Cover image: Camp Pendleton, Santa Margarita Ranch House postcard, 1943. 

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton Archives
Camp Pendleton

OP

Camp

Pendleton

The Historic Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores 

and the U.S. Marine Corps in Southern California

A Shared History

by Breanne Robertson, PhD

Marine Corps History Division

Quantico, VA

2017
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Robertson, Breanne, author.

Title: Camp Pendleton : the historic Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores and

 the U.S. Marine Corps in Southern California, a shared history / by

 Robertson Breanne.

Other titles: Historic Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores and the U.S.

 Marine Corps in Southern California, a shared history

Description: Quantico, VA : Marine Corps History Division, [2017]

Identifiers: LCCN 2017033341 | ISBN 9780997317466 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Camp Pendleton (Calif.)—History. | United States. Marine

 Corps—History. | Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.)—History. | Historic

 buildings—California—San Diego County. | United States. Marine

 Corps—Biography. | California, Southern—History, Military.

Classification: LCC VE23 .R5 2007 | DDC 359.9/670979498--dc23

DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the organizations for which she works, Marine Corps University, the U.S. Marine Corps, the Department of the Navy, or the U.S. government. The information contained in this book was accurate at the time 

of printing.

Published by

Marine Corps History Division

2044 Broadway Drive

Quantico, VA 22134

www.usmcu.edu/historydivision

1st Printing, 2017
| v |

Contents

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Acknowledgments VII

Introduction 1

The Mexican War, 1846–48 5

The Mexican Revolution of 1910 10

Major General Joseph H. Pendleton and the Origins of the Marines on the West Coast 13

World War II, 1941–45 19

Post-World War II Era, 1946–49 26

Korean War, 1950–53 28

Vietnam War, 1963–75 34

Post-Vietnam Era, 1976–present 37

Architectural Features of 1st Marine Division Headquarters, Building 1133 41

Architectural Features of the Santa Margarita Ranch House National Historic Site 53

Architectural Features of the Las Flores Adobe National Historic Landmark 73

Appendices

Appendix A: 

 Timeline 85
vi OP contents

Appendix B: 

 U.S. Marine Corps General Residents, Santa Margarita Ranch House, 1947–2007 89

Appendix C: 

 Commanders of Marine Corps Activities, San Diego, California, 1914–42 91

Appendix D: 

 Base Commanding Generals, Camp Pendleton, 1942–present 94

Appendix E: 

 Base Sergeants Major, Camp Pendleton, 1956–present 97

Appendix F: 

 Commanding Generals of 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, 1941–present 99

Further Reading 102
| vii |

Acknowledgments

OP

This publication was created in cooperation with 

the 1st Marine Division and the History Museum 

Branch, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in 

celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton, dedicated 

on 25 September 1942. The author is especially 

grateful to Major General Daniel J. O’Donohue, 

Colonel Christopher S. Dowling, Lieutenant 

Colonel Maurice Brown, A. Faye Jonason, Robert S. Hellman, and Danielle M. Page at Camp 

Pendleton and to Dr. Charles P. Neimeyer, 

Douglas E. Nash Sr., Paul Westermeyer, Angela 

Anderson, and numerous other colleagues with 

the Marine Corps History Division at Marine 

Corps University for their support and encouragement in the making of this book.

| 1 |

Introduction

OP

Southern California looms large in American 

culture as a land of sun and surf, but the region 

possesses a significant military presence as well. 

The importance of the Pacific coastline as a maritime gateway connecting the United States, Latin America, and Asia has made it an attractive 

outpost for trade and travel from the Spanish 

colonial era to the present day. An oft-contested 

terrain, Southern California changed hands no 

fewer than three times in the century preceding 

California’s statehood. Since entering the Union, 

the region’s mild climate and littoral perch, located as it is at a crossroads for both north-south 

and east-west hemispheres, has played a key role 

in U.S. military training and deployment, particularly for the U.S. Marine Corps. 

Approximately 50 miles north of San Diego, the historic Rancho Santa Margarita y Las 

Flores (now known as the Santa Margarita Ranch 

House National Historic Site and Las Flores 

Adobe National Historic Landmark) has borne 

witness to the sweeping and often dramatic 

events that produced Marine Corps Base Camp 

Pendleton and the modern Marine Corps on the 

West Coast. Soon after the purchase of the expansive ranch land in 1942, Marines established 

a permanent training installation and returned to 

Southern California as part of the largest national mobilization effort for war since World War I. 

Nearby, the Santa Margarita Ranch House would 

serve as a primary residence for Marine Corps 

commanders for the next 60 years.

The immense construction efforts that transformed the sprawling ranch into one of the 

largest military installations on the West Coast 

included the Marine Division Command Post 

(designated by the U.S. Marine Corps as Building 1133). Modest both in design and scale, this 
2 OP introduction

administrative building stands as a hallmark of 

civilian-military collaboration and wartime expediency in construction methods and materials. 

Today, it remains one of the few relatively unaltered temporary structures from that historical 

moment. Significantly, it also continues to operate as command headquarters for the 1st Marine 

Division.

The role of Camp Pendleton was essential 

to the development of an expeditionary Marine 

Corps both during and after the Second World 

War. Over the course of seven decades, the Marines assigned to the West Coast facility have 

demonstrated tremendous mobility and combat efficiency as the nation’s foremost “force in 

Oil painting of the Santa Margarita Ranch House by artist James Walker (1818–89), ca. 1885. 

The Bancroft Library, University of California Berkeley

The 1st Marine Division Headquarters building was one of the 

first structures to be completed at the new military base. 

Photo by the author
introduction OP 3

readiness.” As the primary installation for training Marines for the Pacific theater during World 

War II, Camp Pendleton quickly expanded to accommodate the influx of recruits while simultaneously developing a rigorous training program 

in amphibious operations. During the Cold War, 

the military post again served as the gateway for 

Marines bound for combat in Asia. The wars in 

Korea and Vietnam each required expediency 

and flexibility on the part of the Marine Corps, 

which swiftly rebuilt its forces for deployment 

abroad. A continued emphasis on amphibious 

landings combined with naval and air support 

facilitated Marine combat and counterinsurgency efforts during these conflicts and secured the 

distinct mission and reputation of the Service for 

decades to come. In the post-9/11 era, Camp 

Pendleton continues to prepare Marines for rapid deployment to humanitarian and combat operations around the globe. 

