Historic California
Posts, Camps, Stations and Airfields
Camp Lockett
(Mitchell Convalescent Hospital)
Located at Campo, San Diego County, in
the Milquatay Valley, Camp Lockett was a World War II Mexican
border cavalry post established in 1941. It was named for Colonel
James Lockett, awarded two Silver Stars for "gallantry in
action against insurgent forces" in the Philippine Islands
during the Spanish American War. Later the post housed prisoners
of war. Late in December 1942 Camp Lockett was placed on stand
by status for future use as a convalescent center. The entire
camp was declared surplus on April 30, 1946.
Camp Lockett's site was chosen for a cavalry
camp as far back as 1878 when sixteen troopers wearing the blue
uniform of The US Cavalry bivouacked for several months in this
small Mexican border valley. At that time it took a week to get
to San Diego, the choicest acres of bottom land sold for $5 an
acre, smugglers and belligerent, "Indians" were problems.
"E" Troop of the 11th Cavalry Regiment was stationed
here in 1918 and since then therehave been a succession of home
soldiers stationed at this strategic junction where road and
rail road return to the United States after dipping into Baja
California en route from San Diego to Yuma.
Ground was broken for the present camp on June 23rd 1941. The
11th Cavalry Regiment came there two days after the bombing of
Pearl Harbor. Camp Lockett is a horse cavalry camp. The surrounding
terrain offers unparalleled opportunities to test man, beast
and mechanized carriers over a wide variety of terrain that includes
heavily wooded underbrush, desert sand, miles of barren, rocky
wastelands, Streams to be forded, and other geographic hazards
identical to those which confront cavalry troopers in battle
conditions.
Climatically this is a region of extremes. There is summer heat
of 115 degrees; freezing temperature in winter. Long dry spells
alternate with cloudbursts.
Some of the buildings were built as permanent cantonments while
others were semi-permanent. The semi-permanent buildings no longer
exist. There was a well equipped hospital which is now used as
a youth facility. There are still standing many of the permanent
barracks and some stables.
In 1942, the 10th Cavalry Regiment (the famed Buffalo Soldiers)
moved into Camp Lockett to replace the11th Cavalry Regiment which
had been converted into an armored unit. In 1943 The 28th Cavalry
Regiment made up of inductees joined the 10th to form the 4th
Cavalry Brigade of the 2nd Cavalry Division (Horse)
At the same time The 27th Cavalry Regiment, also made up of inductees,
joined the 9th Cavalry Regiment to form the 5th Cavalry Brigade.
This brigade was stationed in Fort Clark, Texas. Their duty was
to guard the Texas-Mexican Border. While the 10th and 28th guarded
the California-Mexican Border. These troopers also guarded the
many installations along the border such as, trestles, bridges,
dams, railroad tunnels and would be the first line of defense
in case Germany or Japan attempted an invasion of the United
States through Mexico.
In 1944 The 9th, 10th, 27th and 28th were dismounted and sent
to North Africa. Soon after their arrival there all four regiments
were inactivated and converted into service troops. This marked
the end of the horse cavalry in the United States Army. The 28th,
through an error was not officially inactivated until 1951.This
makes Camp Lockett the last home of the last horse cavalry in
the US Army.
Corporal Fred D Jones,
Troop C, 28th Cavalry Regiment, circa 1943
Defending the
Border: The Cavalry at Camp Lockett
by Meredith Vezina, Extracted from The Journal of San Diego
History, Winter-Spring 1993, Volume 39, Number 1-2
In the summer of 1940, the United States
began preparations for war. President Franklin D. Roosevelt demonstrated
America's increasing concern over world events by announcing that
the United States would extend military aid to all countries resisting
aggression, and, simultaneously, would make itself strong enough
to meet any threat to its own security. As part of the nation's
overall defense plans, the army was assigned the task of safeguarding
the continental United States against invasion. Preparations focused
on protecting the country against naval bombardment, air raids,
and an assault by ground forces. The army also coordinated civil
defense plans, and guarded vital non-military installations--public
works and utilities--whose continued operation was essential to
the war effort.
Identifying San Diego as particularly important
because of its strategic location, numerous military installations,
and rapidly expanding war-related industries, the army decided
to deploy the cavalry along the United States-Mexico border. The
troops were stationed at Camp Lockett in Campo, sixty miles southeast
of San Diego. Completed in December 1941, Lockett's construction
transformed this small tranquil border town into a bustling military
post. There, first white and later black soldiers guarded the
region's communications and transportation links that were vital
to San Diego and also prepared to stop an invasion that military
strategists feared might come through Mexico.
The black soldiers faced an added dimension
to their service in San Diego's back country--the harsh reality
of institutionalized segregation. The history of Camp Lockett
in Campo, the last cavalry base built in the United States, encompasses
two stories-the defense of the border and how the army struggled
internally with the issue of race relations. From 1941 to 1944,
the troops at Lockett patrolled the border from the Otay Lakes
area, north and east of Chula Vista, to El Centro in the Imperial
Valley. They also protected San Diego's water supplies, and provided
security for the railroad that served as the city's only direct
link to the manufacturing centers in the eastern part of the country.
Beginning ins 1941, until it was reassigned
to North Africa in June of 1942, the 11th Cavalry Regiment performed
these tasks. The 11th was almost immediately replaced at Lockett
by the 4th Cavalry Brigade, made up of two regiments of African-American
soldiers-the 10th and the 28th. The deployment of thousands of
black soldiers, at a time when racial intolerance was the rule
rather than the exception, presented numerous logistical and social
problems for the army. At the height of the camp's activation,
approximately 3,500 horse soldiers and hundreds of civilian support
personnel occupied Lockett. The camp would eventually expand to
more than 500 buildings and cover nearly 7,000 acres.
Several factors influenced the army's decision
to construct a military facility in Campo. It was the port of
entry from Mexico for the San Diego-Arizona Eastern Railroad,
which served as the only direct eastwest line connecting San Diego
with the rest of the country. The possibility of sabotage necessitated
the stationing of troops at various tunnels and trestles along
the border. In addition, Campo was near Morena and Barrett dams,
at that time providing essential supplies of drinking water for
San Diego's growing population. The troops also provided security
for electric transformers and relay stations. And probably the
key reason was Campo's proximity to the international border-
approximately one mile. In the event of an enemy invasion through
Mexico, the cavalry could act as a first line of defense until
reinforcements were brought in. The army argued that if the country
was invaded by Japan, the enemy might land an invasion force in
Baja California, move north and attack the United States through
the interior.
There can be little doubt that Camp Lockett
was strategically important to the nation's overall defense plans.
In addition, the horse soldiers stationed there played a significant
role in protecting resources vital to San Diego's war effort.
