-bed Naval Hospital. On May 13, 1971 ground was broken at the new hospital site and in December 1974, the hospital was opened and received its first occupants.

The $26 million, 427,500 square-foot hospital was located adjacent to the site of the old facility, next to Lake O'Neill, and was staffed and funded for 185 beds. It included seven operating rooms, six labor and delivery rooms, outpatient clinics, laboratory and radiology facilities, food preparation, service and support facilities and administration offices. The building was completely air conditioned and incorporated the most modern technological advances and had parking for 1,257 vehicles.

On March 19, 2009, construction of a new Navy hospital for Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton was approved in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The replacement of the Camp Pendleton hospital was the largest ARRA project in the Department of the Navy. Groundbreaking for the 500,000-square-foot, four story building was held www.oceansidechamber.com

on Dec. 2, 2010, with construction being completed Oct. 17, 2013, delivered six months ahead of schedule and $100 million under budget. The command transitioned to the new facility over a two week period in December 2013. The new

hospital, with 42 inpatient beds, 9 operating rooms, and an assortment of outpatient, dental and oral/maxillofacial surgery, and medical specialty clinic services was dedicated on Jan. 31, 2014, officially opening the new, modern facility.

Source: Camp Pendleton Archives

NEW HOSPITAL FACTS Vital Statistics

 500,000 square foot, four floor facility on a 70 acre site  9 operating rooms  42 inpatient beds  8-10 Labor and Delivery Rooms  16-20 Post-Partum Suites  26 Emergency room beds  4 Intensive Care Unit beds  Assortment of outpatient, dental and oral/maxillofacial

surgery, and medical specialty clinic services

 2,500 parking spaces  1.2 mile walking path surrounding hospital compound  Helipad for outbound medical evacuation  Central Utilities Plant (sustains full hospital operations

in the event of a natural disaster; provides day-to-day heating/ cooling services)  170kW photovoltaic system (solar panels)  LEED Gold certification

Construction Facts

Structural Steel: Replacement Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton contains 4,000 tons of steel. The weight of structural steel utilized is equivalent to the weight of approximately 20 blue whales.

Stone: The exterior of the facility contains 28,594 square feet of stone. This is the equivalent of approximately 6 NBA basketball courts covered in stone.

Concrete: The structure of the replacement hospital contains over 18,000 cubic yards of concrete. This is the equivalent of approximately 5.5 Olympic swimming pools full of concrete.

Window Systems: Replacement Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton boasts 92,000 square feet of Window Systems.

This is approximately 1.5 times the total square footage of the White House.

Terra Cotta: The exterior finish of the facility contains 50,701 square feet of terra cotta. This is enough terra cotta to cover approximately 2 times the square footage of the Lincoln Memorial.

Metal Panels: The exterior finish of the replacement hospital contains 87,500 square feet of metal panels. This is enough metal paneling to cover the entire Washington Monument.

Sources: Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton web site, www.med.navy.mil/sites/ cpen/Pages/FAQs.aspx; Clark Construction web site, www.clarkconstruction. com/our-work/projects/naval-hospital-camp-pendleton; Fact Sheet - Naval Hospital, www.med.navy.mil/sites/cpen/Pages/Fact-Sheet.aspx Naval Hospital, 2014; photo courtesy of Naval Hospital web site, www.med.navy.mil/sites/cpen/

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U.S. MARINE CORPS BASE

CAMP PENDLETON 75 YEARS OF UNWAVERING DUTY AND SERVICE Thank you to all of the men and women who have served with honor and distinction.

PALOMAR COLLEGE

Salutes You

To learn more about classes and programs offered on base by PALOMAR COLLEGE visit the Camp Pendleton Education Center, Building 1331, Room 110, or call 760-725-6626

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75 Years

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