Since the founding of Camp Pendleton in 

1942, base expansion, natural disasters, and deMain Gate at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, ca. 1950. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo
4 OP introduction

cades of benign neglect have threatened to diminish the historic legacy of the Rancho Santa 

Margarita y Las Flores and the Marine Division 

Command Post. With the designation of Las 

Flores Adobe on the National Historic Landmark 

Registry and the Santa Margarita Ranch House 

complex on the National Register of Historic 

Places, the Marine Corps has engaged in preservation and restoration efforts to maintain these 

rich cultural resources. Moreover, the Marine 

Division Command Post (now known as 1st Marine Division Headquarters) has been deemed 

eligible for the National Register of Historic 

Places and may be added to the list in the future. 

Today, the Marine Corps proudly protects these 

heritage assets, preserving the rich history of the 

base and assuring their continuing place in military history for years to come.
| 5 |

The history of Southern California and the U.S. 

Marine Corps has been intertwined since the 

mid-nineteenth century, when the young American republic, led by President James K. Polk, engaged in its first war conducted on foreign soil. 

Having been elected on a platform promising the 

“reannexation of Texas, reoccupation of Oregon,” Polk set out to acquire the California territory from the Mexican government. Mexico had 

already refused an offer from the United States 

to buy the province a decade earlier; the country 

rebuffed Polk’s purchase proposal again in 1845. 

Adopting an alternate plan, the president dispatched a 33-year-old Marine, First Lieutenant 

Archibald H. Gillespie, to courier secret messages to three U.S. officials on the West Coast. 

First Lieutenant Gillespie, disguised as a British 

whiskey salesman, arrived in California in April 

1846. While the exact contents of his messages 

remain unknown, Gillespie instructed the recipients—American Consul Thomas O. Larkin, U.S. 

Navy Commodore John D. Sloat, and U.S. Army 

Captain John C. Frémont—to avoid acts of aggression yet also remain ready to strike in the 

event that war with Mexico should break out.

Following a skirmish in May 1846 that 

resulted in the loss of American lives along the 

Rio Grande River, the United States declared 

war against Mexico. Fighting along the disputed 

Texas-Mexico border soon spread to California, 

and as a majority of the U.S. Marine Corps’ 63 

officers and 1,200 enlisted personnel were on 

board Navy ships at the outbreak of war, the Marines assisted the U.S. Navy with maintaining a 

strict blockade of the Mexican coast. The Marine 

Corps also proved a flexible amphibious force 

whose landings at various ports and towns permitted a show of strength that made American 

The Mexican War

1846–48

OP
6 OP the mexican war

numbers appear larger than they were. On 29 

July 1846, a detachment of Marines and sailors 

from the sloop-of-war Cyane (1837) made landfall in the San Diego area. The squad occupied 

the town without opposition and raised the 

United States flag and Marine Corps banner over 

the Old Town Plaza. 

While First Lieutenant Gillespie and a 

temporary garrison force remained in San Diego, the California Battalion of Mounted Riflemen (formerly known as the Bear Flag Army) 

began its march northward toward Los Angeles. 

On 13 August 1846, the battalion joined Commodore Robert F. Stockton’s combined force, 

which included a Marine detachment from the 

USS Congress (1841), en route to their objective. 

The Mexican Army retreated upon the Americans’ arrival, and Commodore Stockton drew up 

a plan for a territorial government and turned 

his attention toward enforcing the blockade of 

Mexico’s west coast. 

One of several campaign banners Nathanial Currier produced for 

the Democratic Party in 1844, this banner features portraits of 

the presidential and vice presidential candidates, James K. Polk 

and George M. Dallas. 

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, DC

The USS Cyane Taking Possession of San Diego Old Town, July 1846 by 

Carlton Theodore Chapman.

Maritime Museum of San Diego
the mexican war OP 7

The battle for Los Angeles was far from 

over, however. In response to a local uprising, 

Marines and sailors conducted extensive training 

exercises on the San Diego shore in preparation 

for another march on Los Angeles. Marines were 

also sent among the reinforcements in early December 1846 to assist U.S. Army Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny and his dragoons (cavalry 

units) in completing the final portion of their 

march from Santa Fe, New Mexico. At the Battle 

Portrait of Gen Andrés Pico, brother of the last governor of Mexican Los Angeles, Pio Pico, ca. 1847. As a leader of the resistance 

in Alta California during the Mexican War, Gen Pico worked to 

secure postwar protections for Californios under the 1847 Treaty of Cahuenga. He later became a citizen of the United States, 

commanded the California Militia, and held public office in the 

California State Assembly and California State Senate. 

University of Southern California Libraries and California Historical 

Society

Sketch of the actions fought at San Pasqual in California between 

the Americans and Mexicans, 6–7 December 1846. 

The Bancroft Library, University of California Berkeley
8 OP the mexican war

of San Pasqual, a joint force of dragoons under 

the command of Brigadier General Kearny and 

a detachment of Marines and sailors under the 

command of First Lieutenant Gillespie charged 

Californio lancers led by General Andrés Pico. 

The Americans sustained heavy casualties, including 21 deaths and injuries to both Kearny 

and Gillespie. Meanwhile in San Diego, Commodore Stockton formed a corps of mounted 

Marines. On 11 December, Navy Lieutenant Andrew Gray led a detachment of 80 Marines and 

120 sailors as a reinforcement force to General 

Kearny’s and First Lieutenant Gillespie’s troops. 

The Californios, who had suffered fewer casualties and had surrounded the U.S. encampment 

during the engagement, were now outnumArtist sketch of the Battle at San Pasqual showing U.S. armed forces fighting Californio lancers on horseback, ca. 1846–48. During 

the Mexican War, many California-born Mexicans preferred to use a lance as their primary weapon. They used a lasso to pull American 

soldiers from their horses and followed with an attack with the lance. This combination of weapons had a devastating effect at the Battle 

of San Pasqual.

