Prior to World War II In 1769, a Spanish expedition led by Captain
Gaspar de Portolá explored northward from
Loreto, Baja California Sur, seeking to reach
Monterey Bay, something never before done overland by Europeans. On
July 20 of that year, the expedition arrived in the area now known as Camp Pendleton, and as it was the feast day of
St. Margaret, they christened the land in the name of Santa Margarita. The expedition went on to establish military outposts and
Franciscan missions at
San Diego and
Monterey. During the next 30 years, 21 missions were established, the most productive one being
Mission San Luis Rey, just south of the present-day Camp Pendleton. At that time, San Luis Rey Mission had control over the Santa Margarita area. After 1821, following the
Mexican War of Independence from Spain, some of the former members of the Portolà expedition who had stayed on (mostly garrison soldiers) were awarded large
land grants (
ranchos) by Mexican governors. The retired soldiers were joined as
rancheros by prominent businessmen, officials, and military leaders. They and their children, the
Californios, became the landed gentry of
Alta California. In 1841, two brothers,
Pio Pico and
Andrés Pico, became the first private owners of Rancho Santa Margarita. More land was later added to the grant, giving it the name of
Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores, which stayed with the ranch until the
Marine Corps acquired it in 1942. The design of the ranch's
cattle brand is seen in the base's logo today. In 1863, an
Englishman named
John (Don Juan) Forster (Pio Pico's brother-in-law) paid off Pico's gambling debts in return for the deed to the ranch. During his tenure as owner, he expanded the ranch house, built in 1827, and developed the rancho into a thriving cattle industry. Forster's heirs were forced to sell the ranch in 1882 because of a series of
droughts and a fence law that forced Forster to construct fencing around the extensive rancho lands. It was purchased by wealthy cattleman
James Clair Flood and managed by
Irishman Richard O'Neill, who was eventually rewarded for his faithful service with half ownership. Under the guidance of O'Neill's son, Jerome, the ranch made a profit of nearly half a million dollars annually, and the house was modernized and refurbished.
World War II In the early 1940s, both the
Army and the Marine Corps were looking for land for a large training base. The Army lost interest in the project, but in February 1942 it was announced that the of Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores would be transformed into the largest Marine Corps base in the country. It was named for Major General
Joseph Henry Pendleton who had long advocated the establishment of a West Coast training base. Construction began in April as a temporary facility built to minimum standards of wood
frame construction. Wartime training facilities at the base included
landing craft school,
amphibious tractor school, beach battalion school,
amphibious communications school,
Naval Construction Battalion Training Center and a medical field service school at the naval hospital at Santa Margarita Ranch, now
Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton. The facility was used as a discharge base for soldiers returning from Europe and Asia after World War II ended in 1945.
Post-World War II During the
Korean War, $20 million helped expand and upgrade existing facilities, including the construction of
Camp Horno. When Camp Pendleton trained the country's fighting force for the Korean and
Vietnam Wars, approximately 200,000 Marines passed through the base on their way to the Far East. Beginning in 1954, Camp Pendleton has hosted a variation of Basic Training familiarization for teenagers age 14 to 17. This training, called "Devil Pups", promotes physical fitness, instills discipline and promotes love of country and the Marine Corps. The camp's stables display a plaque and statue commemorating a horse,
Sergeant Reckless, which served with the Marine Corps in Korea. In 1975 Camp Pendleton was the first U.S. military base to provide accommodations for Vietnamese evacuees in
Operation New Arrivals. Over 50,000 refugees came to the base in the largest humanitarian airlift in history.Camp Pendleton has continued to grow through renovations, replacing its original
tent camps with 2,626 buildings and over of roads. Preservation of Camp Pendleton heritage and Marine Corps history is ongoing. The original ranch house as well as the
Las Flores Adobe have been declared a
National Historic Site.
21st century George W. Bush addressing Marines and sailors at Camp Pendleton in December 2004. The base's diverse geography, spanning over , plays host to year-round training for Marines in addition to all other branches of the
U.S. military. Amphibious and sea-to-shore training takes place at several key points along the base's of coastline. The main base is in the Mainside Complex, at the southeastern end of the base, and the remote northern interior is an impact area. Daytime population is around 100,000. Recruits from nearby
Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego spend four weeks at Pendleton's
Edson Range receiving field training; after graduating from
recruit training, newly minted infantry Marines return to the base's
School of Infantry for further training. Camp Pendleton remains the last major undeveloped portion of the California coastline south of
Santa Barbara, save for a few relatively small state parks. In 2015 the site was proposed for a large civilian airport. Since August 2004, Camp Pendleton has been one of five locations in the Department of Defense to operate the
Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) air radar. The STARS radar allows the facility to simulate air traffic for training purposes. Camp Pendleton's five-man color guard has participated in many sporting events in
San Diego and at the
1996 Republican National Convention, accompanying
national anthem performers. Among the more famous performers who were accompanied by the Camp Pendleton color guard have been
Frankie Laine,
Herb Alpert,
Wilson Phillips,
Jewel,
Trisha Yearwood and the
Dixie Chicks, all of whom had performed the National Anthem at either a
World Series game,
Super Bowl, or, in Wilson Phillips' case, a
Major League Baseball All-Star Game that was played at what is now
SDCCU Stadium. In a 2002 letter to the
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Marine Corps Commandant J. L. Jones stated to the
Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA), who operates the toll roads in
Orange County, "Frankly, my preference is that the proposed toll road not be constructed on or near Camp Pendleton. This construction is one more encroachment venture that will hinder [our] ability to prepare for war. It will also result in additional losses of natural areas that support endangered species, thus placing an even greater burden on Camp Pendleton to protect the region’s biodiversity." In 2008, after the rejection of the proposed toll road extension of
SR 241 through
San Onofre State Beach Park for environmental reasons, the TCA filed for permission to build on the northwestern portion of the base. A spokesman for Camp Pendleton denied the request in 2010, stating that they could only allow the toll road to run through the San Onofre State Beach Park because their training missions could not be completed without the proposed land. In fact, the
California gnatcatcher, an
endangered species, resides on the northwestern portion of the base. The TCA funded a study in 2013 to remove the California gnatcatcher from the endangered species list, which would have made it easier to negotiate the construction and planning of the 241's extension through the San Onofre State Beach Park. ==Areas==