In the midsummer of 1940, the army dispatched
Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt to Campo with orders to conduct a preliminary
survey and report on the feasibility of locating a military facility
in the area.(1) As the commanding officer of the 9th Corps Area
headquarters in San Francisco, the general was responsible for
the camp's construction.(2)
The army was interested initially in 702
acres of land in Campo. Of this, Ellsworth Statler-heir to the
Statler-Hilton Hotels-owned about 510 acres. Most of the remaining
property was located on a ranch owned and operated by local residents
F.J. and Isabell Ferguson.(3) At that time, Statler was the principal
property holder in Campo, controlling nearly 1,600 acres including
most of the town.(4) Statler's buildings played an essential role
in the camp?s early development because the structures were used
to house employees of the architect-engineer and the constructing
quartermaster. The workers took over the entire downtown area,
which consisted of a two-story house, probably the old mansion
built by the early pioneer Gaskill Brothers, and "four cottages
and an old hotel." Several additional buildings were later
constructed in the area.(5)
Water became an important issue in the early
planning stages of the camp. To meet its needs, the army petitioned
the San Diego City Council for permission to utilize Morena Reservoir
located approximately six miles northwest of Campo. On 5 October
1940, the city council approved the application on the condition
that the "expense of installing and operating the necessary
pipeline, meter, pumps, and treatment facilities shall be borne
by the government which is to pay the same rate for the water
as do other agencies."(6)
The army and the city were both pleased
with the agreement. Upon completion of the pipeline between Morena
and Campo, the military's water problems would be solved, and
the city would benefit because the army would provide "valuable
protection" to the reservoir.(7)
On 11 October 1940, the army announced that
the men and officers of the 11th United States Cavalry stationed
at the Presidio at Monterey would be assigned to new camps at
Seeley, California, in the Imperial Valley and at Lake Morena
five miles northwest of Campo. Both camps were intended as temporary
facilities until construction of Camp Lockett (8) was completed.(9)
The 11th Cavalry was first organized at
Fort Myer, Virginia on 11 March 1901. The regiment's early service
record includes campaigns in the Philippines, Cuba, and-in response
to Pancho Villa's raid on Columbus, New Mexico in March of 1916
-- the 11th joined General Pershing's punitive expedition into
Mexico. On 19 July 1919, the regiment moved to Monterey, California.
(10)
On 15 November 1940, 450 officers and men
of the 11th Cavalry, accompanied by 730 horses, began the move
from Monterey to Seeley and Morena.(11) All the troops traveled
by train with part of the regiment disembarking at the Seeley
station with the remainder of the troops getting off at the depot
in Campo. (12)
By the end of November, the temporary tent
camps had taken form. According to an eyewitness account, the
camps resembled a "sea of tents with an orderly tent at the
end of each two rows. Constructed on wooden platforms, the sides
of the tents could be rolled up to allow for better air circulation.
Six men were assigned to each tent." (13)
On 26 November 1940, the Los Angeles Times
printed a story about the camp at Morena, and the army's decision
to use the cavalry to protect the border and provide security
for San Diego's reservoirs. "Mechanized Army Still Relies
On Horses: Cavalry Squadron Will Be Brought To Full Strength for
Patrol of Dams,"(14) the paper announced in bold headlines.
On the same day a feature story in the Tribune-Sun said that "eastern
San Diego county may well be a battle ground for a full scale
invasion of the United States should the western hemisphere be
violated via Mexico."(15)
The decision to deploy horse soldiers instead
of mechanized units along the border was made-in part-because
of the extremely rugged terrain. Soldiers on horseback could patrol
the hills and gorges, places inaccessible even to jeeps. As the
newspaper put it, "Along the Mexican border and in the areas
surrounding the dams impounding San Diego county's water supply
system, the cavalry-the horse cavalry-is the only army unit able
to function effectively in a period of national emergency."(16)
Initially, the camp at Morena consisted
of the 11th Cavalry's Second Squadron, a complement of approximately
250 soldiers. But with the possibility of war, the squadron was
bolstered with the addition of a third troop. (17)
While at Morena, the squadron quickly assumed
its duties. On horseback or-in some cases- with lightly armored
jeeps (18) , the troops scouted the areas along the Mexican border.
Reconnaissance missions were also mounted, primarily to determine
the possible routes the enemy might use through the canyons and
mountain passes.(19)
For example, on 26 August 1941 1st Lt. James
D. Green led a reconnaissance mission of the Otay Lakes area near
Dulzura. In his report dated 12 September 1941 Green wrote,
The defense of this locality is complicated
by gently rolling hills to the west which afford easy travel
for mechanized forces Infantry or Cavalry. The defense must be
strong and reinforced by .50 Calaber [sic] Machine Guns for Anti-tank
protection as well as by motors and H.M.G.'s [heavy machine guns].20
Green also recommended that in the event of an enerny attack,
the bridge just north of Highway 94 and Otay Lake Road be destroyed
and that American troops take up positions on the south side
of the lake. (21)
The squadron stationed at Seeley performed
similar duties along the border. Due to the intense desert heat
throughout most of the year, the men operated on a "tropical
schedule," which meant that often the missions were carried
out in the very early morning beginning at 4:00 A.M.. According
to Col. Harold M. Rayner, the 11th's commanding officer, "The
afternoons [were] devoted to swimming instruction, parades, and
the well known border siesta(s)." (22)
In addition to reconnaissance missions,
war games-at least on paperwere played against Mexican troops.
(23) Various scenarios were envisioned in which the 11th was charged
with defending the border. For example, in one conflict, two thousand
Mexican troops crossed into the United States and took up positions
along Highway 80 between Ocotillo and El Centro. The l1th had
to stop the enemy from advancing any further north. (24)
By far, the biggest training operation occurred
on 21 July at 6:00 P.M., when the l1th Cavalry set out on a march
from Seeley to Live Oak Springs, approximately ten miles east
of Campo. Describing the 11th's departure from Seeley, Capt. H.
J. Rosenberg noted:
The evening sun, still merciless at
6:00 P.M., shone on the burnished surfaces of six scout cars
bristling with machine guns, on 684 mounted men armed with pistols
and rifles, on thirty officers, on three cyclists armed with
sub-machine guns, on pack horses bearing machine guns, mortars
and special weapons, on seventeen trucks, a semi-trailer truck,
a sedan, a pick-up, two side cars, and two reconnaissance cars.
(25)
Known as the Live Oak Springs maneuver,
the march through the desert and into the mountains was led by
Col. Rayner. After reaching Mountain Springs, the regiment made
its way through Devils Canyon. According to Rosenberg, the path
was so narrow that the "men leading pack horses with short
halter shanks had to lean backwards in their saddles." By
noon, the regiment reached Jacumba where it spent a day and a
half resting for the final assault on Live Oak Springs. (26)
By the time the troops arrived at their
destination, advance parties had already established "picket
lines and kitchen posts." A mountain stream had been diverted
by a series of dams into a water trough for horses. (27)
Although the squadron's 40-mile trek from
Seeley to Live Oak Springs brought the horse soldiers less than
twenty miles from Campo, they would have to return to their desert
camp because Lockett was far from completion. In fact, a labor
dispute brought construction to a grinding halt.
Because of San Diego's booming defense industry,
nearly all skilled civilian workers at Lockett were imported from
Los Angeles. In addition, the lack of adequate housing in Campo
forced contractors to pay higher wages. Nevertheless, the government
was willing to incur the higher costs because it considered Lockett
vital; "emergency construction" was the way officials
put it. (28)
Although the army may have considered the
project important, the fact that the United States was not yet
at war meant that civilian workers could strike legally. On 23
July 1941, the San Diego Building and Trade Council argued that
the men working in Campo were entitled to "free room and
board in addition to [their] daily or hourly wages." Over
the next three weeks, threats were made to "interfere with
the progress and the construction of the Cantonment and Sewage
Disposal Plant." (29)
Finally, on 18 August 1941, the workers
at Campo went on strike against the George A. Fuller Company,
the project's general contractor. (30) According to J.D. Kaufman,
the company's general superintendent, he was surprised by the
strike because union and company officials were still in negotiations,
and the camp was already about 75 percent complete. (31) But at
7:00 A.M. picket lines went up around the construction site, and
county deputy sheriffs were called in to maintain order. But the
strike was shortlived because on the following day the men returned
to work and the dispute was sent to a "board of review"
for arbitration. (32)
Obligated to complete the camp's construction
by 1 December 1941, the Fuller Company-in an attempt to expedite
the project-erected its own saw mill and lumber yard near the
railroad tracks where materials were precut and delivered by trucks
to various sites. (33)
Some time in September or early October
of 1941, the Second Squadron of the 11th Cavalry stationed at
Morena was moved into its new home at Camp Lockett in Campo. (34)
Although the Campo facility was still under construction, it can
reasonably be assumed that the barracks and mess halls were ready
for occupation. Plans called for the construction of 132 buildings
to accommodate 1,568 men and 1,668 horses. (35)
Over the next eight to ten weeks, construction
continued at an intense pace. Administration buildings, stables,
and warehouses were routinely completed. The earlier decision
to utilize the existing civilian structures in Campo was drastically
altered when it became obvious that the buildings were not suitable
for their intended use. The army, therefore, authorized additional
expenditures for a new post exchange and recreation building.
