Existing comment:
Camp Joseph H. Pendleton:
From 1841 to 1942, the land that is now Camp Pendleton was named Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores, and was privately owned by Pio Pico, the last Mexican governor of California. Pico gave the property to his brother-in-law, John Forster in 1863. Then in 1882, James Flood, a real estate tycoon, purchased the land.
In the early 40s, both the Army and the Marine Corps sought land for a large training base. In April of 1842, it was announced that 125,000 acres of the rancho was about to be made into the largest Marine Corps Based in the country. The base was named in honor of Major Joseph H. Pendleton, who had long been an advocate of establishing a West Coast training base.
After 5 months of non-stop building, the 9th Marine Regiment arrived from Camp Elliott in San Diego to be the first troops to occupy the new base. President Franklin Roosevelt arrived on September 24, 1942 for the official dedication of the base.
By the end of 1942, the 9th Marines had completed training and shipped west to the Pacific Theater. As they left Camp Pendleton, the 4th and the 5th Marines arrived and prepared for combat. They soon headed for assaults on Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.
After World War II ended, Camp Pendleton official became the home of the 1st Marine Division. It has been the launching base for Marines and Sailors who have fought in Korea, the Caribbean during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and now Iraq. |