MCB CAMP PENDLETON: THE EARLY DAYS SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, SAN DIEGO CHAPTER MAY 20, 2017

SLIDE 1. Logo Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Dick Rothwell. Thank you for the delicious breakfast. I am the president of the Camp Pendleton Historical Society. I am very happy to be here this morning representing the our Society before the San Diego Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. On behalf of my wife, Ann, and fellow Board member, retired Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant Mike Lewis, than you for the invitation and for the delicious breakfast. Your invitation gives me the opportunity to talk about one of my favorite subjects -- the history of Camp Pendleton to members of an organization that I admire.

SLIDE 2. SAR & CPHS Our two organizations share a common interest, a bond if you will, in patriotism and history.

In today’ self-centered world patriotism does not just happen. It must be instilled. It comes as a result of our citizens’ knowledge and pride in our nation’s history and the accomplishments and sacrifices of those who came before us. That knowledge must be taught and re-taught to each generation. Without organizations such as the SAR that are dedicated to keeping our nation’s history alive, people will lose site of their heritage and patriotism, as we know it, will fade away. You do a great service to our country for which I thank you.

SLIDE 3. Title As many of you are aware, 2017 marks the 75th anniversary of Camp Pendleton. This morning I want to tell you how about how Camp Pendleton came to be. I call it Camp Pendleton at 75.

SLIDE 4. Two Tracks It is a long, multi-track story. One track is the land. The other is the Marine Corps. Then there is the story of how the two came together.

I don’t want to keep you too long on a Saturday morning, so I will go through the story of the land rather quickly, telling you just enough to put things into perspective. My focus will be on the Marines in Southern California and how they and the land came together.

SLIDE 5. Camp Pendleton Sign

I suspect that when most people hear or read the words “Camp Pendleton” they automatically think “U.S. Marines.” That’s understandable since the Marines have been here longer than some people in this room have been alive. From a more distant perspective, however, the Marine Corps presence is just the latest chapter a long, rich history.

All slide 6 graphics appear on one slide in the PDF version of the presentation SLIDE 6A. Divers History/Indians For thousands of years this land was home to our Native Americans.

SLIDE 6B. Mission SLR It was once part, a relatively small part, of the huge and hugely successful Mission San Luis Rey. I might add that Oceanside, Vista, Carlsbad, and Encinitas share that heritage.

SLIDE 6C. Cattle Ranch For 100 years before Marines came, Camp Pendleton was part of Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores, a very successful cattle ranch, probably the largest in California.

SLIDE 6D. Amphib. Training Base It is only in the last 75 years that it has been the world’s largest amphibious training base.

SLIDE 7. Enduring Features One of the most endearing and enduring features of Camp Pendleton is that unlike so much of surrounding Southern California, the men and women who lived all of those stories would recognize large tracts of Camp Pendleton if they could just walk its hills and canyons once more.

SLIDE 8. Portola In 1769, during the last part of the Chapter 1, Gaspar de Portola passed through present day Camp Pendleton on his way to Monterey. He paused long enough to name the river in the southern part of the base the Santa Margarita, because he camped there on the feast day of St. Margret of Antioch. Two days later as the party reached the northern part of the Base, Franciscan missionaries accompanying him performed the first Christian baptism in Alta California on two young, Indian girls. The area where that occurred is known as Christianitos to this day.

SLIDE 9. Mission SLR When Mission San Luis Rey opened in 1798 Camp Pendleton fell under its umbrella. And, a huge umbrella it was. Mission lands included Camp Pendleton, the Fallbrook Naval Weapons Station Annex, Oceanside, Vista, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Fallbrook, Pala, Temecula, all the way to Warner Springs – over 950,000 acres. To give you some perspective, Camp Pendleton, which today is about 125,000 acres comprised only about 13% of the mission. The mission was so large that the Franciscans divided it into a series of ranches. One of them was Rancho Santa Margarita, which comprised what is now the southern part of Camp Pendleton today.

All slide10 graphics appear on one slide in the PDF version of the presentation SLIDE 10A. Mexican Revolution 1821 Following the successful Mexican revolution of 1821

SLIDE 10B. Secularization the new government began to secularize the missions. This movement reached Alta California in 1833. As the Franciscan missions were sent home, the territorial governor appointed civilian administrators to keep the old missions productive. That was a euphonium for keeping the Indians working.