Sometime in early December, the construction of Camp Lockett was
completed at a cost of $1,937,619.98. (36)
According to an 11th Cavalry soldier still
stationed at Seeley, December 7th was a "sunny day, and the
usual number of officers and enlisted men were on 1-day passes
to El Centro and San Diego." The rest of the troops were
busy packing for the move to Lockett when at 12:37 P.M. the camp
received a radio message about Pearl Harbor from the 11th Naval
District in San Diego. (37)
Eeeeeeeeeooooooow, went the fire sirens
at El Centro, signaling all our men to report back to camp. So
did the highway patrols. In less time than it takes to say japs
over Honolulu' the camp was functioning on a wartime basis. The
rest of the Sunday passed swiftly. At the request of railroad
officials, troops were dispatched to guard strategically important
tunnels and bridges. The guards along the Mexican border were
"doubled and redoubled. (38)
Rumors about an impending invasion were
circulating throughout the camp. One report said that "a
certain coastal section of Mexico not too far from [Seeley) was
believed to be the center of Japanese activity.,,39 In another
report, "Hundreds of Japanese and Axis bombers, long rumored
to be in Mexico, had received word to soar from Sonora to San
Francisco, dropping their Blitzkriegettes as they flew, and that
various Pacific coast cities had already received their share
of gas bombings." (40)
Throughout the day the squadron at Seeley
coordinated defense plans with the troops at Lockett. "Maps
containing areas that (the cavalry) was defending according to
Defense Plan Number 0 were rushed back from Camp Lockett. (41)
Other maps were quickly made on improvised drafting tables and
rushed to other army headquarters." (42)
The tension mounted throughout the day.
Radio reports "wipped [the troops] into a fine frenzy of
sabotage-suspicions." The guards at the border were "redoubled,"
and San Diego railroad officials asked for "protection of
certain strategically located tunnels, bridges, [and] gorges."
By the end of the day "almost every important dam, highway
bridge, and railroad bridge" had guards. (43)
Less than two days later and in keeping
with their pre-war schedule, the 11th Cavalry, led by Lt. Col.
Frederick Herr, who had replaced Colonel Rayner as commander,
(44) left Seeley for their new home in Campo on 9 December at
11:05 A.M. The ride out of the desert and into the mountains was
a wet one, particularly during the second night. "It came
down in sheets, oversize, double bed sheets," one soldier
recalled. "Horses neighed in terror and drenched men talked
about taking off their boots and swimming out of the flooded valley.
" (45)
On 10 December at 10:30 P.M., the first
column of soldiers reached the gates at Lockett. "The camp
was in a blackout. Wet, frightened horses were slowly, inch by
inch led into strange, dark stables, tied, unbridled, unsaddled
and rubbed." After spending sixteen hours in the saddle that
day and completing a three-day march in two, the men looked forward
to spending their first night at Lockett in "real beds under
a real roof," comforts unknown since they had left the Presidio
in Monterey. (46)
War brought an abrupt tightening of security
procedures throughout the camp, a situation that had an immediate
effect on Ben Wyly. As track supervisor for the San Diego-Arizona
Railway, Wyly lived in a small house near the Campo Depot within
the borders of Camp Lockett. He was in charge of maintaining the
line between Campo and El Centro. Using a small motorized car
called a speeder, Wyly checked the track every day for vandalism
or storm damage. (47)
For Wyly, the war created new challenges.
"Before the war, four trains, two freight and two passenger,
passed by each day. But when the war started, there were five
and six troop trains every day. There were extra freight trains
too. All the equipment was covered, but you could tell they were
guns and boats headed for San Diego," said Wyly. (48)
When Wyly got the news about the attack
on Pearl Harbor, he was ffteen miles east of Campo in Hipass hunting
quail and visiting his parents. "After I got back to Lockett,
the security was so tight they wouldn't let me in. I got mad and
told the guards that I lived inside and needed to call my boss
in San Diego for instructions. After a couple of hours Col. Cheney
( the camp's commanding officer) called the guards and told them
to let me in. After that, they gave me a picture and a plastic
holder for identification." (49)
Throughout the war, Wyly ferried soldiers
by rail to a guard post at tunnel four. One end of the tunnel
was in Mexico, and the other was in the United States. Mexican
troops guarded their side, and American soldiers protected their
territory. "Every day at 3:20 P.M., I brought six men down
and six men back from tunnel four." (50)
Because of the dramatic increase in the
number of trains during the war, Wyly was given permission to
employ soldiers as track laborers. But according to Wyly, the
soldiers were more trouble than they were worth.
The men worked mostly weekends when they
were off duty. They got paid straight time on Saturdays and time
and a half on Sundays. I had to pay every one who showed up. On
Saturdays there might be two or three men, but on Sundays there
were more than fifty. They weren't any good at laying track, so
I'd try to hide from them by reporting the wrong place for them
to meet me at. If they could find me though, I'd have to pay them.
(51)
As it became apparent in the days following
Pearl Harbor that a Japanese invasion was not imminent, security
on the west coast relaxed. By the third week in December, as the
strength and location of Japanese forces became known, fears of
an attack subsided. (52) Although troops continued to regularly
patrol the border and guard the dams, bridges, and power transformers,
life at Lockett quickly became more routine, less intense than
those first few days of war.
Training exercises and special events-for
example, riding and shooting competitions between troops-were
common. Soldiers received day and weekend passes for bus trips
to San Diego and Los Angeles. And, as at any large army post,
prostitution flourished.
The army had a negative view of prostitution,
stemming not from moral grounds but rather from medical concerns.
The spread of venereal disease in the military was a national
problem. So much so, that in March of 1941, the Committee on Military
Affairs in the House of Representatives opened hearings on proposed
legislation to prohibit prostitution within a reasonable distance
of military establishments. (53)
At a Washington D.C. press conference in
October, the Public Health Service admitted that "some localities
were not able to cope with the problem," and that if the
government had its way concerning prostitution around military
posts, it would: "examine all prostitutes; place them in
a big institution with a big wall around it; exam all customers,
and give them prophylactics. " (54)
From the onset of Lockett's construction,
prostitution was evident. There was at least one house approximately
half a mile east of the camp servicing the soldiers and, perhaps,
some of the local residents. There were also several small one-room
shacks or cribs in the vicinity. Day and night, an almost steady
stream of soldiers could be seen walking along the railroad tracks
enroute to the well-known establishments. (55)
After only seven months at Camp Lockett,
the 11th Cavalry was transferred to Fort Benning, Georgia, a decision
that reflected the army's need for more motorized and armored
units. According to instructions received from headquarters, Southern
California Section, Western Defense Command at Pasadena, California,
on 24 June 1942, the 11th Cavalry would be relieved of its duties
at Lockett by the 4th Cavalry Brigade. (56)
Just prior to the 11th Cavalry's departure,
Brig. Gen. Thoburn K. Brown and an advance party of the 4th Cavalry
Brigade arrived at Camp Lockett. (57) In effect, the 4th Cavalry
Brigade was to act as the new base unit for the Headquarters Southern
Land Frontier Sector (SLFS), (58) which moved into Lockett by
convoy from Phoenix, Arizona, on 30 June 1942. Sometime in early
July, the SLFS was followed by its 4th Cavalry Brigade with the
10th Cavalry Regiment. Moved incrementally aboard trains, they
were transferred to Lockett from Camp Funston, Fort Riley, Kansas.
