Near Dateland in Yuma County, Arizona — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Hyder Divisional Camp-Horn Divisional Camp Desert Training Center

California-Arizona Maneuver Area

— United States Army —

Hyder Divisional Camp-Horn Divisional Camp Desert Training Center Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Frank Houdek, October 12, 2002

1. Hyder Divisional Camp-Horn Divisional Camp Desert Training Center Marker

Inscription. Camps Hyder & Horn were established 10 miles north of Dateland in the fall of 1943. They were 2 of 15 desert camps built to harden and train United States Troops for service in World War II. The Desert Training Center was a simulated theater of operations that included portions of California, Arizona, and Nevada. The camps were Bouse, Clipper, Coxcomb, Desert Center, Essex, Goffs, Granite, Horn, Hyder, Ibis, Iron Mountain, Laguna, Pilot Knob, Rice, and Young, as well as Rice Army Airfield. A total of 13 infantry and 7 armored divisions plus numerous smaller units were trained in this harsh environment. The training center was in operation for 2 years and was closed early in 1944 when the last units were shipped overseas. During this brief period over a million American soldiers were trained for combat. Units stationed at Hyder and Horn were the 77th, 81st and 104th Infantry Divisions.

This monument is dedicated to all the soldiers that served here and especially to those who gave their lives to end the Holocaust & defeat the Armed Forces of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan.

Erected 2002 by Lost Dutchman, Billy Holcomb, John P Squibob, Queho Posse, Peter Lebeck and Matt Warner Chapters, of E Clampus Vitus and Dateland Elementary School. (Marker Number 110.)

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This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Desert Training Center, and the E Clampus Vitus series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1943.

Location. 32° 47.965′ N, 113° 32.443′ W. Marker is near Dateland, Arizona, in Yuma County. Marker is on Ave 64E near Interstate 8, on the left when traveling south. Marker is located at the Dateland Travel Center about 65 miles east of Yuma at Exit 67. The markers are mounted on a concrete monument about 100' from the restaurant. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Dateland AZ 85333, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 3 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Datelan Army Air Field (here, next to this marker); Boeing B-50A The "Long Ranger" (here, next to this marker); The 81st Infantry Division (approx. 8.4 miles away).

Regarding Hyder Divisional Camp-Horn Divisional Camp Desert Training Center. This part of the desert was no less forbidding than the area around Camp Young where it was stated, "This is the land that God forgot." This land had rattlesnakes, scorpions, cactus, stickalotta trees, minimal shade,

Photographed By Bill Kirchner, March 13, 2010

2. Hyder Divisional Camp-Horn Divisional Camp Desert Training Center Marker

Seven and one half years later, marker is showing its age.

temperatures over 100° Fahrenheit, with hot nights in the summer and cold in the winter. The actual sites of the camps are about 10 miles north and east of Dateland.
SOURCE: Billy Holcomb Chapter 1069 35th Anniversary Plaque Book by Phillip Holdaway

Also see . . . California/Arizona Maneuver Area - Desert Training Center. This was the largest Army base in the world covering some 18,000 square miles. It stretched from the outskirts of Pomona, California eastward to within 50 miles of Phoenix, Arizona, southward to the suburbs of Yuma, Arizona and northward into the southern tip of Nevada. It existed primarily to train U.S. forces in desert warfare for the North African campaign. (Submitted on March 22, 2010.)

Camp-Horn Marker is upper marker on monument image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bill Kirchner, March 13, 2010

3. Camp-Horn Marker is upper marker on monument

Photographed By Bill Kirchner, March 13, 2010

4. Hyder Divisional Camp-Horn Divisional Camp Desert Training Center Marker

Marker is at left in photo.

Photographed By Bill Kirchner, March 13, 2010

5. Hyder Divisional Camp-Horn Divisional Camp Desert Training Center Marker

Marker is on right in photo.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 14, 2022. It was originally submitted on March 21, 2010, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. This page has been viewed 3,538 times since then and 107 times this year. Last updated on November 3, 2014, by Michael Kindig of Elk Grove, California. Photos: 1. submitted on May 24, 2010, by Frank Houdek of Kingman, Arizona. 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on March 21, 2010, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.