SLIDE 11. Picos Ranch Administrators Two brothers, Andre and Pio Pico, became administrators for San Luis Rey. Several years later, in 1842, the Mexican governor of Alta California, Juan Batista Alvarado, deeded almost 90,000 acres of former mission land, Rancho Santa Margarita, to the Pico brothers. As I mentioned earlier, that grant formed the southern part of present day Camp Pendleton.

SLIDE 12. Rancho LMyLF Of the brothers Pio was interested in ranching while Andre wanted to be a soldier. Pio built a modest two-bedroom adobe home on a low hill near the Santa Margarita River that was the beginning of the present day Camp Pendleton Ranch House. He then began adding additional former mission land to his ranch, expanding it to 133,000 acres, known as known as Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores.

SLIDE 13. John Forster Pio was a gambler and an unsuccessful businessman. So in 1864, plagued by personal debt, he sold Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores to his brother in law, an English immigrant to Mexico known as Don Juan Forster.

SLIDE 14 Ranch map Don Juan’s owned former mission land in present day Orange County that abutted Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores. With those the rancho ballooned to over 200,000 acres, making it probably the largest ranch in California.

SLIDE 15. Forster’s Ranch House Don Juan expanded Pio’s modest two bedroom home into an impressive hacienda.

Like Pio Pico, Don Juan accumulated considerable debt, although mostly for reasons beyond his control. So, when he died in 1882 his heirs decided to sell the ranch.

SLIDE 16 Flood & O’Neill Don Juan’s heirs sold the 200,000 acre Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores to a partnership of two Irishmen: James C. Flood and Richard O’Neill.

SLIDE 17. Ranch House Flood was the investor. He lived in San Francisco. O’Neill, the rancher, moved his family into Don Juan’s Ranch House and began to manage the property.

SLIDE 18. Flood’s house Flood remained in his modest family home on Nob Hill in San Francisco.

All slide 19 graphics appear on one slide in the PDF version of the presentation SLIDE 19A. Flood & O’Neill

SLIDE 19B. James Jr. James C. Flood died about six years into the partnership and his son, James L. Flood (sometimes referred to James Jr. or James II), assumed his position in the partnership.

SLIDE 19C Jerome When Richard O’Neill died in 1908, his son, Jerome, took his place. So, the partnership continued under the leadership of the sons.

SLIDE 19D. Blank This arrangement lasted until 1926, when James L. Flood and Jerome O’Neill died within a day of each other. This unfortunate circumstance forced both families to address a very difficult question. What do we do with the land?

SLIDE 20 Ranch map The Floods, who for the most part lived in San Francisco, were the investors. They wanted to sell and divide the profit. The O’Neills, who had worked the land since 1882, wanted to keep it as a working cattle ranch. This loggerhead continued for a number of years. In the meantime control of the ranch passed to a bank acting as conservator.

SLIDE 21. Amphib. Training Base I hope that you now have a feel for the story of the land, so let’s the switch to the Marine’s story.

SLIDE 22. First to Fight Marines had long been proud of their aggressive nature in battle. One of their historic mottos, second only to Semper Fidelis, is First to Fight. But, when it came to recognizing the value of Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores as a training base,

SLIDE 23. Tail End Charlie the Corps was more like a tail end Charlie. As much as it pains me to tell you, Camp Pendleton could have become Fort Kearney or some such. It almost became an army base.

SLIDE 24. Gillispie Marines came to Southern California well before 1942. Gillespie Field, a civilian airport in El Cajon is named for Marine Lt. Archibald H. Gillespie. Gillespie came to California shortly before our war with Mexico that began in 1846. He spoke fluent Spanish, wore civilian clothing, and traveled with a cover story. He was a spy sent by for President James K. Polk to get the lay of the land in case war did break out. When it did, he stayed on to help the cause.