(59)
The 10th Cavalry Regiment was organized
as an all-black unit in 1866. In 1861, at the beginning of the
American Civil War, free "Negroes" and escaped slaves
flocked to enlist in the Union army. They were summarily rejected;
in many ways, northern white people were as prejudiced as their
southern counterparts. By 1863, however, black soldiers were serving
in the Union army, not because of any change of attitude toward
blacks but rather from the government's realization that since
many more men were going to die in battle, they might as well
be "Negro." Consequently, black soldiers were organized
in segregated units. By the war's end, 180,000 black men had served
in the Union army 33,380 were killed. (60) As part of an army
experiment, two regiments of black soldiers, the 9th and 10th
cavalries, were organized in 1866. (61) Because black soldiers
were prohibited from rising beyond the rank of sergeant, the regiments
were led by white officers. For more than two decades, the 10th
was employed to fight the Indians in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico.
They were known as Buffalo Soldiers, a name bestowed on them by
their Indian adversaries who found similarities between the troopers'
hair and buffalo fur. The 10th would later play a role in several
other campaigns. In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, the
10th fought alongside the First United States Volunteer Cavalry
as it charged up Kettle Hill under the leadership of Lt. Col.
Theodore Roosevelt. In 1916, the Buffalo Soldiers crossed the
border into Mexico as part of the Mexican Punitive Expedition
under Gen. John J. Pershing. During World War I the 10th Cavalry,
in response to gunfire, again crossed the border and seized territory
around Nogales. (62)
Following World War 1, the 10th Cavalry
spent the next twelve years performing routine training and garrison
duty along the Arizona border. From 1931 to 1941, the regiment
was detailed to various posts in Kansas, Virginia, and New York.
In 1941, the unit reassembled at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The
following year, under the command of Col. Waldemar A. Flack, the
10th Cavalry was dispatched to Camp Lockett. (63)
Finding suitable camps for the stationing
of black troops was a problem for the War Department. In stationing
black soldiers, the army had to consider the number of white troops
at the facility, the proximity of civilian centers capable of
providing "separate" facilities for troopers with passes,
and the attitude of the nearby civilian community to the presence
of black soldiers.
Many communities strongly objected to the
stationing of black troops. In 1942, the War Department received
numerous complaints from across the country. The people of Mississippi
requested that "Negro officers" be stationed outside
the state. Rapid City, South Dakota, was concerned that the "town
could not offer the proper entertainment facilities for negro
troops." Upon learning that an all-white unit of a coastal
artillery station at nearby Fort Mason was being shipped overseas
and replaced with an allblack unit, the citizens of Morehead City,
North Carolina, asked their congressional representative to intercede.
In the spring of 1942, a meeting of southern governors convened
at Hot Springs, Arkansas. They offered the army two recommendations:
That no negro military police be used around
Southern airports or any where else that might make it necessary
for them to direct or control white soldiers and that Southern
Negros be kept South and Northern Negros be kept North. (64)
When the 2nd Cavalry Division-of which the
9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments (4th Cavalry Brigade) were a part
of-became all black, the army decided to break up the brigade
by sending the 9th Cavalry to Fort Clark, Texas and the 10th Cavalry
to Lockett. As a result both camps had to be significantly expanded
to accommodate the troops and horses. (65)
Since San Diego was the closest urban center to Campo, Lockett
offered obvious advantages. With the arrival of both the Southern
Land Frontier Sector and the 4th Cavalry Brigade, expansion of
Lockett's facilities was essential. Beginning in 1941 with the
camp's construction, the army continued to acquire more property
beyond the 702 acres initially procured. Utilized primarily for
staging and maneuvering activities, the army acquired 2,358 acres
of public land from the Department of the Interior and 4,047 acres
from private landowners. In total, the military controlled over
7,107 acres of land in Campo Valley. The facility extended five
miles from east to west and nearly three miles north and south.
(66)
At Lockett, the 10th Cavalry performed the
same duties as their predecessors -- patrolling the border, guarding
the dams, and providing security for the trains. In addition,
in late December of 1942, the 10th participated in war games against
the 140th Infantry. (67) Headquartered during the war in San Diego,
the infantry soldiers maneuvered against the cavalry in the mountains
at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. (68) According to J. Hal Gambrell,
who was a white officer with the 10th, the infantry was no match
for the horse soldiers.
The cavalry worked around the hills keeping
out , of sight and spotted some infantrymen in an open field.
The cavalry worked its way down through the forest, spread out
in a line, drew pistols and charged. Needless to say a rout ensued
with several hundred horses baring down on the infantry and all
pan- demonium broke loose. The cavalry camped for the night and
the following morning made a forced march of 44 miles back to
Camp Lockett. (69)
Back in the fall of 1942, the army decided
to bring the 4th Brigade to full wartime strength by locating
a second black regiment, the 28th Cavalry, at Lockett. (70) In
response, construction crews were called on again to build new
roads and install utilities west of the original camp on leased
property owned by the Leach and Ortega families. (71) The lease
agreement between the army and local residents, initially signed
on 15 October 1942, permitted the government to renew the contract
every year until six months following the end of the war. (72)
To accommodate the increase of personnel
stationed at Lockett, the army had new barracks, warehouses, mess
halls, and stables quickly erected. Many of the same contractors
involved in the initial phases of construction performed the work.
They also built a new stockade in anticipation of the expected
increase in disciplinary problems, a direct correlation to the
greater number of troops. (73)
To further consolidate its control over
Camp Lockett, the army persuaded the San Diego County Board of
Supervisors to relinquish control of County Road 767, which connected
Highway 94 with the Mexican border. According to a newspaper,
the county agreed to vacate the road because "the surrounding
property has been purchased by the government." Of particular
interest, the army made public its long-range intention "that
Camp Lockett will be maintained as a permanent post after victory."
(74)
Even though the army acquired control of
the road, William H. Woolman, deputy collector of customs, announced
that the customs house in Campo would continue to operate. Woolman
declared that "it is possible that a new vehicular traffic
route will have to be opened from the customs station to Jacumba,
but this necessarily will be a post-war project." For the
time being, the road connecting Campo to Mexico was permanently
closed. Approximately twelve miles west of Campo, Tecate was now
the closest border crossing. (75)
In order to bring the 4th Brigade to full
strength, the 28th Cavalry was activated at Camp Lockett on 25
February 1943. (76) Under the command of Col. Edwin M. Burnett,
the 28th Cavalry secured its manpower
primarily from eastern and midwestern reception centers. 300 men
[came] from the 2nd Service Command: New Jersey, Delaware, and
New York. 170 men were received from the 3rd Service Command:
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. 600 men were received from
the 5th Service Command: Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, and Kentucky.
327 men were received from the 6th Service Command: Illinois,
Michigan, and Wisconsin. The colonel greeted his new troops on
26 March 1943, and their basic training started on the 29th of
March. (77)
To provide the troops with mounts, Colonel
Burnett personally picked 369 horses from Fort Bliss, Texas. An
additional 1,080 horses came from the Remount Station at Fort
Robinson, Texas. (78)
The cadre (79) for the new regiment came
from the 10th Cavalry. (80) Presumably, the more experienced and
better trained men who came over from the 10th would be able to
help the new recruits coming in from the induction centers.
But cadres for new African-American units
often created problems because there were not enough well-trained
black soldiers to meet the army's needs. Before the country began
mobilizing for war, only four regular all black regiments-two
cavalry and two infantry- existed. Despite the fact that the regular
units were supposed to be comprised of older well-disciplined
troops, these regiments were in need of training themselves. Although
the 10th Cavalry was classed as a combat regiment, the soldiers
in the unit were actually used as service troops at various posts
throughout the country. Consequently, the regiment was not well
trained and ill-equipped to give up its best men. (81)
In turn the newly formed units often complained
that the cadres could not meet their needs because there were
too few, and they were not as well trained as could be expected.