The Oakland Museum of California
the mexican war OP 9

bered. General Pico and his troops retreated, 

allowing the American dragoons to depart San 

Pasqual unchallenged. Acting under orders from 

Commodore Stockton, General Kearny later 

commanded a mixed force of dragoons, sailors, 

volunteers, and Marines toward Los Angeles. 

The force engaged in several skirmishes along 

the march. On 10 January 1847, the Americans 

defeated a charge of Californio lancers and again 

occupied the city of Los Angeles. 

The Battle of San Pasqual brought the 

U.S.-Mexican conflict literally to the doorstep of 

the Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores. While 

the proprietor of the ranch, Don Pio Pico, retreated to Mexico for the duration of the war, his 

brother-in-law John Forster provided 28 yoke of 

oxen from Pico’s stock to support U.S. Captain 

Samuel J. Hensley’s march toward Los Angeles. 

Meanwhile, Pico’s brother Andrés remained loyal to the Californio cause. As commander of one 

of the three armies fighting U.S. forces, he used 

the ranch as a secure site to meet with his troops. 

According to lore, Californio officers Leonardo 

Cota and José Alipás, under Pico’s command, 

planned the Battle of San Pasqual beneath a large 

sycamore tree near the Santa Margarita Ranch 

House. 

In subsequent months, the Marines participated in several military actions alongside 

the U.S. Army and Navy in other parts of the 

province, while the Pacific Squadron successfully controlled thousands of miles of coastline 

along the west coasts of California and Mexico. 

Hostilities in the California theater of operations 

ceased about a month later. Performing a variety 

of services, ranging from amphibious landings to 

garrison duty to infantry charges, a total of 402 

Marines served on the West Coast during the 

Mexican War. 

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo formally 

ended the war in 1848, and Mexico ceded to the 

U.S. government a large tract of land that included 

California. Notably, it was General Andrés Pico, a 

prominent military leader in the government of 

Mexico, who signed the treaty at Cahuenga, now 

part of Hollywood, that ended the fighting between American and Californio forces. 
| 10 |

More than a half century passed before the Marine Corps resumed an active role in the history 

of Southern California. American dealings with 

Mexico again proved the catalyst, as anxieties 

about civil unrest south of the border prompted 

the United States to establish a visible military 

presence along its coast. Specifically, President 

William H. Taft determined to make a display of 

armed strength under the guise of training exercises to convey to Mexicans that U.S. nationals 

and property in that country must be respected. 

The U.S. Army moved units on both U.S. coasts, 

as did the Marine Corps. On the East Coast, the 

1st Provisional Marine Brigade held training exercises at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, while a provisional regiment, commanded by Colonel Charles 

A. Doyen, was hastily assembled at Mare Island 

Naval Shipyard, California, for “expeditionary 

service on the Pacific coast.”1

The Mexican Revolution of 1910 underscored the advantages of San Diego as a strategic 

site for Marine Corps training and embarkation. 

Encompassing the 1st, 2d, and 3d Regiments, 

Doyen’s newly established unit was designated 

the 4th Provisional Marine Regiment and transported to North Island, San Diego Bay, where 

it disembarked and established Camp Thomas 

in honor of Navy Rear Admiral Chauncey M. 

Thomas, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet. 

When Mexican President Porfirio Díaz resigned 

a few months later and the turmoil subsided, 

part of the Marine Corps regiment at Camp 

1 Annual Reports of the Navy Department for Fiscal Year 1911 (Washington, DC: Navy Department, 1912), 530.

The Mexican Revolution of 1910

OP
the mexican revolution OP 11

Thomas disbanded, while the remaining officers 

and enlisted men returned to their regular duty 

stations in July 1911. 

Continuing political and civil disorder in 

Mexico compelled the Marine Corps to return 

three years later. Following the coup and subsequent assassination of Mexican President Francisco Madero, the United States government 

refused to recognize General Victoriano Huerta 

as the legitimate head of state. Relations between 

the two nations deteriorated further in 1914 due 

to an incident at Tampico involving the alleged 

mistreatment of American naval personnel by 

Mexican officials and refusal of the Mexican government to apologize with a public gunfire salute 

to the American flag. Soon thereafter, President 

Woodrow Wilson retaliated by sending a combined force of Navy and Marines to the port city 

of Veracruz. Responding to intelligence that a 

European vessel with a cargo of arms and ammunition was en route to the Mexican coast, the 

commander in chief took preemptive action and 

ordered the Atlantic Fleet to prevent its delivery 

to the Mexican forces waiting ashore. 

As U.S.-Mexico relations grew increasingly strained, Marine Corps officials considered it 

desirable to have a force ready to deploy for the 

west coast of Mexico. The 4th Marine Regiment 

was reactivated, and Colonel Joseph H. Pendleton assumed command of the expeditionary 

force. Its mission was to quell civil and political unrest in Mexico. Organized at Puget Sound, 

Washington, and Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 

California, in April 1914, the regiment emCamp Thomas, 27 April 1911. 

California State Military Department Historical Collection

Broadside view of USS Jupiter (AC 3) with the tug Active alongside 

in the Mare Island Channel, 16 October 1913. 

Official U.S. Navy photo, #AC 3 002-10-13
12 OP the mexican revolution

barked on board the USS South Dakota (ACR 9), 

USS West Virginia (ACR 5), and USS Jupiter (AC 

3) for the Gulf of California, where it remained 

as a show of force. When stability was restored to 

the Mexican government the following July, the 

Marines returned to San Diego where they have 

remained ever since. 
| 13 |

Major General Joseph Henry Pendleton was a 

pioneering force in Marine Corps activities on 

the West Coast. An enthusiastic supporter of San 

Diego, Major General Pendleton acknowledged 

the strategic location of Southern California and 

advocated a stronger, more permanent Marine 

Corps presence in the region. His activism reflected an emerging Marine Corps doctrine of 

amphibious operations, which promoted the 

development of the “advanced base force” and 

began exercises as early as 1901. Arriving in California in 1914, following expeditionary service 

in Nicaragua, Santo Domingo, Guam, and the 

Philippines, then-Colonel Pendleton expressed 

an early commitment to establishing the Marine 

Corps as a force in readiness. He believed the 

mild climate and harbor of San Diego were especially well suited to this purpose.

