Camp Cooke and Vandenberg Air Force Base, 1941–1966

America’s first West Coast armored and infantry training installation was built in California in 1941 and named Camp Cooke. It is currently known as Vandenberg Space Force Base. During WWII, more than 400 military units trained at Cooke, peaking at more than 36,000 soldiers. The largest units that rotated through Cooke were the 5th, 6th, 11th, 13th, and 20th Armored Divisions and the 86th and 97th Infantry Divisions. Having honed their fighting skills at Cooke, they prevailed in fierce battles across France and Germany. The 6th, 11th, and 20th Armored Divisions also took part in the liberation of Nazi concentration camps at Buchenwald, Mauthausen, and Dachau, respectively. Camp Cooke also included a large compound for German prisoners of war.
This book takes the reader through the war years in a series of notable events transpiring at Cooke and on the war front. It follows a similar path in discussing the Korean War. Two National Guard infantry divisions, the 40th from California and the 44th from Illinois were the largest units at Cooke during the war. Dozens of smaller organizations also rotated through Camp Cooke. During both conflicts, visiting USO shows at Cooke featured some of the most popular celebrities and entertainers of the day, including Bob Hope, Bette Davis, the Three Stooges, Susan Hayward, Kay Kaiser, Louie Armstrong, Dorothy Lamour, Orson Welles, Sammy Davis Jr., Joe DiMaggio, world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis, and many more.
In 1957, Cooke was transferred to the Air Force and a year later renamed Vandenberg AFB. In 1959, the first Atlas ICBM missiles, equipped with nuclear warheads, were placed on alert at Vandenberg. That same year, America’s first reconnaissance (spy) satellite was launched from the base. Known as Corona, it used the cover name Discoverer to conceal its true mission. In discussing early launch programs, the book reveals several significant accidents and successes. It also discusses President Kennedy’s visit to the base and the humorous story of Russian Premier Khrushchev’s train ride past the base and across America, which almost ended in a diplomatic incident.
The book’s military theme encompasses more than 80 years of American history and spotlights California’s inextricable role in world events. Through hot wars and a cold war, it is a story about ordinary people performing extraordinary services for their country and fellow countrymen during those momentous times.

Jeffrey E. Geiger is a retired historian.

Jeffrey E. Geiger
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 284
Bibliographic Info: 102 photos, 5 maps, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2014
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7855-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1424-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments ix
Preface 1
Introduction 7
1. Constructing Camp Cooke 15
2. The Camp in World War II 30
3. The Interwar Years, 1945–1950 69
4. The Camp in the Korean War, 1950–1953 73
5. Organized Entertainment at Camp Cooke 95
6. The Army Departs 147
7. A New Mission 152
Epilogue 190
Appendices:
A. Brig. Gen. Philip St. George Cooke, 1809–1895 193
B. Camp Cooke and the Rancho de Jesus Maria 197
C. Commanders and Commandants 201
D. Known Army Units at Camp Cooke 203
E. Medal of Honor Recipients with Connections to Camp Cooke 210
F. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, 1899–1954 214
G. Vandenberg AFB Launch Facility Status and History 216
Chapter Notes 232
Bibliography 252
Index 259

• “Recounts the history of the California base from its origins as Camp Cooke in 1941 to its development as a missile and rocket base”—ProtoView
• “The book is terrific.”—Actress Elinor Donahue
• “Mr. Geiger’s book Camp Cooke and Vandenberg Air Force Base, 1941-1966 is a well-researched history of the base in its former life as a training location for the U.S. Army and later a location for space and missile launches for the United States Air Force through the present day.”—Joseph T. Page II