As a result, the "life-blood" of the old regiments was
being drained, and both the new and the old units received inadequate
training. (82)
This situation was exacerbated at Lockett
because there was a break down in the chain of command, and racism
appears to be at the root of the problem. According to Charles
Barrett, who was a white officer with the 28th Cavalry, there
were significant problems with training the new regiment at Lockett.
'There were some black agitators, and they were turning the privates
against the (10th's black) noncommissioned officers." Barrett
said that the agitators were telling the new recruits not to listen
to the black sergeants, "Col. Burnett (83) wasn't doing anything
about it; he wasn't standing behind the cadre." Barrett said
the Colonel undermined the cadre from the 10th because "Burnett
didn't care if the new recruits listened to the the (black) cadre
as long as they were following orders from the (white) officers."
(84)
The problems between the cadre and the enlisted
men in the 28th may have stemmed-in part- from the fact that most
of the new recruits who had made it through high school were better
educated than many of the old-timers who had little formal education.
(85) According to David Allen who served with the 10th Cavalry
and-until recently-was the historian for the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry
Association, problems in command also occurred because some white
officers resented the fact that they were attached to black units.
"They felt that being in a black regiment might hamper their
careers," said Allen. (86)
Although there were only about 300 white
soldiers (87) stationed at Lockett compared to approximately 3,500
black troops, segregation was strictly enforced, particularly
when it came to leisure activities. Although blacks and whites
went to the same movie house on the base, there was separate seating.
At the post hospital, white soldiers-regardless of their rank-were
assigned to private rooms separated from the black troops. There
was a hospitality house on the base for visiting girlfriends or
wives, but it was for whites only. (88)
Some of the black women who visited the
troops stayed on the nearby Campo Indian Reservation while others
stayed in an improvised house just off the base. According to
Fred Jones, who was a corporal with the 28th Cavalry, "the
house was built by black soldiers and made of discarded bulldozer
crates. We tied them together, and the wives wall-papered the
inside and put up curtains." (89)
Off the base, the same rules of behavior
applied. "We always hung out in the negro section of San
Diego. We never thought about going anywhere else in the city.
The U.S.O. was off limits to us," said Jones who also remembered
how difficult transportation was to come by. "We tried to
hitch a ride at the gate, and sometimes an army truck would take
us to town," But coming back to the base was a bigger problem
for the black soldiers because "We weren't allowed in the
same [train] cars as the whites, so we'd congregate at the depot
in San Diego until there were enough of us, and they'd [railroad
officials] put a separate car on the end of the train for us."
(90)
Jones said that the men seldom, if ever,
attempted to frequent bars or restaurants in the Campo area. "You
just knew not to go into places you weren't welcome." (91)
Consequently, the whites living in the small towns that dot the
back country had very little contact with the black soldiers.
In one rare documented case, a group of black soldiers were refused
service at a restaurant in Jacumba approximately thirty miles
east of Lockett. According to Liz Svensson, an Alpine resident
who witnessed the event:
I was driving on Old Highway 80 from El
Centro to San Diego. I stopped in Jacumba at a small restaurant
for a cup of coffee. While I was there a group of men [black soldiers]
came in for coffee, and they were refused service because of their
color. Their sergeant told the man behind the counter who these
men were, and where they were stationed [Camp Lockett]. He asked
him to serve them. The answer was that the coffee would be a $1.50
each, and he [counter man] would break the cups when they had
finished. (92)
The 28th Cavalry had its first dismounted regimental retreat parade
on 21 May 1943. With the Drum and Bugle Corps providing the field
music, Col. Edward J. Drinkert, executive officer of the 28th,
reviewed the troops. During basic training, a regimental field
day was organized on 11 June 1943. The program consisted of ten
events, including baseball, volleyball, track events, platoon
drills, and obstacle races. The victor was Weapons Troop, which
scored forty-three points out of a possible hundred. Second was
Troop C with thirty-five.(93)
The 28th Cavalry finished basic training
at Lockett on 26 June 1943. After passing an inspection by a team
from the 4th Cavalry Brigade, the regiment was allowed to proceed
with the 10th Cavalry. On Saturday, 24 July 1943, Brigadier General
Brown called for a full mounted review of the troops. (94) This
was the first mounted review for the 28th Cavalry. It was also
the first time that the brigade had acted as single unit. Reportedly,
the review was a success. (95)
Although the troops received extensive training
in the art of soldiering, they were not prepared for fighting
fires, a job they were often called upon to perform. According
to Col. William L. Hastie, who was stationed with the 10th Cavalry
at Lockett as a second lieutenant, "God knows most of us
didn't love fighting fires, [but] we often found ourselves doing
it on weekends when we had other things we would rather do."
(96)
In September and October of 1943, four major
fires ravaged 25,100 acres of the back country. On 9 September,
the Indian Creek Fire destroyed 4,100 acres. On 22 September,
two fires erupted; the Potrero fire burned 4,000 acres, the Viejas
fire 1,000 acres. The biggest and most devastating fire began
on 2 October. Known as the Barrett-CottonwoodMorena Fire, it destroyed
16,000 acres over a five-day period. (97)
Troops from Lockett were called on to fight
the fire. In addition, marines from a small training facility
in Pine Valley were trucked in. While fighting the blaze in Hauser
Canyon several miles northwest of Campo, five of the marines burned
to death when they were overtaken by the fast-moving fire. (98)
The following day on October 3, Cpl. Lawrence Carter was also
killed by the fire in Hauser Canyon. According to Hastie, Carter
became separated from the main body of soldiers fighting the fire.
When the corporal found himself surrounded by the fire, he attempted
to escape by running up a hill. He was unable to outrun the blaze.
(99)
In January of 1944, the 10th Cavalry's commanding
officer, Colonel Falck, was replaced by Col. Henry C. Hine, Jr.
(100) Before he left Lockett, Colonel Falck issued a memorandum
to: "All Units, 10th Cavalry." The one page letter,
"published for the information of all ranks," was an
attempt by the colonel to reassure his men. In his remarks, the
colonel expressed disappointment that the regiment would probably
never be called on to fight as a single unit. He told the troops
that he hoped that the regiment would be given an opportunity
to "play an effective part before the war is over."
But added that 'The object and destiny of this unit is still doubtful."
Nevertheless he exhorted the troops to continue to take pride
in their work. "This is your Regiment and it's a good one."
(101)
In 1943 the deployment of African-American
troops to overseas posts became an acute problem for the army.
Most theater commanders refused to take black troops, although
in some areas there were clear shortages of combat troops. As
a result, the percentage of black soldiers overseas was "considerably
less than proportionate to their over-all strength in the army."
(102)
The differences in the rate of deployment
of black and white troops in overseas operations produced outrage
in the "negro" press. The Crisis, a black journal, argued
that "There has been considerable talk that our men were
not being trained to fight." It believed that the army was
only going through the motions, and that when the time came, black
units would never be used in combat.(103)
Regarding the two black regiments at Lockett,
the press was right because the army decided to convert the 2nd
Cavalry Division, of which the 4th Cavalry Brigade was a part,
into service units. This decision came in spite of the fact that
the army considered the division "disciplined and enthusiastic"-
combat ready. (104) Jones remembered the disappointment many of
the men experienced. "When we left Lockett, we thought that
we were being shipped overseas to fight. None of the men-maybe
with the exception of the older troopers-thought we would be put
into service units." (105)
With the war confined to the European and
the Pacific theaters, the Southern Land Frontier Sector had already
been deactivated at Lockett. On 10 February 1944, the 28th Cavalry
departed Lockett aboard three trains headed east for Camp Patrick
Henry, Virginia. (106)
The following day, the 10th Cavalry left
Lockett. By March, both units were in Algeria. (107)
When they broke up the regiment some of
the men "cried," said Jones. (108) According to Barrett,
"The army was not being honest with these men, and the decision
was just poor judgment on their (army's) part. They should have
found a way to integrate them from the very beginning." (109)
Officially, the army denied that its decision
to break up the regiments was racially motivated. But according
to Judge William H. Hastie, (110) appointed by the Secretary of
War as a liaison between black civilians and the military. 'The
truth of the matter is that these original combat units have been
the problem children of the army for more then two years, not
because they were incompetent, but because no one wanted them."
