Camp Roberts (Images of America: California)

Camp Roberts, in the Salinas Valley, is one of California s largest military training camps. Named for a heroic World War I tank driver, it took the threat of global war in 1940 to kick-start its construction. Soon Camp Roberts had a capacity to house and train 23,000 men. During the war, almost half a million men trained here. Row upon row of wooden buildings, replete with churches, stores, a hospital, and an amphitheater where A-list stars performed, made it a mobilized city of 45,000 at its peak. In 1946, it became a ghost town overnight. Revived during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, it passed into National Guard control in 1971. However, all branches of the military continue to train here, and the camp has renewed relevance for troops bound for the Middle East.