SLIDE 25. Battle of San Pasqual Lt. Gillispie, along with a handful of Marines, fought with General Kearney at the Battle of San Pasqual, near today’s San Diego Zoo Safari Park, in December of 1846. General Andres Pico led the Californios in that battle. Marines don’t talk much about that battle. Maybe it is because there were so few Marines involved. Or, maybe it was because by many reports the Californios won. They may have won the battle, but the United States won the war. Alta California would become the 31st state in our union.

SLIDE 26. Camp Thomas 1911 A substantial Marine presence in San Diego did not occur until 1911. You may or may not be surprised when I say that we were having boarder issues with Mexico way back then. It was not about drugs or illegal immigration, but rather plain old fashion banditry that arose from internal unrest in that country.

In response, President William Howard Taft embarked a Provisional Marine Brigade from bases in Washington State aboard three navy vessels, including two battleships, and sent them to San Diego as a show of force. The Marines established Camp Thomas on North Island with the entrances to their tents symbolically opening to the south, towards the boarder. In a more impressive symbol the ships with embarked Marines made several port calls on the Mexican west coast. The banditry subsided the Marines returned to their bases in Washington State.

SLIDE 27. Exposition 1915 Three years later the Marines returned to San Diego, this time only as a precaution for possible future boarder troubles. San Diego, a town of about 35,000 people was preparing for a two-year long Panama Exposition to be held in Balboa Park beginning in January 1915. It was a tremendous opportunity to attract investors and new residents. Civic leaders were concerned that banditry, if it broke out, would reduce the enthusiasm. So, with civic and political pressure the 4th Marine Regiment, comprised of Marines from the Northwest, came to town.

SLIDE 28. Col. Pendleton The regimental commander, Col. Joseph Henry Pendleton, had been recently promoted to his present grade, but brought 32 years of experience as a Marine officer. After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1884 he had served in the Philippine Islands, Guam, Nicaragua, and various post and stations. He was not only experienced, but was also a well-loved leader. Within the Corps he became known as “Uncle Joe.”

SLIDE 29. Camp Howard North Island Initially Col. Pendleton quartered his Marines in a tent camp on North Island known as Camp Howard.

SLIDE 30. Camp Balboa Later he placed a contingent in Balboa Park, where they served double duty: as a deterrent to banditry and as a popular attraction in the Exposition.

SLIDE 31. Inexpensive Entertainment The public could observe Marines in garrison and enjoy watching their exercises…

SLIDE 32. Band on Parade and band.

SLIDE 33. Col Pendleton Col. Pendleton was also a visionary. Within days of arrival in San Diego he addressed a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, where he advocated establishing a permanent Marine presence there – what was called an advanced base. The weather was perfect, there was a harbor, and the city was our closest West Coast point to the newly opened and strategically important Panama Canal. Col. Pendleton began to lobby his superiors in Washington D.C. to establish a permanent base here.

SLIDE 34. Marine Barracks SD His vision became reality. In 1919, after the end of World War I, San Diego began to drain and fill a marshy area around the rim of the bay known as Dutch Flats, and constructed Marine Barracks San Diego, now known as Marine Corps Recruit Depot. When it was completed in 1921, Pendleton, by then a brigadier general, attended the dedication. The 4th Marines made it their home.

When Pendleton retired in 1924 as a major general after 40 years of service he settled in Coronado. He served as mayor of that community from 1928-1930. During the last half of his term he served concurrently as the President of the San Diego chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution.

SLIDE 35. Machinegun Battery The 4th Marine Regiment and a number of supporting units were stationed there -- probably about one or two thousand men. The Marines trained in the nearby countryside, but as San Diego grew, good training areas became harder to find. This condition continued into the late 1930’s.

Keep in mind that this was happening in parallel with the dilemma at Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores to the north following the death of James C. Flood and Jerome O’Neill about the future of that ranch.

War broke out in Europe in 1939, when Germany attacked Poland. Recognizing that we might be pulled in to the conflict, Congress passed and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a Limited National War Powers act that gave the military certain authority to acquire civilian land for national defense needs.

SLIDE 36. Major General Vogel In turn, Major General Clayton B. Vogel, Commanding General, Fleet Marine Forces, San Diego, appointed a commission to find new training areas in San Diego County for his Marines.

All slide 37 graphics appear on one slide in the PDF version of the presentation SLIDE 37A. SD County The commission traveled throughout the county looking for training sites. They visited Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores, which was still under control of the bank, twice 1939 and 1940.