(111)
Reflecting on his final days at Lockett,
Lt. James H. Willis expressed what many of the cavalrymen must
have felt, regardless of their race or rank: "In preparation
for the move, the horses were turned over to caretakers and we
lost our identities as cavalrymen." (112) Perhaps more important
was the fact that the era of the horse soldier had come to an
end.
With the cavalry gone, the army placed Lockett
into caretaker status, and a small complement of soldiers maintained
the facility. Sometime in April 1944, the army decided to redesign
Lockett into a Class I facility for eventual use as an army convalescent
hospital, the first such Army Services Forces facility in the
United States. (113) The army announced the establishment of the
hospital on 1 August 1944. On 5 August, the facility was named
Mitchell Convalescent Hospital in honor of Silas Weir Mitchell,
an army surgeon during the Civil War. 114 The hospital operated
until 1946 when the army closed the facility and returned the
property to civilian use.
Camp Lockett is undoubtedly an important
and interesting chapter of San Diego's history for several reasons.
Most obvious is the fact thatthroughout the war-the cavalry performed
its important missions, patrolling the Southern California border
and protecting resources vital to San Diego's war effort. During
the months before the United States entered the war, the soldiers
scouted the mountains and made defensive plans in the event of
a full-scale enemy invasion coming through Mexico. And in those
first few tense days after Pearl Harbor, the cavalry made sure
that the trains and trucks kept moving, the electric relay stations
remained operable, and the city's fresh water supplies continued
flowing,
The history of Camp Lockett is also an important
addition to San Diego's African-American heritage. Like their
white counterparts, the black horse soldiers did what was asked
of them. But unlike the white soldiers, they were forced to endure
numerous obstacles to serving their country. Even so, they performed
with distinction. Ironically, coming at a time when Americans
were fighting on two fronts to combat racist ideologies, the events
at Lockett clearly demonstrate the inherent bigotry within our
own military during World War II - no doubt a microcosm of civilian
life.
Yet perhaps Lockett's most enduring legacy
is the fact that it was the last horse cavalry base built in the
United States, and that the events played out there between 1941
and 1944 represent the end of a long and distinguished era in
American history. Machines had taken over. It was time for the
horse soldier to dismount, and the final chapter was played out
in San Diego's own backyard.
Footnotes
1. Commissioned Lt. General in December
1939, DeWitt had discretionary authority over military and civilian
affairs throughout the western part of the United States.
2. James W. Hinds, "The Camp Lockett
Military Reservation: Campo, California" (1985), unpublished
manuscript, Mountain Empire Historical Society Collection, Campo,
California, 14.
3. War Department Office of the Chief Engineer,
"Construction Completed Report," Cantonment Housing
for the 11th United States Cavalry, 11 March 1942, Records Group
77, National Archives, Washington, 4. Also see Camp Lockett Construction
Folder, Mountain Empire Historical Society Collection, Campo,
California.
4. Hinds, "Camp Lockett," 4.
5. War Department, "Construction Completed
Report," 6.
6. "Water Allotted to Cavalry Camp,"
unidentified newspaper clipping, 6 October 1940, Campo Vertical
Folder, San Diego Historical Society, San Diego, California.
7. Ibid.
8. The facility was named in honor of Col.
James T. Lockett who command thellth Cavalry from 1913-1919 and
was twice decorated for gallantry in action during the war in
the Philippines. (see) Annual Report, Association of Graduates,
Obituary Notice Colonel James T. Lockett, United States Military
Academy, 1934, 11th Cavalry Box, Mountain Empire Historical Society,
Campo, California.
9. "11th Cavalry On Way To S.D., Valley
Camps," unidentified newspaper clipping, 11th Cavalry Box
3, Mountain Empire Historical Society Collection, Campo, California.
10. Presidio of Monterey: 1938, A Pictorial
Record, Park-Harper Company, Little Rock, Arkansas, 38-41. 11th
Cavalry Box, Mountain Empire Historical Society Collection, Campo,
California.
11. "11th Cavalry On Way To S.D., Valley
Camps." unidentified newspaper clipping.
12. "Rain Greets U.S. Army Regiment
1st Day in I.V." Imperial Valley Press, El Centro, CA. 1.
13. James W. Hinds, Camp Lockett News, vol.
1, no. 3, September-October 1987, 9,
Mountain Empire Historical Society Collection,
Campo, California.
14. "Mechanized Army Still Relies On
Horses," Los Angeles Times, 26 November 1940, Part II, no
page numbers. 11th Cavalry Folder, 1940-1941, Camp Morena, 11th
Cavalry Box, Mountain Empire Historical Society Collection, Campo,
California.
15. "Day of Horse Not Past as llth
Cavalry Guards Mountainous S.D. Area; Regiment of 250 Concentrated
at Morena Lake in Rugged Terrain," The Tribune-Sun, 26 November
1940, 6:1.
16. Ibid.
17. "Border Duty for Cavalry,"
Los Angeles Times, 26 November 1940, 11th Cavalry Box, Mountain
Empire Historical Society Collection, Campo, California.
18. When the terrain was suitable, the regiment
used armored jeeps, equipped with twoway radios, one fifty caliber
and two thirty caliber machine guns, for reconnaissance missions.
19. Headquarters and Service Troop, 11th
Cavalry, "Reconnaissance Report of Otay Lake, California."
11th Cavalry Special Missions Folder, 11th Cavalry, Box 3, Mountain
Empire Historical Society Collection, Campo, California.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid.
22. Col. Harold M. Rayner, Camp Seeley,
Imperial, California, To Friends of the 11th Cavalry, S-2 File,
History of the 11th Cavalry, Sgt. Harry E. Smith Box, Mountain
Empire Historical Society Collection, Campo, California.
23. When asked, local residents say they
cannot recall ever seeing war games being played between United
States and Mexican troops. Although there are numerous documents
detailing such war games, most probably they were played out on
paper only.
24. G-2 Estimate of the Enemy Situation,
Sgt. Harry E. Smith Box, Mountain Empire Historical Society Collection,
Campo, California.
25. Capt. H. J. Rosenberg, "A Rather
Rugged Ride," The Cavalry Journal, September-October 1941,
89.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid., 91.
28. War Department, "Construction Completed
Report," 10.
29. Ibid., 8
30 Ibid. 31. "800 Strike, Halt Work
on Campo Cavalry Project," San Diego Union, 18 August 1941,
no page number, Camp Lockett Box, Mountain Empire Historical Society
Collection, Campo, CA.
32. "Workers Return to U.S. Army job
at Campo," San Diego Union, 20 August 1941, no page number,
Camp Lockett Box, Mountain Empire Historical Society Collection,
Campo, CA.
33. Ibid.
34. Lt. Col. James D. Green, Retired, Leesburg,
VA, to James W. Hinds, Alpine, California, 8 February 1987, 11th
Cavalry Box, Mountain Empire Historical Society Collection, Campo,
California.
35. Col. H. M. Rayner, 11th Cavalry, "The
11th's New Home," The Cavalry Journal, September-October
1941,94.
36. War Department, "Construction Completed
Report," 7.
37. "The 11th Goes Home: A Diary of
Events," The Cavalry Journal, January-February 1942,99.
