During WWII there were numerous military bases located throughout the southwest. Most of the bases are gone
now, with nothing to mark them except some rock outlines where buildings once stood. Roads leading to
what were once repair shops, barracks, and airfields go mostly unnoticed by people hurrying along the interstates.
I am going to give the locations of some of the better known bases that can be found on topo maps. Some others that I have
found by accident or found by research only, I will not give the locations to. The reasons are that I frequently camp at some
which have proved to be quiet retreats while others are too small to be found easily. You can walk among the remains and remember
that these bases were filled with people on their way to war.
At these bases, there are still remains left by the departing troops. Over the years, I have seen many a beer bottle, soda bottle, and military
equipment at these sites. Years ago I met a man at a garage sale in Northern California and we struck up a
conversation about metal detecting. He told me that during the 1950's and 1960's, groups of people would camp at the old bases to
metal detect with the old-style metal detectors. He told me that they would collect "coffee cans" full of silver coins lost by the
troops. Do not expect to find coins around the bases. They were picked up for the most part, years ago.
Locations:
Two bases which were located right across from each other are the Iron Mountain base and the Granite Mountain base. Both of these
bases were located on what is now called Aqueduct road (62) that runs from the junction of Rice road (62) going east from Twentynine Palms and Desert
Center road, (177) which heads north from Interstate 10 at Desert Center, east of Palm Springs. The two bases were located approximately 5 miles east
from the intersection of the two roads. Iron Mountain was located on the north side of the road and Granite Mountain was located on the south side of the
road. I have not been to the Iron Mountain base but I have wandered extensively around the Granite Mountain base. A couple of things were evident at
Granite Mountain. One, they drank a fair amount of beer in the desert and two, they shot a lot of 50 caliber guns out there. Both of there locations can easily
be found on the Delorme Southern and Central California Atlas and Gazetteer. The Iron Mountain base is located approximately 1.5 miles north of the
highway and the Granite Mountain base is located about 1.5 miles south of the highway. There are roads to each but the ones to Granite Mountain were somewhat
difficult to find several years ago. The ones to Iron Mountain were easier.
At a point approximately 45.5 miles east of the junction of 62 and 177, was the Rice airfield on the south side of the road. There used to be a small town
here known as Rice which was founded as a railroad siding in 1919. The last of the buildings had burnt down several years ago and I don't believe
that there is anything there now. Just beyond the town site was the Rice Air base. The base itself was nearly 5 miles long and the center was located approximately
8 miles east of town.
Another base was located west of Needles, California off of Hwy 95 going north towards Search Light. This base is located approximately 14 miles north on Hwy. 95 from
its junction with Interstate 40. There is nothing left here except the roads that provided access to the original base. The base was extensive and extended to both
sides of the highway. The base extended for over 5 miles along the Highway with the majority of it located east of the road.
There was a base of General Patton's located approximately 3/4 mile north of I40 at the town of Ludlow. Take the graded gravel road heading north past the gas station on
the north side of the interstate. The camp was located on the east side of the road and rock outlines can be seen from the road. This was a base that Patton used during WWII.
Apparently, convoys of vehicles would line up along old route 66 and the line would stretch for some 130 miles back to San Bernardino. We "stumbled" onto this site 6 months ago. We
didn't know that it was there as it is not marked on our maps. People from the area do know that it is there and I did get some information about it from a small publication
called OurLand, The Monthly Guide to the West, April, 1991 published in Ontario, CA. There was not much left other than the rock outlines of former structures (probably tents).
I will caution people about driving on graded gravel roads. It was farther down this road that I got my last "cut sidewall" on my truck resulting in a flat tire and purchasing a
new tire. These tires are "heavy duty" tires with strong sidewalls and I still managed to get a flat driving about 15 mph on this road. Flats can happen anywhere, be prepared.
General Patton practiced all over the Mojave desert during WWII and there is a memorial to him and his troops located at Chiriaco Summit located on Interstate 10, east of
Palm Springs. Many times while wandering the desert, I have come upon some remote camp used by these soldiers. I often wonder how many went to fight and did not return. I can
just imagine the guys from some small town in the midwest being shipped to the middle of the desert. Do not destroy what little is left of these sites. The people who were stationed
there were fighting for our freedom.
Many of the camps are depicted on the Southern California Atlas Maps. Look for red lines like someone was making a street layout because this
was what the camps were composed of.
