Camp Young

In anticipation of sending the battalion to fight the Nazis on the African continent, the Army sent the unit to California's Mojave Desert for additional training at the General George S. Patton Desert Training Center. Renamed Camp Young in 1943, this area was 250 miles wide and 350 miles deep, stretching from Indio, California to Yuma, Arizona.

The battalion arrived at Camp Young on August 5, 1942, joining 800,000 other soldiers. During the five months that followed, they moved at all hours of the night, and were up before the sun. For days on end all the men had to eat was Army rations in the form of canned goods.

But it was not all work and no play. The town of Indio had plenty of liquor.

October 19 — Our office filing cabinet is the top my helmet, pockets and head. This is the front of our 1/2 track and that is sand. First Sergeant and myself. That roller on front is for hard banks and not soft sand. Rolls right up. Some have a wench instead.

October 27 — Just starting to town. No tie required here.

October 31 — Coffee time. Two or three spoons full in hot water. We drank it that way. Concentrated coffee. Rocks aren't so bad right here. They slept good. Our desert home.