38. Ibid.
39. Ibid.
40. Ibid.
41. According to the anonymous author of
"The 11th Goes Home: A Diary of Events," "Col.
H.M. Rayner was phoned at 1 P.M. by the 4th Army who ordered that
a certain defense plan, one of many previously created for such
an emergency, be put into effect. Let's call it Defense Plan Number
0, since its name can't be mentioned here."
42. Ibid., 99.
43. Ibid.
44. While at Seeley, Colonel Rayner became
ill and was replaced by Colonel Herr.
45. "The 11th Goes Home," 101.
46. Ibid.
47. Meredith Vezina, "Ben Wyly,"
San Diego Union, 21 March 1993, 131.
48. Ibid.
49. Ibid.
50. Ibid.
51. Ibid.
52. Stetson Conn, Rose C. Engelmen, Byron
Fairchild, United States Army in World War II: Western Hemisphere,
Guarding the United States and Its Outpost (Washington D.C.: Government
Printing Office, 1964), p 84
53. Congress, House, Committee on Military
Affairs, To Prohibit Prostitution Within Reasonable Distance of
Military and Naval Establishments: Hearing Before the Committee
on Military Affairs, 77th Congress, H. R. 2475, 11, 12, 18 March
1941 (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1941), 3-11.
54. "Vice Segregation at Army: Camp
Wins Official Nod," Imperial Valley Press, El Centro, CA.
24 October 1941, 6:5-7.
55. Wyly Interview, 26 March 1986, Mountain
Empire Historical Society Collection, Campo, California.
56. Col. Charles E. Fife AUS (Ret.), Fountain
Valley, California, To James W. Hinds, Alpine, California, 4,
Mountain Empire Historical Society Collection, l1th Cavalry Box,
Col. Fife serves as the 11th Cavalry's S-3-Air Officer.
57. Col. Charles E. Fife, AUS (Ret.), Fountain
Valley, California to James Hinds, Alpine, California, 8 November
1987, 5, Mountain Empire Historical Society Collection, 10th Cavalry
Box,Campo, California.
58. On 17 March 1941, the War Department
directed that the continental United States be divided into four
strategic areas (northeast, central, southern, and western) to
be called defense commands. These commands were composed primarily
of administrative personnel responsible for planning the defense
of their areas. The SLFS was charged with administering southern
Arizona and southern California.
59. Fife to Hinds, 8 November 1987, 5.
60. William H. Leckie, The Buffalo Soldiers:
A Narrative of the Negro Cavalry in the West (Norman: University
of Oklahoma Press, 1967), 3-5.
61. Ibid., 6-7.
62. Col. H. B. Wharfield, USAF, (Ret.),
Tenth Cavalry and Border Fights (El Cajon, CA: n.p., 1965), 85-97.
63. Ibid., 98-101.
64. Ulysses Lee, The Employment of Negro
Troops: The United States Army in World War II, Special Studies
(Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1966), 100-106
65. Ibid., 106
66. Lands Division, Office of the Judge
Advocate General, Final Projects Map, Real Estate, Camp Lockett
Cantonment Area, Record Group 153, National Archives Washington,
D.C., 27 April 1944.
67. It is unclear whether or not the entire
infantry regiment participated in the exercise.
68. J. Hal Gambrell to James Hinds, 3 November
1989, Box titled Military Research, General Correspondence, Mountain
Empire Historical Society Collection, 10th Cavalry Box, Campo,
CA.
69. Ibid.
70. James Hinds, "Me 28th Cavalry,"
Camp Lockett News 2, no 1 (January-February 1988): 1.
71. War Assets Administration, Supplemental
Agreement No. 2, Lease No. W-3460-Eng-565 Camp Lockett Box, Leases
and Quit Claim Deed, Mountain Empire Historical Society Collection,
Campo, California.
74, "Vacating of 2-Mile Highway,"
unidentified newspaper clipping, June 1943, Campo Vertical File,
San Diego Historical Society, San Diego, California.
75 Ibid.
76 This word signifies that the 28th Cavalry
was a new regiment first formed at Camp Lockett, as opposed to
the 10th Cavalry which came to Campo as a unit.
77. Hinds, "The 28th Cavalry,"
2.
78. Col. Sidney L. Loveless, USAR (Ret.),
"History of the Twenty-Eighth Cavalry Regiment," from
his World War II diary, 28th Cavalry Box, Mountain Empire Historical
Society Collection, Campo, California.
79. A cadre is a "parent group"
of more experienced soldiers taken from another unit to form the
core of a new unit.
80. Phone conversation between author and
David Allen, Wichita, Kansas, 21 February 1993. Allen was a master
sergeant with the 28th Cavalry.
81. Lee, Employment of Negro Troops, 107-108
82. Ibid., 107.
83. Col. Edward M. Burnett was 47 years
old when he assumed command of the 28th Cavalry Regiment at Lockett
in 1943.
84. Phone conversation between the author
and Charles Barett, Los Angeles, CA, 21 February 1993.
85. Phone conversation between the author
and Fred Jones, Los Angeles, CA 1 March 1993. Fred Jones was a
corporal with the 28th Cavalry.
86. Phone conversation between author and
David Allen, 21 February 1993
87. This numerical figure of the white personnel
at Lockett was arrived at by calculating the number of troops
with the Southern Land Frontier Sector, 70 enlisted and 11 staff
officers; 63 officers with the 28th Cavalry and 63 officers with
the 10th Cavalry; and 72 service command units.
88. Phone conversation between the author
and Leroy Higdon, New Florence, Missouri, 21 February 1993.
89. Phone conversation between author and
Fred Jones, 1 March 1993
90. Ibid.
91. Ibid.
92. Liz Svensson, Alpine California to The
Mountain Empire Historical Society, Campo CA, 20 August 1990,
10th Cavalry Box, Mountain Empire Historical Society, Campo, CA.
93. Loveless, "History of the Twenty-Eighth
Cavalry Regiment."
94. Full mounted reviews were conducted
in a large open field located between Highway 94 and the track
of the San Diego-Arizona Railway.
95. Loveless, "History of the Twenty-Eighth
Cavalry Regiment."
96. Col. William L. Hastie, USAR, Pismo
Beach, California to James Hinds, Alpine, California, 13 June
1987, 5, Mountain Empire Historical Society Collection, 10th Cavalry
Box, Campo, California.
97. San Diego Union, 7 October 1943, sec.
B, p. 1.
98. San Diego Union, 5 October 1943, 1-2.
99. Col. William L. Hastie to Jim Hinds,
13 June 1987, 10 Cavalry Box, Mountain Empire Historical Society
Collection, Campo, CA.
100. Hinds, "10th Cavalry," 6.
101. Col. Falck to All Units 10th Cavalry,
18 December 1943, 10th Cavalry Box, Mountain Empire Historical
Society, Campo, CA.
102. Lee, The Employment of Negro Troops
492-494.
103. "Maneuvers Nail Life," The
Crisis (June 1943) 167.
104. Lee, The Employment of Negro Troops,
494.
105. Phone conversation, Fred Jones with
the author, 1 March 1993.
106. Hinds, "28th Cavalry," 4.
107. Ibid.
108. Phone conversation, Fred Jones with
the author, 1 March 1993.
109. Phone conversation, Charles Barrett
with the author, 22 February 1993.
110. Judge William H. Hastie, Dean of Howard
University Law School, was appointed "Civilian Aide on Negro
Affairs" to Secretary Stimson. Hastie was the first African-American
to be appointed a federal judge.
111. Lee, Employment of Negro Troops.
112. James H. Willis, Greensboro, North
Carolina, to James Hinds, Alpine, California, 27 May 1987, Mountain
Empire Historical Society Collection, 10th Cavalry Box, Campo,
California.
