Camp Ross | |
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Location | San Pedro, California and Wilmington, California |
Coordinates | 33°49′47″N118°17′41″W / 33.8298°N 118.2947°W Coordinates: 33°49′47″N118°17′41″W / 33.8298°N 118.2947°W |
Area | 31 acres |
Built | 1942 |
Architect | US Army |
Camp Ross was a World War II base serving as a staging area (embarkation camp) under the command of the Army's Los Angeles Port of Embarkation. The camp was located in San Pedro, California and Wilmington, California. The United States Department of War leased 31.026 acres of land starting in 1942. Camp Ross was used by the US Army as staging area for troops ready for deployment and for troop returning home to Naval Operating Base Terminal Island.
The camp could house up to 3,038 soldiers and 253 officers, but at its peak housed 5,000 servicemen and women. With departure and arrived every day, the camp and port moved 10 million tons cargo and over 700,000 troops and more than 28,000 prisoners of war during its years of operation. Many of the departing and returning Troops use the larger Camp Anza in Riverside, California as a staging area. In 1945, at the end of the war the camp was declared surplus and the lease was ended. For the war ships, on January 24, 1942 the Panama Pacific Terminal's Berths 232-A and B were taken over for the war department Los Angeles Port of Embarkation. Camp Ross was also use for staging cargo to shipped overseas, with Norwegian cargo ship MS Torrens being the first ship to depart with cargo on February 12, 1942. [1] Also built at Camp Ross was the Los Angeles Port of Embarkation Station Hospital also called the Torrance Station Hospital. The Army Hospital had 600-bed to service those arriving and departing the port. The hospital opened in November 1943. The camp hosted a Women's Army Corps (WAC) unit that serviced the camp. Also at the camp was a prisoners of war camp for Italian soldiers, the soldiers had surrendered at during the North African campaign. Italian Service Units of the 11th, 26th, 27th, 127th, 128th and 302nd Italian Quartermaster Service Company worked at the camp. By the end of the war over 28,000 prisoners passed through the camp. The camp was named after Sgt. Karl E. Ross was killed in Belgium in World War 1. After the war the Los Angeles Port of Embarkation Station Hospital became the Harbor–UCLA Medical Center and LA BioMed. [2]
Wilmington is a neighborhood in the Harbor region of Los Angeles, California, covering 9.14 square miles (23.7 km2).
Fort Mason, in San Francisco, California originated as a coastal defense site during the American Civil War. The nucleus of the property was owned by John C. Frémont and disputes over compensation by the United States continued into 1968. In 1882 the defenses were named for Richard Barnes Mason, a military governor before statehood. Fort Mason became the headquarters for an Army command that included California and the Hawaiian Islands from 1904 to 1907. In 1912 the Army began building a port facility with piers and warehouses to be a home base for ships of the Army Transport Service serving Alaska, Hawaii, the Philippines and other Pacific Army posts and focus of Army supply for the Pacific.
The General George S. Patton Memorial Museum, in Chiriaco Summit, California, is a museum erected in tribute to General George S. Patton on the site of the entrance of Camp Young, part of the Desert Training Center of World War II.
The San Francisco Port of Embarkation (SFPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for movement of supplies and troops to and from the Pacific during World War II with extensive facilities in the San Francisco area. SFPOE was established 6 May 1932 and disestablished 1 October 1955. It was originally composed of the long term Pacific terminal at Fort Mason that had been the home port and terminal for the Pacific Army Transport Service ships. That facility was far too limited to serve the requirements of a full port of embarkation. In 1940 the port began expansion to include Army owned and leased facilities throughout the San Francisco Bay area and for a time sub ports at Seattle and Los Angeles. Those eventually became separate commands as the Seattle Port of Embarkation and Los Angeles Port of Embarkation.
The Boston Port of Embarkation (BPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. In World War I it was a sub-port of the New York Port of Embarkation. During World War II it became an independent Port of Embarkation with the second greatest number of passengers embarked and third greatest tonnage of cargo embarked by east coast Ports of Embarkation. In passengers it was exceeded on the east coast only by New York and in cargo only by New York and the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation. Within three months after entry of the United States into World War II Boston was being established as a sub-port of New York. With establishment of the United States Army Transportation Corps in March 1942 the Boston sub-port became the independent Boston Port of Embarkation.