SLIDE 37B. Too Far From Flag Pole On each occasion, however, they reported that while there was plenty of training land, the ranch was too far away – too far from the flag pole – and that better areas were available closer to home in La Jolla and Kearny Mesa.

SLIDE 38. Army Base While the Marines demurred, the army began negotiations with the bank acting as conservator to purchase the ranch. Army leaders saw it as a potential base to stand up a new armored division. Negotiations were progressing until the army decided,

SLIDE 39. Steep Hills that the rugged hills and canyons on the ranch were not ideal for armored training and pulled out.

Still the Marines could not make up their minds.

SLIDE 40. Pearl Harbor It was not until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that the need for the ranch became clear. The Marines learned that unlike World War I, when they had fought in the trenches of Europe along side of the army, in this war they and the navy would be charged with developing and perfecting a new form of fighting – amphibious warfare. This required projecting sea power thousands of miles across the Pacific to seize heavily fortified Japanese islands.

SLIDE 41. Beach Front With this clarity the disadvantage of distance from the flagpole was overshadowed by the advantage of 17 miles of beach on which to practice amphibious assaults.

SLIDE 42 Camp Pendleton Map Once the mission was known, the Marines acted swiftly. By April 1942 they purchased all of Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores that remained in San Diego County – 125,000 acres – paying $4.2 million. If your mental long division skills are not what they once were that works out to about $34 and acre. Not a bad deal.

SLIDE 43 Joseph Pendleton General Pendleton died in February 1942, two months before the Marines completed the purchase of the ranch. Because of his vision of establishing a permanent Marine presence in San Diego and his personal popularity, the Marine Corps decided to name the new base in his honor. There was a problem, however. There was another Camp Pendleton, an army base at Virginia Beach, Virginia. Not to be deterred, the Marines simply named their new base, Camp Joseph H. Pendleton.

SLIDE 44. Ranch House (1942) I would like to report that the transition from cattle ranch to amphibious training base went smoothly. There were a few bumps along the way, however. One of them pertained to the Ranch House, which you see here as it looked in 1942.

The Marines were on a war footing, so did not have their families with them. The Ranch House was not needed as a home, but the Marines thought that it would serve well as a BOQ – bachelor officers’ quarters.

While this made perfect sense to the Marines, some members of the nearby civilian communities received it with horror. The venerable hacienda, home to Pio Pico, Don Juan Forster, and the O’Neill family for over 100 years, now a BOQ?

SLIDE 45. What Cost? You can imagine some of the thoughts that must have gone through some of their minds! Young, virile, unattached men! Free flowing whiskey! Wild women! Sure there was a war to win, but at what cost?

Telephone calls were made and letters written. The clamor reached all the way to our nation’s capital and to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

SLIDE 46. FDR at Ranch House So, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, arrived in September 1942 for the official dedication of Camp Pendleton, he was well aware of this issue. As the commander in chief, he could have handled the situation in a number of ways. I think he chose a wise and diplomatic approach. He told the Marines in effect that there was a war to win, which came first, but in so far as possible he wanted them to continue the old ranch traditions. To this day the Marines have been good stewards of the land and its history.

SLIDE 47. FDR at Camp Pendleton dedication. The the lady on the left of this picture is Mary Fay Pendleton, widow of General Pendleton. She is about to receive an American flag in his memory.

SLIDE 48. Japanese sub In 1942 there was concern about a Japanese attack on our West Coast. If their aircraft could attack Pearl Harbor, why not California as well? Japanese submarines were sinking our ships off the coast shelling our installations with their deck guns.

SLIDE 49. Mainside This concern contributed to two decisions regarding the construction. First, the major built up area was well inland, far out of range of any naval guns. It was much closer to the San Luis Rey Gate than today’s Main Gate.

SLIDE 50. Parade Ground Second, rather than place buildings in a typical military, parade ground style with them dressed right and covered down,

SLIDE 51. Defensive Construction they place them in a seemingly haphazard fashion. The theory was that an attacking aircraft would not be able to fly down the long axis of a row of buildings inflicting maximum damage. Rather, planes would have to target each building separately. Fortunately, the theory was never tested, but it did have an unattended consequence.