In early July 1914, Colonel Pendleton’s 4th 

Regiment disembarked in San Diego harbor from 

expeditionary duty in the Gulf of California, 

where it had been monitoring the Mexican Revolution as an American show of force. Whereas 

previous expeditionary units were disbanded and 

the officers and men returned to their regular 

duty stations, the Marine Corps maintained the 

4th Regiment as the beginning of a permanent 

post in that city.2

 Under the command of Colonel Pendleton, the regiment established military 

quarters at North Island and dubbed the encampment Camp Howard in honor of the incumbent 

commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, Rear 

Admiral Thomas B. Howard. 

Colonel Pendleton considered North Is2

 A portion of the 4th Marines were stationed in San Francisco 

as well.

Major General Joseph H. Pendleton 

and the Origins of the Marines 

on the West Coast

OP
14 OP MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH H. PENDLETON

land unsatisfactory for a permanent Marine Corps 

installation, however. Two months after founding 

Camp Howard, the commander delivered a public address on the subject to a group of local citizens at the U.S. Grant Hotel in downtown San 

Diego. His lecture, “San Diego, An Ideal Location 

for a Permanent Marine Corps Base,” expounded 

on the unsatisfactory conditions and inconvenient 

location of his regiment at Camp Howard as compared to the city of San Diego. Soon thereafter, 

he presented his argument to the Major General 

Commandant of the Marine Corps as well. In a 

letter to Brigadier General George Barnett, Colonel Pendleton noted the deplorable conditions 

at Camp Howard and introduced the idea of establishing a permanent Marine Corps base in San 

Diego. Located just 12 miles north of the Mexican border and containing an excellent harbor, 

the city readily presented itself as an expeditionary base, convenient to the Pacific approaches of 

Latin America, Hawaii, and the Far East.

Colonel Pendleton’s 4th Regiment remained 

at Camp Howard until December, at which 

time the unit was assigned temporary duty at 

the Panama-California Exposition. In 1915, San 

Francisco and San Diego both hosted major celebrations to mark the completion of the Panama 

Canal, which had opened officially to maritime 

traffic the previous summer. The Marine Corps 

ordered the 1st Battalion of the 4th Regiment to 

the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 

San Francisco, while the 2d Battalion maintained 

a model camp at Balboa Park as part of the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego. Among 

the highlights of the Marine Corps exhibit at the 

fairgrounds was a sham battle between cavalry 

and Marine forces on 6 April 1915.

Both the Navy and Army strengthened the 

Portrait of MajGen Joseph H. Pendleton (1860–1942), ca. 1917. 

When this photograph was taken, Pendleton held the rank of colonel. 

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, DC
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH H. PENDLETON OP 15

U.S. military presence during World War I and 

immediately afterward with permanent facilities 

in San Diego and surrounding areas. The Marine Corps also expanded in the region based on 

Pendleton’s long-range vision. As early as 1914, 

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt had made a trip to Southern California to 

inspect the San Diego area as a possible site for 

a Marine Corps “advanced base station” for the 

West Coast similar to the one being maintained 

on the East Coast at Philadelphia. 

On 19 December 1914, Colonel Pendleton reported by telegram to Headquarters Marine Corps that the Marine Barracks San Diego 

had been established at Balboa Park. Despite this 

proclamation, the installation at San Diego remained in temporary status. No land had been 

acquired for a permanent station and no steps 

had been taken by the Navy Department to do 

so. Nevertheless, Pendleton persisted in advocating the unique suitability of San Diego as a location for a permanent expeditionary base. 

The 4th Marine Regiment, commanded by then Col Joseph H. Pendleton, at North Island, CA, in 1914. 

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, DC

Col Joseph H. Pendleton (far right), commanding officer of 

4th Marine Regiment, and Capt Charles H. Lyman (third from 

right), adjutant of 4th Marine Regiment, at a display commemorating former President Theodore Roosevelt’s expedition into 

the Amazon and River of Doubt during the Panama-California 

Exposition of 1915. Also pictured (left to right): unidentified 

Marine orderly; George Burnham, one of the organizers of the 

expeditions; G. Aubrey Davidson, prominent San Diego resident 

and president of the exposition; unknown; Ed Fletcher, politician 

and director of the exposition; President Theodore Roosevelt; 

unknown; and D. C. Collier, prominent San Diego resident and 

organizer of the exposition.

Private collection of Col Charles H. Lyman, USMC (Ret)
16 OP MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH H. PENDLETON

In 1915, Assistant Secretary of the Navy 

Roosevelt made another visit to San Diego. He 

visited the exposition and again inspected sites 

that might serve as a future Marine Corps base. 

Following Roosevelt’s return to Washington, 

Navy Department officials asked Commandant 

Barnett to inspect the San Diego locations under 

consideration and recommend the one he found 

most suitable. The Major General Commandant 

submitted his findings on 26 August 1915. Basing his opinion on location and purchase price, 

Commandant Barnett concluded that only one 

prospect—a tract on San Diego Bay—met the 

requirements for the current development and 

future growth of a Marine Corps installation. 

The need for a permanent West Coast base 

became increasingly apparent as internal conditions in Mexico prompted the Marine Corps to 

withdraw part of the 4th Regiment from exposition duty and send it on an expeditionary mission along the west coast of Mexico. In June, 300 

Marines from the 25th, 26th, and 28th Companies of the 2d Battalion, 4th Regiment, departed 

the city on board the USS Colorado (ACR 7) for 

Guaymas, Mexico, where their assignment was 

to convince the Yaqui Indians to cease disturbing 

American nationals residing in that part of the 

country. The companies returned to the fair on 

10 August 1915 after determining that a landing 

in Mexico would not be necessary.