The New York Port of Embarkation (NYPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. The command had facilities in New York and New Jersey, roughly covering the extent of today's Port of New York and New Jersey, as well as ports in other cities as sub-ports under its direct command. During World War I, when it was originally known as the Hoboken Port of Embarkation with headquarters in seized Hamburg America Line facilities in Hoboken, New Jersey, the Quartermaster Corps had responsibility. The sub-ports were at Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia and the Canadian ports of Halifax, Montreal and St. Johns. The World War I port of embarkation was disestablished, seized and requisitioned facilities returned or sold and operations consolidated at the new army terminal in Brooklyn. Between the wars reduced operations continued the core concepts of a port of embarkation and as the home port of Atlantic army ships. With war in Europe the army revived the formal New York Port of Embarkation command with the New York port, the only Atlantic port of embarkation, taking a lead in developing concepts for operations.
USS Marvin H. McIntyre (APA-129) was a Haskell-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1973.
Camp Kearny was a U.S. military base in San Diego County, California, on the site of the current Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. It operated from 1917 to 1946. The base was named in honor of Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny.
Camp Patrick Henry is a decommissioned United States Army base which was located in Warwick County, Virginia. After World War II, the site was redeveloped as a commercial airport, and became part of City of Newport News in 1958 when the former City of Warwick and Newport News were politically consolidated as a single independent city. The airport is known in modern times as Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport.
Camp Stoneman was a United States Army facility located in Pittsburg, California. It served as a major troop staging area for and under the command of the San Francisco Port of Embarkation (SFPOE). The camp operated during World War II and the Korean War.
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).
Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation was the Army command structure and distributed port infrastructure in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia supporting movement of personnel and cargo overseas. It had been activated as the Newport News Port of Embarkation in World War I, deactivated, then reactivated 15 June 1942.
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 Desert Center 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 Desert Center was at Desert Center, California, in Riverside County, California in the Colorado Desert. It is in southern California, between the cities of Indio and Blythe at the junction of Interstate 10 and State Route 177, about halfway between Phoenix and Los Angeles. The Camp Desert Center was location just south of Joshua Tree National Park near the Colorado River Aqueduct. Camp Granite was designated a California Historic Landmark (No.985). The site of Camp Desert Center became the small town of Desert Center, California. Army Divisions were not stationed at Camp Desert Center, the camp was used as a supply depot, maintain repair depot and an evacuation hospital run by the 92nd medical unit.
The Camp Goffs 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 Goffs was designated a California Historic Landmark (No.985). The site of the Camp Goffs just north at the former Santa Fe Railroad station at Goffs, California. Goffs, California is on U.S. Route 66 5 miles north of the current Interstate 40, 25 miles (40 km) west of Needles in San Bernardino County, California. Currently at the south east end of the Mojave National Preserve. Camp Goffs was 20 miles southeast of Camp Essex and Camp Clipper.
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.
San Joaquin Depot is site of military storage bases. The facilities of San Joaquin Depot: are the Tracy Facility, the Sharpe Facility and former Stockton's Rough & Ready Island depot. The depots are in San Joaquin County, California near Stockton, California. These depots purchased, stored and shipped supplies needed for the World War II efforts in the Pacific War and some supplies to the Western Front. The depots were in an ideal location, at a safe inland port served by the San Joaquin River, which has railroad lines, a network of roads to California bases and nearby airports, including the Stockton Army Airfield. The depots were run the War Department's Defense Logistics Agency. The Defense Logistics Agency ran 22 large depots during World War 2.
Naval Base Saipan or Naval Advance Base Saipan or Naval Air Base Saipan was a United States Navy Naval base built during World War II to support Pacific Ocean theater of war and the many warships and troops fighting the war. The base was on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. The base was part of the Pacific island hopping campaign. The base construction started after the Battle of Saipan ended on July 9, 1944. US Naval Advance Base Saipan was constructed by the Seabees Naval Mobile Construction Battalions. The base was under the Commander Naval Forces Marianas. Saipan is 12 miles (19 km) long and 5 miles (8.0 km) wide. About 70% of the island was sugarcane cultivation at the start of the base construction. At the start of the Battle of Saipan, the island's population had about 30,000 Japanese troops and about 20,000 Japanese civilians. The city of Garapan was the administrative center for the Saipan governmental district.
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Naval Operating Base Terminal Island, was United States Navy base founded on 25 September 1941 to support the World War II efforts in the Pacific War. Naval Operating Base Terminal Island was founded by combining Naval Facilities in cities of San Pedro, Long Beach and Wilmington, California under one command. Much of the base was on the man-made Terminal Island, and harbor in San Pedro Bay. The harbor was made through the construction of a large breakwater system.