Camp Haan | |
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![]() Camp Haan in 1943 | |
Location | near Riverside, California |
Coordinates | 33°52′17″N117°15′58″W / 33.87139°N 117.26611°W Coordinates: 33°52′17″N117°15′58″W / 33.87139°N 117.26611°W [1] |
Built | 1940, closed 1945 |
Architect | US Army |
Camp Haan was a US Army training camp built in 1940, near March Air Force Base in Riverside County, California Camp Haan was opened in January 1941 as a training camp for Coast Artillery Antiaircraft gunners. The 8,058 acres camp was about four miles by three miles with tent housing. The camp was named after Major General William George Haan of World War I. By the end of 1941, the camp had a wood service building, 28 miles of streets, five chapels, and a hospital. The first troops trained were sent for the defense of Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Los Angeles–Bombardment of Ellwood had put all of California on high alert. The Army Service Depot was added to the camp in March 1942. The site of the former Camp Haan is next to California Interstate 215 at the Van Buren Boulevard exit. [2] [3]
Jack Benny performed his radio show live at the camp on April 12, 1942. [4]
The winning of the North African campaign brought a number of Italian Prisoners of War (POW) to California. [5] [6] A POW camp was built in September 1942. It held 1,200 Italian prisoners. The Italian Service Unit of 3rd Italian Quartermaster Service Company worked at the camp. In April 1945, German POWs arrived at the camp. A US Army correctional center was also built at the camp.
As wounded arrived from the Pacific War, an 800-bed Army hospital was built at the camp. Camp Haan at its peak had 80,000 troop, POWs, inmates, and hospital personnel. At the end of the war, the camp was used for temporary housing of troop coming from Operation Magic Carpet.
Camp Haan was closed on August 31, 1946. The land was given back to March Air Base. In 1976, part of the former camp was used for the 921 acre Riverside National Cemetery. The site now houses the Riverside National Cemetery and the General Old Golf Course near Riverside, Riverside County, California. The site of the camp is across I-215 from March Air Reserve Base. The other part of the land became part of Arnold Heights houses. Arnold Heights is named after Army General Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold. [7] [8] [9] [10]
Camp Forrest, located in a wooded area east of the city of Tullahoma, Tennessee, was one of the U.S. Army's largest training bases during World War II. It was an active army post between 1941 and 1946.
Fort DuPont, named in honor of Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont, is located between the original Delaware City and the modern Chesapeake and Delaware Canal on the original Reeden Point tract, which was granted to Henry Ward in 1675. Along with two other forts of the Harbor Defenses of the Delaware, it defended the Delaware River and the water approach to Philadelphia from 1900 through 1942. In 2016, the acreage which is not in the state park system was annexed into Delaware City.
Camp Livingston was a U.S. Army military camp during World War II. It was located on the border between Rapides and Grant Parishes, near Pineville, 12 mi (19 km) north of Alexandria, Louisiana.
Camp Roberts is a California National Guard post in central California, located on both sides of the Salinas River in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, now run by the California Army National Guard. It was opened in 1941 and is named after Corporal Harold W. Roberts, a World War I Medal of Honor recipient. Nearby communities include San Miguel, Heritage Ranch, Oak Shores, and Bradley, all unincorporated. The nearest incorporated city is Paso Robles. Camp Roberts is roughly 25 miles southeast of Fort Hunter Liggett.
The Alaska Defense Command (ADC) was a military formation of the United States Army. It was established on 4 February 1941, responsible for coordinating the defense of the Alaska Territory of the United States. The first commanding general of ADC was Brigadier General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. The Air Force, Alaska Defense Command, was replaced by the Alaskan Air Force which was activated on 15 January 1942.
The 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment is an air defense artillery regiment of the United States Army, first formed in 1821 as a field artillery unit.
Camp Anza was a United States Army installation, in what is now Riverside, California, during World War II. Construction began on July 3, 1942, and was completed on February 15, 1943. The camp was named after Juan Bautista de Anza, an early explorer who camped near the site in 1774. The US Army purchased the 1,240-acre site from the Willits J. Hole Ranch (1910–1942), a barley and wheat farm. Before 1910 the land was part of Rancho La Sierra (1797–1910).
The 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment is an Air Defense Artillery regiment of the United States Army, first formed in 1861 in the Regular Army as the 5th Regiment of Artillery.