The city of San Diego added further incentive to Marine Corps expansion in the fall of 

1915, when officials offered the Navy Department 500 acres of municipally owned tidelands 

on the condition that the military branch purchase an adjoining 232 acres of privately owned 

lands. By January 1916, Secretary of the Navy 

Josephus Daniels and the Navy General Board 

approved a plan to proceed with the real estate 

purchase and installation of a permanent Marine 

Corps post at San Diego. Along with Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, the base became 

home to the 4th Regiment, and Major William 

N. McKelvy assumed command of the newly established Marine barracks.

Marines marching across Cabrillo Bridge during the grand opening festivities for the Panama-California Exposition, 1 January 

1915. 

California History Section Picture Catalog, California State Library
MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH H. PENDLETON OP 17

Less than six months later, the 4th Marine 

Regiment departed San Diego for expeditionary 

duty in Santo Domingo. On 6 June 1916, Colonel Pendleton and his men embarked by rail for 

New Orleans, Louisiana, where they then boarded the USS Hancock (AP 3) and set sail for the 

Dominican Republic. The regiment became one 

component of the 2d Provisional Brigade and 

served there in support of the U.S. government 

from 1916 to 1924. 

After serving as commander of U.S. forces in Santo Domingo until October 1918, Brigadier General Pendleton assumed command of 

Marine Barracks Parris Island, South Carolina, 

from which post he was later detached to activate Headquarters, 2d Advanced Base Force, at 

San Diego. He arrived at the Marine barracks on 

1 October 1919 and established his new headquarters that same day. As construction was 

still ongoing at Marine Corps Base San Diego, 

the post continued to be located at Balboa Park 

where the barracks detachment had grown from 

Aerial view of Marine Corps Base San Diego, 1921. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo, courtesy of Command Museum, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
18 OP MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH H. PENDLETON

the platoon-size organization left by the 4th Regiment in 1916 to approximately 10 officers and 

300 men during the First World War. 

Pendleton remained in charge of Marine 

Corps activities in San Diego during the next 

five years. On 1 April 1921, the 1st Battalion of 

the 7th Regiment was reactivated at San Diego 

as a component of the 2d Advanced Base Force. 

The following November, the latter was redesignated the 5th Brigade, and on 1 December, 

the 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment, became the 1st 

Separate Battalion, 5th Brigade. These organizational changes necessitated the move from Balboa Park to Dutch Flats. The soggy marshland 

had required significant upgrades, but in 1921 

the installation was fully operational and the 

Marine Advanced Expeditionary Base, San Diego, was established. Less than two years later, 

the Marine Corps recruit depot for the western 

United States also relocated to the new base at 

San Diego. With the consolidation of the Marine 

Barracks at Mare Island Naval Shipyard with the 

recruit depot in Southern California, San Diego 

became the sole training site for all recruits from 

the western part of the United States.

Receiving the official designation of Marine 

Corps Base, Naval Operating Base, San Diego, on 

1 March 1924, the installation largely reflected 

the vision and leadership of Major General Pendleton. After 46 years of military service, the base 

commander stepped away from an active role in 

Marine Corps affairs. He retired in June 1924, 

secure in the knowledge that the Marine Corps 

Base San Diego had established a prominent and 

permanent Marine Corps presence on the West 

Coast. Major General Pendleton remained an 

active and public-spirited citizen of Coronado, 

across the bay from San Diego, and witnessed 

continuing military development in the region 

until his death nearly 18 years later on 4 February 1942.
| 19 |

With the looming specter of war in 1940, the Marine Corps doubled in size. Prior to World War II, 

Marines trained primarily in Quantico, Virginia, 

and Parris Island, South Carolina. A contingent 

also trained at the Marine Corps Base San Diego 

(now known as Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San 

Diego). Although these existing facilities expanded to support the influx of new recruits, the anticipated involvement of U.S. armed forces in the 

South Pacific precipitated a call for a larger West 

Coast training installation. Marine Corps Base San 

Diego was landlocked and thus a poor location for 

amphibious assault training exercises. A 9,000-

acre temporary camp, known as Camp Elliot after former Commandant George F. Elliott, was 

established north of the city, but that facility, too, 

soon reached capacity. The Marine Corps began 

pursuing an additional site for the purpose of 

training recruits for the Pacific theater.

In the years leading up to World War II, 

both the Marine Corps and Army expressed interest in acquiring all or part of the Rancho Santa 

Margarita y Las Flores for training troops. The 

tract, located approximately 50 miles north of 

San Diego near the community of Oceanside, 

offered ample coastline and relatively undeveloped terrain. Split among several private owners and operated by managers for the heirs, the 

ranch encompassed more than 260,000 acres in 

San Diego and Orange Counties. Army planners 

initially envisioned the site as a training base for 

developing an armored division, but decided that 

the steep canyons and hills were ill-suited for 

units preparing to fight in North Africa or Central Europe. The Marine Corps, by contrast, appreciated the property’s vast acreage and varied 

terrain. In addition, its beaches were conducive 

to amphibious exercises, a particularly importWorld War II

1941–45

OP
20 OP world war II

ant feature to the Marines due to the greater emphasis being placed on amphibious warfare. Only 

its distance from San Diego and anticipated development costs prevented Marine Corps planners from recommending the ranch for Marine 

Corps expansion.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and 

U.S. declaration of war in December 1941 added a sense of urgency to military efforts to acquire civilian land for the war effort. Under the 

Second War Powers Act, the federal government 

possessed the ability to seize private property 

for immediate use while it negotiated a fair price 

with the owners. In April 1942, the military 

Map of Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores by U.S. Deputy Surveyor Max Strobel, July 1867. 

The Bancroft Library, University of California Berkeley
world war ii OP 21

compensated the O’Neill and Flood families a 

combined total of $4.2 million for approximately 121,000 acres of land, including almost 20 

miles of coastal property.3

 This purchase included the core buildings of the Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores: the Santa Margarita Ranch 

House, bunkhouse, and blacksmith shop (now a 

chapel), as well as the Las Flores Adobe ranch 

house constructed by Marco A. Forster in 1867. 

