Desert Training Center, California-Arizona Maneuver Area (Established by Major General George S. Patton, Jr.) - Camp Young
California State Historic Landmark 985
05/22/98
#985 Desert Training Center
California - Arizona Maneuver Area
The D.T.C. was established by Major General George S. Patton, Jr., in response to a need to train American combat troops for battle in North Africa during World War II. The camp, which began operation in 1942, covered 18,000 square miles. It was the largest military training ground ever to exist. Over one million men were trained at the eleven sub-camps (seven in California).
05/22/98
#985 Young Divisional Camp
Camp Young
Heaqdquarters
Desert Training Center
California - Arizona Maneuver Area
Camp Young, named after Lt. Gen. S.B.M. Young, the 1st Army chief of staff, was established at this site in the spring of 1942. It was one of twelve such camps built in the Southwestern deserts to harden and train United States troops for service on the battlefields of World War II. It was selected by Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., as the administrative headquarters for the Desert Training Center, a simulated theater of operations that included portions of California, Arizona and Nevada. The other camps were Coxcomb, Granite, Iron Mountain, Ibis, Clipper, Pilot Knob, Laguna, Horn, Hyder, Bouse and Rice.
A total of 13 infantry divisions and 7 armored divisions plus numerous smaller units were trained in this harsh environment. The training center was in operation for almost 2 years and was closed early in 1944 when the last units were shipped overseas. During the brief period of operation over one million American soldiers were trained for combat.
This monument is dedicated to all the soldiers that served here, and especially for those who gave their lives in battle, ending the Holocaust & defeating the armed forces of Nazi Germany, fascist Italy and imperial Japan.
05/22/98
#985 Desert Training Center
Camp Young
Maj. Gen. George S. Patton Jr., U.S. Army, selected Camp Young as headquarters site for the Desert Training Center in March 1942. Camp Young was the administrative center for a simulated theater of operations that would eventually extend from Pomona, CA, to Phoenix, AZ, from Yuma, AZ, to Boulder City, NV, and would include a network of training facilities at Camps Clipper, Coxcomb, Granite, Ibis, Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob in California, and Camps Bourse, Horn, Hyder, and Laguna in Arizona.
Between 1942 and 1944, over one million men trained on the surrounding desert and participated in the most realistic war games under the harshest conditions imaginable. In a very important sense, many battles of World War II were won on these desert lands during these maneuvers.
This memorial is dedicated to the soldiers of the U.S. Army who participated in these events. The spirit which they displayed generated a spark that spread into every overseas theater in which they served.
05/22/98
05/22/98
General Patton Memorial Museum, Chiriaco Summit, from I-10 exit N at Chiriaco Summit, 28 mi E of Indio. Second plaque located 0.2 mi N of I-10 on Cottonwood Springs, then 7/8 mi E on dirt road.
Return to other landmarks in Riverside county.
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Donald Laird