SLIDE 52. 9th Marines Arriving The 9th Marines was the first operational unit to train at Camp Pendleton. Led by Col Lemuel C. Shepherd, a future Commandant, the regiment marched to Camp Pendleton from Camp Elliott, near present day MCAS Miramar. Upon arrival Marines were guided to their new, randomly placed barracks where the dropped their gear and got cleaned up. As a reward for the long march Marines received area liberty with beer being served at the enlisted club. In large numbers they went to the club to drink and tell lies. When the club closed that night and the well-oiled Marines went outside in an alcohol induced fog, they found themselves in a pea soup natural fog had settled on Mainside. They had no idea how to find their new, randomly placed barracks. Rather than stumble around in the dark looking for their new homes, the Marines simply found the nearest buildings and went to sleep, leaving it to their officers and senior enlisted leaders to sort things out in the morning.

SLIDE 53 9th Marines Logo When the 9th Marines completed training, it deployed to the Pacific Theater to join the 3rd Marine Division and fight on Bougainville, Guam, and Iwo Jima.

SLIDE 54. 4th MarDiv Logo As soon as it departed the 4th Marine Division began forming at Camp Pendleton. In 1944 that division, my father included, boarded trains aboard Base that took them to San Diego where they embarked on ships and sailed directly to the amphibious assault on Roi-Namur in the Kwajalein Atoll. The division would go on to fight on Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima.

SLIDE 55. 5th MarDiv Logo The 5th Division formed on the heels of the 4th.

SLIDE 56. Mt. Suribachi Marines of the 5th Division raised the flag on Iwo Jima, an image immortalized by Joe Rosenthall’s famous photograph.

SLIDE 57. 6th MarDiv Logo Elements of the 6th Marine Division trained at Camp Pendleton and participated in the Battle for Okinawa.

When the war ended, all of those divisions were preparing for the invasion of the Japanese homeland and very quickly the Marine Corps began to draw down. The 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Divisions quickly deactivated.

SLIDE 58. 1st MarDiv Logo The 1st Marine Division that had formed in the Pacific in the early part of the war was ordered to occupation duty in China. It did not return to the States until 1947. When it did, it came to Camp Pendleton.

SLIDE 59. 1st MarDiv CP Camp Pendleton has been home to the 1st Marine Division since then. I say ‘home” loosely because Marines and sailors of the division have been deployed on many occasions answering our country’s call in the mountains of Korea, the jungles of Vietnam, the deserts of Kuwait, the poppy fields of Afghanistan, and the deadly streets of Iraqi cities. Today’s warriors stand ready to answer our country’s call whenever and wherever needed.

SLIDE 60. CPHS Logo Ladies and gentlemen, that completes my formal presentation. Before taking questions I would like to say that the Camp Pendleton Historical Society is 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to helping the Marine Corps preserve and tell all of these stories. We are always looking for a few good men and women to help us in that cause, as dues paying members, sponsors, or volunteers. I any of those roles interest you I invite you to visit our website at www.camppendletonhistoricalsociety.org (all one word). You can follow us on Facebook too. Or, if you prefer, see me at the conclusion and I will be happy to talk to you about opportunities.

All slide 61 graphics appear on one slide in the PDF version of the presentation SLIDE 61A. Nicaragua cannon

Let me show you two of our projects relating to Major General Pendleton that may interest you. This is a 75mm cannon that Pendleton’s Marines captured in Nicaragua. It was on out door display for many years at the Ranch House and eventually deteriorated.

SLIDE 61B. Refurbished cannon Active duty Marines refurbished the cannon and our Society arranged and paid for a wood worker and welder to fashion new wheels.

SLIDE 62. Gen Pendleton’s flag After Major General Pendleton’s death his widow, Mary Fae Pendleton, donated his personal flag to the Marine Corps. It has been displayed at the Base headquarters for many years, but as you can see, time has taken its toll. If you were to look closely at those splotches, you could see right through. CPHS is paying to have this flag professionally refurbished so that it can be proudly displayed for many years to come.

SLIDE 63. Questions? Now, it’s time for questions.

SLIDE 64. Black