Military officials initially intended the new 

training facility to be ready for occupancy in six 

months and moved quickly to build the basic 

infrastructure necessary to support 20,000 Marines. More than 5,000 laborers worked around 

the clock to prepare airfields, barracks, railroads, administration buildings, and other support facilities. The rapid pace of development 

and large number of expected recruits necessi3

 The Marine Corps aimed to purchase the land outright, but the 

Baumgartner family, who had married into the O’Neill family, 

offered to lease the property to the Marine Corps instead. The 

Marine Corps deemed it essential to own the ranch so that it 

could terminate the existing leases with tenants and use the land 

as it wished. Condemnation proceedings began for the acquisition 

of 113,000 acres, and the land was vested to the Marine Corps 

in December 1942. While some families were able to maintain 

individual leases from the government to continue farming the 

land until the 1960s, the majority of tenant farmers moved away. 

In addition, the residents of a small Japanese settlement were relocated to internment camps. Later purchases expanded the total 

acreage. See Ryan Jordan, “Remembering the Forgotten Village 

of San Onofre: An Untold Story of Race Relations,” Journal of San 

Diego History 60, no. 1–2 (Winter/Spring 2014): 27–44.

tated the widespread construction of temporary 

structures. The primary troop facilities included 

Navy B1-type wood frame barracks with battalion mess halls and tent camps. Storage buildings rested on concrete foundations, while most 

wood frame administration buildings and barracks of temporary construction were elevated 

on post-and-pier foundations. Nevertheless, the 

expedited pace of construction was stymied by 

changing design plans, the challenge of coordinating multiple survey parties, and spring flooding of the Santa Margarita River and smaller 

streams running through base. To ensure the military installation would be operational by September, the project managers adopted a vertical 

approach, focusing construction efforts first on 

the “Mainside” area in the southeast portion of 

base and expanding to other designated areas in 

order of priority. 

By late summer, Colonel Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr. led the 9th Marine Regiment with the 

1st Battalion, 12th Marines, on a four-day tactical march north from Camp Elliot, east of Miramar, to become the first troops to occupy the 

new installation. Colonel Shepherd conceived 

of the multiday trek as an extended training exercise. Having dispatched one of his companies 

in advance to plan simulated attacks against the 

marching Marines, the commander ordered his 

troops to remain on constant alert as though they 
22 OP world war ii

were traversing enemy territory. The perceived 

threat that the Japanese might attack Southern 

California made this pretense easy to follow, and 

the regiment successfully defeated a series of 

mock ambushes en route to their new quarters.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt oversaw 

the official dedication of the base on 25 September 1942. In a simple ceremony honoring the 

memory of Major General Joseph H. Pendleton, 

the president designated the new military installation Camp Pendleton after the Marine Corps 

general’s longtime advocacy for a permanent 

Marine presence in San Diego. Roosevelt was 

joined by General Pendleton’s widow, Mary Fay 

Pendleton, who affixed the national colors and 

slowly raised the flag, and Major General Joseph 

C. Fegan, the first commanding general of Camp 

Pendleton, who read aloud the orders that formally placed the base in commission. 

Designed to provide large-scale tactical 

training for organizations before they were 

shipped out to the Pacific, the facility was a geoPanoramic view of area 1, where the 1st Marine Division Headquarters building is now located. 

J. E. Haddock Scrapbook, MCB Camp Pendleton Archives
world war ii OP 23

Camp Pendleton Construction Statistics

Prime J. E. Haddock, Ltd.

contractors: Engineers, Ltd.

Construction 

duration: 16 months

Cost: $35 million 

(initial contract)

Employees: 5,500 (peak) from San 

Diego and Los Angeles

Construction area: Pacific Ocean to 

Riverside County line 

and between the city 

limits of Oceanside and 

San Clemente

Elevations: Sea level to more than 

3,000 feet above sea level

Initial facilities built: 518 buildings consisting 

of 4.5 million square feet 

(approximately 100 acres)

Roads built: 14 miles of paved 

four-lane highway

30 miles of secondary 

paved roads

65 miles of unpaved 

roads

The lumber yard at Camp Pendleton, 1942. 

J. E. Haddock Scrapbook, MCB Camp Pendleton Archives

graphical model of the concept of a land-sea-air 

team. Tanks churned in the meadows while infantry trained in the hilly interior wilderness. 

Amtracs rolled into Del Mar Boat Basin and out 

to sea, and the new airstrip near the Santa Margarita Ranch House facilitated Marine aviators’ 

training for operations in the Pacific theater. By 

the end of World War II, the entire 3d, 4th, and 
24 OP world war ii

5th Divisions, or fully one-half of the Marines 

who fought in the Pacific, passed through the 

“Gateway to the Pacific.” Meanwhile, Camp Elliot had become home to the Fleet Marine Force 

Training Center, West Coast, and carried the 

principal mission of training individual replacements for combat units overseas. When the Navy 

took over the facility in 1944, Headquarters, 

Fleet Marine Force, San Diego Area, transferred 

to Camp Pendleton. The merger distinguished 

the latter as the largest Marine Corps base in the 

nation. Consonant with its prominence in both 

population and amphibious training capabilities, 

Camp Pendleton became a permanent training 

installation on 14 October 1944.

After the war, Camp Pendleton reversed 

direction and served as a demobilization center 

for the Marine Corps. All organized units returning to the United States from the Pacific theater passed through Southern California. Camp 

Pendleton’s Training Command became the Redistribution Regiment, processing 50,000 men 

Marines from 9th Marine Regiment and its attachments marched 

from Camp Elliott to the new Marine Corps base, Camp Pendleton, over four days starting on 1 September 1942. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo

President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mary Fay Pendleton, widow 

of MajGen Joseph H. Pendleton, at the dedication ceremony for 

Camp Pendleton, 25 September 1942. In the foreground, GySgt 

Carl A. Ostrom holds the U.S. flag prior to its raising as part of 

the inauguration of the base. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo
world war ii OP 25

either for immediate separation or relocation to 

another station for discharge from the Marine 

Corps. Several smaller units based at the installation, including the Navajo Code Talkers and the 

Marine Corps Women Reserve, were disbanded altogether. The total strength of the Marine 

Corps decreased from 485,000 at the close of 

the war to 80,000 in 1947.