114. Army Service Forces, Ninth Service
Command, Office of the Command Officer, "Annual Report of
Hospital -- 1945, " Mitchell Convalescent Hospital Box, Mountain
Empire Historical Collection, Campo, California, 1.
Meredith Vezina is an instructor
at San Diego State University in Calexico. She received B.A. and
M.A. degrees in history at San Diego State. Ms. Vezina is also
a free-lance writer with numerous articles published in the Los
Angeles Times Magazine, the San Diego Business Journal, and the
San Diego Union-Tribune. She is the founder of the Gaskill Brothers
Museum in Campo, California and from 1986-1992 was the museum's
executive director.
Camp Lockett
By Justin M. Ruhge, Goleta Valley Historical
Society
Named in honor of James Lockett born October 31, 1855. He entered
the West Point Army Military Academy July 1, 1875 and served at
the front during the Spanish-American War. He became a Colonel
in the Army and retired June 30, 1919, after forty-four years
of service. He died on May 4, 1933.
Camp Lockett was a sprawling military base
on the Mexican border about 60 miles southeast of San Diego. Camp
Lockett was home to the all-black 28th Regiment and the 10th cavalry,
the Buffalo Soldiers. White officers led the regiments because
public law, at the time, forbade black soldiers from being promoted
above sergeant. The commander was Colonel Waldemar Falck. For
18 months in 1942 to 1943, the black troops trained in the mountains
of eastern San Diego County, preparing for the day when they would
be called upon to fight for their country. Black soldiers had
only been used for service commands because of segregation in
the Army. The 10th Calvary was used to protect the Mexican border
and guard railroads and dams.
Early in 1942 the all-white 11th Cavalry
from the Presidio of Monterey was assigned to Lockett. However
it was sent overseas in June 1942 and replaced by the 4th Cavalry
Brigade. The brigade was changed so that the 9th Cavalry was sent
to Fort Clark, Texas and the 10th to Camp Lockett. The Army did
not want an all-black brigade. However, months later the Army
reconstituted the 4th Cavalry Brigade with the 28th Regiment and
the 10th Cavalry. The 4th was part of the 2nd Cavalry Division,
an all-black unit. The Army then converted the 2nd Cavalry Division
into service units instead of sending the trained and hardened
soldiers to the front to fight.
Lockett also became headquarters for the
Southern Land Frontier Sector composed of primarily white administrative
personnel. There were 3,500 black troops and 300 whites at Camp
Lockett.
Then in February 1944, the Southern Land
Frontier Sector was deactivated at Lockett and the 28th and 10th
Cavalry were sent to Camp Patrick Henry, Va. where they were given
new weapons and shipped to North Africa. There the regiments were
disbanded and the troops sent to Italy as an engineer company
and later reassigned as a quartermaster truck company.
With the departure of the 4th Cavalry Brigade,
Camp Lockett was redesignated as part of the Ninth Service Command
into a Class I Army Medical facility, the first military convalescent
hospital in the United States. The new facility was called the
Mitchell Convalescent Hospital in honor of Civil War Union Army
surgeon Silas Weir Mitchell. Mitchell was a rehabilitation facility.
After recovering from acute injuries at other Army hospitals around
the country, soldiers were sent to Mitchell, where they could
participate in programs designed to ease their transition back
into civilian life. Colonel Joseph E. Campbell was the commanding
officer. The old Camp Lockett barracks and hospital were completely
renovated to the standards of a modern hospital and many new buildings
added.
By January 1, 1946, Mitchell had a complement
of 91 officers, 320 enlisted men and 265 civilian employees, serving
the needs of approximately 1,500 patients. In addition, several
hundred Italian prisoners-of-war were interned on the west end
of the facility. The Italian POWs became an important source of
labor at the hospital.
The hospital newspaper was called The
Acorn, printed every Friday.
Mitchell Hospital continued to function
throughout the winter of 1945 and 1946. In June 19, 1946, the
hospital was declared surplus, and all 405 buildings were placed
into caretaker status. The Army began disposing of the Camp Lockett
location in 1949. On September 15, 39 acres were transferred to
the local school district. All the leased land reverted to the
original owners. Approximately 600 acres were transferred to the
County of San Diego
References: Traditions San Diego's Military
Heritage, February 1995, Vol. 1, No. 9, pg. 3; Traditions
San Diego's Military Heritage, March/April 1996, Vol. 2, No.
9, pg. 16. Campo, San Diego County.
Army Corps
of Engineers Acquisition, Improvement and Disposal History
The Army acquired 7,111.748
acres for Camp Lockett as follows:
702.438 acres in fee from
private parties and the County of San Diego between 30 November
and 23 December 1942;
2,358.09 acres in Use
Permit from the Department of Interior (DOI) on 5 October 1943.
3,847.49 acres in lease
from private parties, circa 1942 1943
203.73 acres in lesser
interests (permit, license, and easement) from private parties,
the City of San Diego, and the San Diego & Arizona Eastern
Railroad between 11 July 2.941 and 29 August 1945.
The Army used Camp Lockett
initially for cavalry training and border defense. Over 400 buildings
were constructed, including barracks, administration buildings,
a hospital, water and sewage treatment plants, two gas stations,
stables, and recreational facilities. Additionally, several arms
training areas were located on the property. In 1944 Mitchell
Convalescent Hospital and a prisoner of war camp were established
on the site.
The Army disposed of 7,111.748
acres, total. Between 1 July 1943 and 18 April 1947 ,3,457.49
acres in lease were cancelled. On 9 July 1948, 2,358.09 acres
in Use Permit were retransferred to the Department of Interior.
Permits with private parties were terminated on 18 April 1946
for 160.0 acres, and 15 larch 1947 for 40.0 acres. On 30 September
1946, the war Assets Administration assumed accountability for
1, 096.1.68 acres which were disposed of as follows: 113.0 acres
in lease terminated on 1. April 1947; 671.21. acres in fee quitclaimed
to the County of San Diego on 7 June 1950 (acreage includes an
Exception of 36.4 acres in fee quitclaimed to the Mountain Empire
.High School. District on 15 September 1.249); and 277.0 acres
in two leases, 31.228 acres in fee, and 3.73 acres in lesser interests
disposed of by means unknown. Over 70 buildings remain, most of
which are in use by private parties and the County of San Diego
for housing, school, community, or commercial purposes.
Source:
Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District
Mitchell Convalescent
Hospital
With mechanization and departure of the
cavalry the Camp was converted for use as Mitchell Convalescent
Hospital. As many as 200 Italian, prisoners of war were assigned
to Camp Lockett from the larger Camp Haan in Riverside County.
They worked in hospital services, mess halls, warehouses, shops
and on the roads and grounds. The stockade in which they were
housed never had a locked gate! None tried to escape. Campo residents
describe them as being cheerful, singing as they went out on
their work parties and feeling lucky to be alive. Their masonry
work is still evident at many locations about the Camp.
The expanse of the Camp is still apparent
and nearly all the structures within the site today are of World
War II construction. George Duckworth's barn was an Army blacksmith
shop. The gymnasium constructed in 1943 on Sheridan Drive was
used later by the Mountain Empire Union High School until occupancy
of the new facility on Buckman Springs Road half way between
Campo and Pine Valley in 1976. The gymnasium building is now
the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Car Shop. The Camp Lockett
complex was declared surplus by the General Services Administration
June 19, 1946. By 1949 thirty-nine acres with all improvements
had been transferred to the Mountain Empire Union School District
for use as the Junior and Senior High School. San Diego County
acquired 600 acres with all improvements in 1950.
Army Units
Assigned to Camp Lockett and Mitchell Convalescent Hospital
Data Source
Date(s)
Unit(s)
Army
of the United States Station List
1
June 1943
Band (10th Calvalry Regiment
(Colored)) (WDC)
Southern Land Frontier Sector,
Western Defense Command (WDC)
