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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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years
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