U.S. Marine Raiders dash at full speed along narrow poles as part 

of training at Camp Pendleton, January 1943. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo

Map of training facilities at Camp Pendleton, 1944. 

MCB Camp Pendleton Archives
| 26 |

The immediate postwar years at Camp Pendleton witnessed significant organizational changes. 

In 1946, General Alexander A. Vandegrift, Commandant of the Marine Corps, declared that the 

base would remain the center of all Marine Corps 

activities on the West Coast. Furthermore, the 

military post would be permanently maintained 

as the home of the 1st Marine Division and Signal School. As the battalion moved from Camp 

Lejeune, North Carolina, to reduce the concentration of training on the East Coast, the name 

of the West Coast facility changed from Marine 

Training and Replacement Command, San Diego Area, to Marine Barracks, Camp Pendleton. 

With this shift in designation, Camp Pendleton 

became an independent command, distinct from 

the San Diego area commands, when Major 

General Graves B. Erskine assumed leadership of 

base the following year.

In 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed 

the National Security Act, which established the 

Marine Corps as a permanent part of the military attached to the Navy. In so doing, the act 

formalized the special amphibious function of 

the Marine Corps. Specifically, its mission under 

the new organizational structure became defined 

as the seizure and defense of advanced bases and 

engagement in land operations related to naval 

campaigns.4

 These developments secured the future of the Marine Corps and clarified its role 

within the U.S. armed forces.

4

 The National Security Act also established a separate Air Force 

and organized the military under a single secretary of defense.

Post-World War II Era

1946–49

OP
post-world war ii era OP 27

Commandant of the Marine Corps Alexander A. Vandegrift 

declared that Camp Pendleton would be the center of all West 

Coast Marine activities and the home of the 1st Marine Division. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo

The National Security Act of 1947 merged the Department of 

War and the Department of the Navy into the National Military 

Establishment. It also created the Department of the Air Force 

and protected the Marine Corps as an independent Service. In 

1949, President Harry S. Truman signed an amendment to the 

legislation, which converted the National Military Establishment 

into a new Department of Defense. 

Harry S. Truman Library, National Archives and Records Administration, 

courtesy of Abbie Rowe
| 28 |

Regional wars took on new significance during 

the Cold War as the United States and its allies 

engaged in military action in distant locales, such 

as Korea and Vietnam. On 25 June 1950, North 

Korean ground and air forces cut across the 38th 

Parallel in a surprise invasion of South Korea. The 

United States and a coalition of nations responded 

to a request from the United Nations to enter the 

conflict in defense of South Korea and to prevent 

the spread of Communism to new locales. 

The Korean War prompted an acceleration 

of recruitment and training, such that approximately 200,000 Marines passed through Camp 

Pendleton en route to Asia. The 1st Provisional 

Brigade with troops from the 5th Marines were 

the first unit to be trained and shipped out of 

the installation, all within days of Army General Douglas MacArthur’s initial call for a Marine 

Regimental Combat Team and a supporting air 

group in July 1950. The 5th Marines arrived in 

the Pusan Perimeter on 2 August, and the rest 

of the division followed soon after. The Training and Replacement Command managed the 

influx of reservists reporting to Camp Pendleton for active duty, while the 1st Advanced Infantry Training Regiment provided four weeks 

of combat training for boot camp graduates. 

Special training areas designed to simulate the 

conditions of fighting in Korea were developed as well, including those on Camp Pendleton, the nearby Marine Corps Mountain 

Warfare Training Center, and Twentynine Palms.

For the Marine Corps, the Korean War established a pattern of Cold War combat action in 

regional, limited, and costly wars. The conflict 

marked the first occasion in which the Marine 

Corps employed both helicopters and jet aircraft 

in combat. In addition, the demonstrable sucKorean War

1950–53

OP
korean war OP 29

cess of Marine brigade reinforcement of Army 

troops at the Pusan Peninsula and the 1st Marine 

Division’s amphibious landing at Inchon and recapture of Seoul helped secure a future for the 

Marine Corps against critics who argued against 

a permanent and independent role for the Service. In June 1952, Congress demonstrated its 

confidence in the Marine Corps by passing an 

amendment to the National Security Act. The 

legislation delineated the place of the Marine 

Corps as a separate Service with distinct roles 

and missions and guaranteed a force strength of 

at least three combat divisions and three aircraft 

wings. General Lemuel Shepherd, who became 

Commandant on 1 January 1952, set about implementing the law immediately. Camp Pendleton became the headquarters for the 1st and 

3d Marine Divisions, which were reformed and 

Members of a .30-caliber machine gun platoon of the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade prepare to embark for the Far East, 12 July 1950. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo, Historical Reference Branch, Marine Corps History Division, Quantico, VA, courtesy of Sgt F. J. Hotman
30 OP korean war

reactivated in response to the ongoing war. The 

1st Marine Division was swiftly assembled and 

sent to Korea, while the 3d Marine Division 

deployed as a replacement force to Japan. The 

conflict ended in 1953 with a cease-fire that reestablished the previous division of the peninsula 

along the 38th Parallel.

Following the Korean War, military strategists advocated the development of a more flexible and mobile Marine Corps that comprised 

divisions capable of being airlifted for combat. 

The 1st Marine Division remained at Camp 

Pendleton as the Corps’ force in readiness, as the 

undeveloped coastline and inland areas permitted military leaders ample opportunity to test 

and refine these reorganization ideas through 

large-scale exercises in the 1950s and 1960s.

A U.S. Marine patrol closes in on a Korean hut in search of an enemy sniper. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo, Historical Reference Branch, Marine Corps History Division, Quantico, VA, courtesy of TSgt Frank W. Sewell
korean war OP 31

Amphibious exercises became commonplace at Camp Pendleton during the 1950s and 1960s. 

