The Camp Goffs was a sub camp of the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Desert Training Center in

Riverside County, California Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...

. 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 A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

(No.985). The site of the Camp Goffs just north at the former

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...

station at

Goffs, California Goffs, an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, is a nearly empty one-time railroad town at the route's high point in the Mojave Desert. Goffs was a stop on famous U.S. Route 66 until 1931 when a more direct road opened ...

. Goffs, California is on

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

5 miles north of the current Interstate 40, 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 The Camp Clipper and Camp Essex were sub camps 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 w ...

. Built in 1942, Camp Goffs was built to prepare troops to do battle during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. When completed the camp had shower buildings, latrines, wooden tent frames, and a water tank. Camp had firing training ranges. Also at the camp was depot: the Goffs Army Ammunition Depot #4. For safety the ammunition storage was keep 3 miles south of the camp, near Goffs Butte. Train at the ranges and camp was the 7th Infantry Division. A total of 15,000 troops were train at the camp. The camp closed in May 1944.

Stationed at Camp Goffs

*51st Evacuation Hospital (AGF) *83rd Ordnance Battalion (AGF) *336th Ordnance Motor Transport Supply Company (AGF) *337th Ordnance Motor Transport Company ( (AGF) *530th OrdnanceHeavy Maintenance Company (Tank) (AGF) *3409th Ordnance Automotive Maintenance Company (AGF) *Company C, 207th Quartermaster Gasoline Supply Battalion (AGF) *Company F, 473rd Quartermaster Truck Regiment (AGF) *Company C, 537th Quartermaster Service Battalion (Colored) (AGF) *554th Quartermaster Railhead Company (AGF) *Detachment, 615th Ordnance Ammunition Company (AGF) *2 Platoons, Company A, 694th Quartermaster Laundry Battalion (AGF)

51st Evacuation Hospital

The 51st Evacuation Hospital was started by

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

veteran Dr. Orrin S. Cook. Dr. Orrin Cook worked at

Mercy General Hospital Mercy General Hospital is a not-for-profit private community hospital located in the East Sacramento neighborhood of Sacramento, CA. The hospital has 342 beds and over 2,000 clinical staff, and serves as the major Cardiac Surgery referral center f ...

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

. He asked the US Army Medical Department to start Army field hospital in Sacramento. With Colonel William E. Shamborra activation start and was headquartered at Fort Ord in

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

. 51st Evacuation Hospital became official in September 1942 stationed now at Fort Lewis in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

. The 51st Evacuation Hospital operated a 750-bed Evacuation Hospital Colonel Wendell A. Weller was the first Commanding Officer. In March 1943 the 51st Evacuation Hospital was moved to Fort Lewis and to camp Goffs arriving in April 1943, to support the Desert Training Center. Goffs, California in April 1943. In May 1943 some of the 51st were moved to support the

Banning General Hospital Banning General Hospital, later the Naval Convalescent Hospital, Banning, was a military hospital in Banning, California, built in 1943 to support training at the Desert Training Center. Built by the army as a 1,000-bed hospital, it was transferre ...

. In December 1943 much of the 51st move to Camp San Luis Obispo, California. The 51st moved to Camp Cooke, Oceano, California for training. In March 1944 the 51st moved to the staging area at Camp Patrick Henry, Oriana, Virginia. From staging area 51st traveled 23 day by a Liberty Ship to Oran, Algeria. After 2 months the 51st moved to Naples, Italy and ran a hospital at the Naples Fair Grounds till 11 August 1944. Next the 51st moved to

Draguignan Draguignan (; oc, Draguinhan) is a commune in the Var department in the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (formerly Provence), southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department and self-proclaimed "capital of Ar ...

and set up an Evacuation Hospital. On 29 September 1944 the 51st moved to

Vincey Vincey () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Vosges department The following is a list of the 507 communes of the Vosges department of France. The communes cooper ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In November 1944 they moved to Saint-Dié-des-Vosges. On 14 March 1945 they moved to Sarre-Union, France. On 24 March 1945 they moved to Neustadt,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. On 4 April 1945 they moved to

Walldürn Walldürn is a town in the Neckar-Odenwald district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 23 km southwest of Wertheim. The town of Walldürn consists of the ten districts Walldürn-Stadt, Altheim, Gerolzahn, Glashofen, Gottersdor ...

, and to

Welzheim Welzheim is a town in the Rems-Murr district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located 35 km east of Stuttgart, and 15 km northwest of Schwäbisch Gmünd. Welzheim has 11,239 (2005) inhabitants and is located in the 'Welzheimer Wal ...

on 20 April 1945. On 20 July 1945 they moved to

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. On 12 October 1945 they ended working Germany and shipped home. On were sent to the 216th General Hospital in

Bad Cannstatt Bad Cannstatt, also called Cannstatt (until July 23, 1933) or Kannstadt (until 1900), is one of the outer stadtbezirke, or city boroughs, of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Bad Cannstatt is the oldest and most populous of Stuttgart's b ...

in Germany.

Camp Goffs Army Airfield

The abandoned Goffs civil airfield was converted into Camp Goffs Army Airfield''. The landing strip was two miles to the northeast of the camp. The air strip was used to support training activities and the depot. The runway was used for small planes, like the L-4 Piper Aircraft so the vast training grounds could be watched from the air. At its peak the Camp Goffs Army Airfield was increased so larger military planes could be used. Built were two 4,700 foot runways for the support of Camp Goffs, after the camp closed 1944 the Airfield was abandoned.

Marker

Marker 136 at Camp Goffs in California reads: *''The U. S. Army maintained a camp at Goffs 1942–1944. Goffs was an important rail supply point, hospital, and for three months in 1942 Headquarters of the 7th Infantry Division. That unit went on to distinguish itself in combat in the Aleutians and at Kwajalein, Leyte, and Okinawa. This monument is dedicated to all the men and women of the U. S. Army who served here with a special salute to those who laid down their lives for their country.'' Erected 2008 by Billy Holcomb Chapter E Clampus Vitus in cooperation with the Mojave Desert Heritage & Cultural Association. (Marker Number 136.)

Goffs, California

Goffs, California is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California. It was built by the Santa Fe Railroad as

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

rail station. Santa Fe rail workers lived in the town. Before 1931 Goffs was busy stop on the famous Route 66. when a more direct route between Needles and Amboy was built. Near by town are to the east the town of Homer, to the southwest the town of Fenner and to the north the towns of Blackburn and Purdy. From 1893 to 1902 the town was called Blake'' after Isaac Blake who constructed the Nevada Southern Railway. The Nevada Southern Railway later became part of the

California Eastern Railway California Eastern Railway, is a defunct short-line railroad that operated from 1902 - 1911. The railroad ran from Goffs, California, to Ivanpah. It was first a private line operated by a mining company, that was acquired by the Atchison, Top ...

that operated from 1895 to 1923. To serve the travels and the Santa Fe rail workers there was a large general store, now abandoned. To teach the children of the rail workers, in 1914 a schoolhouse was built. The schoolhouse is now a mining and military museum called the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association (MDHCA). There are many abandoned mines around Goffs.The Illustrated Route 66 Historical Atlas, By Jim Hinckley, page 215, page 222

External links

Training Center Boogie - Sony by John Malcolm Penn, song about : Desert training camps

References

{{San Bernardino County, California California Historical Landmarks 1942 establishments in California Military in San Bernardino County, California