The 3rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment is an air defense artillery regiment of the United States Army, first formed in 1821 as the 3rd Regiment of Artillery.
The 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment is an air defense artillery regiment of the United States Army, first constituted in the Regular Army as the 7th Regiment of Artillery on 8 March 1898. The 6th and 7th U.S. Artillery Regiments were constituted on 8 March 1898, three weeks after the explosion of USS Maine in Havana, Cuba on 15 February 1898, as the United States' declaration of war on Spain and commencement of the Spanish–American War seemed imminent.
The 6th Air Defense Artillery Regiment is an air defense artillery regiment in the United States Army, first formed in 1898 as the 6th Regiment of Artillery. The 6th and 7th U.S. Artillery Regiments were constituted on 8 March 1898, three weeks after the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana, Cuba on 15 February 1898, as the United States' declaration of war on Spain and commencement of the Spanish–American War seemed imminent.
The 62nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment is an Air Defense Artillery regiment in the United States Army. The lineages of some of the units that have been part of the 62nd Air Defense Artillery and its predecessors give the regiment campaign credit for the War of 1812.
The 251st Coast Artillery was a coast artillery regiment in the California National Guard, constituted in 1924 as a harbor defense regiment for the 9th Artillery District and re-designated in 1930 as an antiaircraft regiment. It served in World War II in that capacity.
The 94th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment, represented in the Minnesota Army National Guard by 1st Squadron, 94th Cavalry, part of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, stationed at Duluth.
The 515th Coast Artillery was a regiment of the United States Army first created in the early 1920s.
The Temporary Detention Camp for Japanese Americans / Pomona Assembly Center is one of the places Japanese Americans were held during World War II. The Pomona Assembly Center was designated a California Historic Landmark on May 13, 1980. The Pomona Assembly Center is located in what is now called the Fairplex in Pomona, California in Los Angeles County. The Pomona Assembly Center was called Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in 1942.
The Camp Laguna was a sub camp of the US Army, Desert Training Center in Riverside County, California. The main headquarters for the Desert Training Center was Camp Young, this is where General Patton's 3rd Armored Division was stationed. Camp Laguna is 16 miles (26 km) miles northeast of Yuma, Arizona, off of U.S. Route 95. Trained at Camp Laguna were the 3rd Armored Divisions the 9th Armored Divisions, the 79th Infantry Divisions, 80th Infantry Divisions and 8th Infantry Division. The camp is named after the nearby town of Laguna, Yuma County, Arizona on the Colorado River. Camp Laguna was first World War II training camp built in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, it trained thousands of troop for war. Most of the land that was Camp Laguna is now part of the vast Yuma Proving Ground.
California during World War II was a major contributor to the World War II effort. California's long Pacific Ocean coastline provided the support needed for the Pacific War. California also supported the war in Europe. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, most of California's manufacturing was shifted to the war effort. California became a major ship builder and aircraft manufacturer. Existing military installations were enlarged and many new ones were built. California trained many of the troops before their oversea deployment. Over 800,000 Californians served in the United States Armed Forces. California agriculture, ranches and farms were used to feed the troops around the world. California's long coastline also put the state in fear, as an attack on California seemed likely. California was used for the temporary and permanent internment camps for Japanese Americans. The population of California grew significantly, largely due to servicemen who were stationed at the new military bases/training facilities and mass influx of workers from around the U.S. in the growing defense industries. With all the new economy activity, California was lifted out of the great depression. Over 500,000 people moved to California from other states to work in the growing economy. California expanded its oil and mineral production to keep up with the war demand.
The Italian Service Units or ISUs were military units composed of Italian prisoners of war (POWs) that served with the Allies during World War II against Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan from May 1944 to October 1945. The armed forces of the United States captured many Italian soldiers during the North African campaign Operation Torch, which started in November 1942 and sent 51,000 of them to the United States. After the signing of the armistice by the Badoglio government in Italy on September 8, 1943, and with Pietro Badoglio and the Kingdom of Italy officially declaring war on Nazi Germany on October 13, 1943, the Americans began to see the POWs as potential allies. The capture of Rome by the Allies on June 4, 1944, motivated many POWs to change sides. About 90% joined Italian Service Units, which operated in the United States and overseas.