Looking for something to see in the many miles of hot dry desert on a Hwy I-10 between Phoenix and Los Angeles? You might miss the small sign marking the General George Patton Museum at CA Exit #153. A strange place for a military museum I thought until I discovered it was the location of the WW II Desert Training Center in the fight against German General Rommel in Libya. Conveniently, there is also a truck stop there and plenty of parking.
The outspoken Patton was enamored with the deserts endless terrain perfectly suited for armored combat training. The Desert Training Center was established in March, 1942, near Shavers Summit, (now known as Chiriaco Summit), today’s location of the Patton Museum. It became the largest army training facility in the United States. During the course of the war the Desert Training Center trained 60 divisions and more than one million soldiers.
The area’s name was changed to the California-Arizona Maneuver Area, consisting of Patton’s headquarters at Camp Young and 10 other camps. Ultimately taking up and area 350 miles wide by 250 miles deep; from Pomona, California eastward to Phoenix, Arizona, and from Yuma, Arizona north to Boulder City, Nevada. CAMA was the world’s largest military installation in both size and population. In late July of 1943, for example, there were 10,966 officers, 514 flight personnel, 604 nurses and hospital attendants and 179,536 enlisted personnel assigned to the camps, for a total of 191,620.
The General Patton Memorial Museum is a military history museum with exhibits ranging from World War I through the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Established in 1988 to honor the memory of General George Patton, the museum is located at the heart of the Desert Training Center from World War II. There is also a memorial for the Vietnam soldiers in the front of the building.
If you served in the military between 1959 and 1975 then YOU are a Vietnam veteran, and the General Patton Memorial Museum would like YOUR name etched into the black granite plaques of the Vietnam Memorial Wall. It is a great opportunity to honor those you love. The cost is only $10.00 per name. You can order for 1 name or if you order for a group of ten or more your plaque will be personalized with the name of an organization or any name you choose. Just click the link here to apply.
In the museum you will see a 3D-model mapping the Mohave Desert area. Enjoy a 25 minute movie of Patton’s life. Rooms of memorabilia of the World War and subsequent wars fill the space for a self-guided tour. Quietly enter the holocaust room dedicated to those who lost their lives in the concentration camps.
Outside are the tanks display and a small chapel to sit in repose and remembrance of the lives lost, the World Wars, the men who bravely fought, and the man whose destiny it was to lead, Major General George Smith Patton Jr. I’m glad we took the time to stop and see it!
General George S. Patton Memorial Museum
Chiriaco Summit, CA 92201
Open daily 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Admission: $5
760-227-3483
Chiriaco Summit, CA
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