General Patton Museum General Patton Monument Where is Chiriaco Summit? It’s in the middle of the Mojave Desert – about 30 miles from Indio or 50 miles from Palm Springs and about 150 miles from Los Angeles. If you happen to be in or around Joshua Tree National Park, the Salton Sea, or Palm Springs, you won’t be too far from the military museum! War memorabilia, war artifacts, artillery, war vehicles, tanks, and other fascinating pieces of military history are scattered throughout the museum and tank yard.  Communication Equipment The General Patton Museum focuses on World War II history related to General Patton. However, other wars and points of interest are highlighted and waiting for you to discover more about them! You will find many items of military history available for you to look at and learn from. Items are from both World Wars, the Korean and Vietnam Wars. You will also find the Defenders Freedom Wall showcased at the museum. A short video highlighting General Patton is available to view in the middle of the museum. Let the staff know you would like to see it and they will be happy to start it for you! No climbing or sitting on tanks is allowed!! A better question could be, “Why is there a General Patton Museum in the middle of the Mojave Desert?”  General Patton Remember, in the early 1940’s World War II was being fought in Europe and the northern territory of Africa. The U.S. was preparing to help fight the war in northern Africa, but our soldiers needed desert training. General Patton focused on the vast desert terrain of the Mojave Desert and created the Desert Training Center in March of 1942. His headquarters were located near Shavers Summit, now known as Chiriaco Summit. The Training Center was 350 miles wide and 250 miles deep. The edges of the training facility touched parts of Pomona, California to Phoenix, Arizona and from Yuma, Arizona to Boulder City, Nevada. Close to one million troops, servicemen and women completed training at the Desert Training Center, later renamed California-Arizona Maneuver Area (CAMA). Training was tough and didn’t include many modern conveniences. Temperatures ranged from below freezing to more than 120 degrees during the day. Water was scarce and rationed along with salt tablets. Field rations were a soldiers typical meal and shelter consisted of tent cities or shacks with tar paper roofs.  Various Military Artifacts Sand found its way into every nook, cranny and crevice. It was everywhere… and thus was found in the food the soldiers ate, it became a condiment they got used to seeing!! Almost as swiftly as it started, it ended. Two years after the start up of CAMA, the U.S. Army closed the CAMA doors. The camps and training areas were abandoned and left to the destructive forces of nature in the Mojave Desert. In its place now stands the General Patton Memorial Museum. It’s a memorial museum established in 1988 to honor ALL veterans and military men and women of all generations. Museum Information
There is also a 26 minute movie that outlines General Patton’s life, desert training, and WW II. It’s funny when you look back at what you’ve seen when you tour a Military Museum. As an example… What would you say if you walked into the General Patton Museum lobby and saw a topographical map 30 feet LONG and weighing 5 TONS? Your jaw would drop just like mine did!  The Big Map This Big Map shows the coastal and desert terrain, mountain structures, water sources (Salton Sea and Pacific Ocean), as well as the Colorado River Aqueduct System. At first you will think the map was used by General Patton during his Desert Training Maneuvers. The Big Map is almost 100 years old, weighs 5 tons, and fits together like a jig-saw puzzle. Over 250,000 pieces of fiberboard create the 50,000 square mile depiction of Southern California and the aqueduct system. In 1928, the map traveled all the way to Washington D.C. and was reassembled for a congressional hearing related to the passing of the Canyon Act. The Canyon Act helped to create the Metropolitan Water District of California and subsequently the aqueduct system that provides millions of gallons of water to Southern California residents. The Big Maps function and purpose was to help keep the engineers and construction workers on task as they built the aqueduct canals through the desert and past the mountain ranges. The Southern California Aqueduct System is considered a Civil Engineering Historical Landmark! It’s interesting to note water is pumped from Lake Havasu through the aqueducts to the end user. Lake Havasu borders California and Arizona and was created by the construction of Parker Dam, the deepest dam in the world. The Big Map was graciously donated to the General Patton Museum in 1988 by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The General Patton Museum Tank Yard is an exciting open field full of original war tanks, trucks, and other vehicles. As you enter the Tank Yard be sure to grab a Tank Flyer. It will name most of the tanks and give you a listing of Tank Anatomy. You will be able to identify different parts of the tank and understand the importance of each part. Here is a sampling of the tanks you will see at the General Patton Museum!  Patton M47 Medium Tank  Patton M60 Medium Tank  Sherman M4 HVSS Medium Tank Don’t forget … NO climbing or sitting on any of the tanks or trucks in the tank yard. Take your camera and shoot lots of pictures… You’ll have tons of fun exploring the tank yard and the General Patton Museum!
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