Historical Photograph Collection, MCB Camp Pendleton Archives
32 OP Korean war

Staff Sergeant Reckless 

(ca. 1948–68)

Reckless, a small chestnut-colored horse with a 

white blaze on her face and three white stocking 

feet, served bravely with the Marine Corps during 

the Korean War. Recruited into service in October 

1952, the mare endeared herself to the Marines 

through her heroic actions on the battlefield. The 

Marine Corps honored her service with official 

rank in the United States military, and in 1959, 

Reckless attained the rank of staff sergeant under 

the auspices of General Randolph McC. Pate, Commandant of the Marine Corps. 

The distinguished career of this warhorse 

began when Lieutenant Eric Pedersen, the commanding officer of the Recoilless Rifle Platoon, Antitank Company, 5th Marine Regiment, recognized 

the value of having a horse to help carry ammunition for his platoon’s recoilless rifles. Introduced 

in World War II, the weapon could be carried by 

three or four men and project a 65mm shell several thousand yards with precision; however, rounds 

weighed approximately 24 pounds, which meant 

that a Marine ammunition carrier was limited in 

how many he could transport. With two other Marines, Pedersen visited the Seoul racetrack and paid 

$250 of his own money to buy a little red horse 

from a young Korean, Kim Huk Moon, who wanted to buy an artificial leg for his wounded sister. 

When the Marines arrived back at camp with the 

horse riding in a jeep trailer, members of the platoon gathered to meet the new equine recruit. They 

dubbed her “Reckless,” after the nickname Marines 

had given the recoilless rifle. 

Pedersen assigned Platoon Sergeant Joseph 

Latham the responsibility of overseeing battlefield 

training for the horse. Latham taught Reckless how 

to get in and out of a jeep trailer, how to take cover 

while on the front lines, and how to return to the 

bunker when incoming rounds hit behind the lines. 

The platoon sergeant also secured a pack saddle, 

which permitted the horse to carry loads of 6–10 

rounds to Marines on the front lines. Although 

PFC Winford G. McCraken, Headquarters Company, 5th Marines, stands by as Gen Randolph McC. Pate, Commandant of 

the Marine Corps, tacks chevrons on the blanket of SSgt Reckless, August 1959. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo, Historical Reference Branch, Marine 

Corps History Division, Quantico, VA, courtesy of Rhoades
korean war OP 33

initially nervous around the live rounds, Reckless 

settled into the routine of delivering ammunition 

to the recoilless gun crew. When not on the front 

lines, she assisted the platoon with stringing communication wire and with carrying grenades, smallarms ammunition, rations, sleeping bags, and even 

barbed wire. 

Reckless served in numerous combat actions 

during the Korean War. Her primary duty was to 

carry rounds for the recoilless rifle platoon from 

the ammunition supply point to their various firing 

sites. In March 1953, Reckless demonstrated both 

courage and grit during the battle at Outpost Vegas. Crossing rice paddies and up a steep 45-degree 

mountain trail, the little red mare made more than 

50 trips from the ammunition supply point to the 

firing sites. 

Despite being wounded twice during battle, Reckless carried more than 9,000 pounds of 

ammunition, walked more than 35 miles through 

exposed terrain, and returned carrying wounded soldiers to safety. For her accomplishments 

during the action at Outpost Vegas, General Pate, 

commander of the 1st Marine Division, awarded 

Reckless a battlefield promotion from corporal to 

sergeant in a formal ceremony, complete with reviewing stand, on 10 April 1954, several months 

after the war ended. The horse was promoted 

again to staff sergeant on 31 August 1959 at Camp 

Pendleton. Pate, then Commandant of the Marine 

Corps, presided over the ceremony. Reckless was 

honored with a 19-gun salute and a parade of 1,700 

Marines from her wartime unit.5

In addition to attaining the rank of staff sergeant, Reckless received numerous military decorations, including two Purple Hearts, a Marine 

Corps Good Conduct Medal, a Presidential Unit 

Citation with bronze star, a National Defense Service Medal, a Korean Service Medal, a United Nations Korea Medal, a Navy Unit Commendation, 

and Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, 

all of which she wore on her red and gold blanket. In 1971, the 1st Marine Division Association 

honored Reckless by erecting a memorial at the 

entrance to the base stables. More recently, the 

Marine Corps has installed memorial statues by 

sculptor Jocelyn Russell at Camp Pendleton as well 

as at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in 

Quantico, Virginia.

5 The number of guns in a salute signifies the importance of the 

event or person(s) being recognized. Nineteen guns are typically reserved for the vice president and American or foreign 

ambassadors. The only salute higher, 21 guns, is used to honor 

the U.S. flag, the American president, presidents from other 

nations, or visiting members of a royal family.
| 34 |

When civil war broke out between the U.S.-

backed South Vietnamese government and the 

Communist regime of North Vietnam and its 

supporters, known as the Viet Cong, the United States authorized ground troops to support 

South Vietnamese forces. With its location on 

the Pacific Coast, Camp Pendleton once again 

became a springboard for Marines bound for 

duty in the Far East. Each month, approximately 

6,000–8,000 Marines trained at Camp Pendleton for duty in Vietnam.

Marine Corps expansion during the Vietnam War spurred additional growth at Camp 

Pendleton, the primary training facility and staging installation for operations in Asia. In 1964, 

the military base established new weapons ranges to alleviate crowding at the Marine Corps 

Recruit Depot, San Diego, where civilian development was encroaching on the existing training 

ranges at La Jolla, California. U.S. participation 

in the Vietnam conflict also generated a severe 

manpower shortage that necessitated the reactivation of the 5th Marine Division at Camp 

Pendleton in 1967–68. As the 1st Marine Division had already departed California for Vietnam 

in March of 1966, the 5th Marine Division was 

ordered to serve as the permanent West Coast 

combat-ready force. The division placed units in 

Hawaii, Okinawa, and California as part of its reinforcement and strategic reserve missions supporting Marines actively fighting in Vietnam.

At peak U.S. involvement in 1969 and 

1970, Camp Pendleton ushered close to 80,000 

Marines through deployment training each year. 

After boot camp, Marines would travel to Camp 

Pendleton where they would be assigned to companies. Each company would spend two weeks 

studying individual and advanced combat trainVietnam War

1963–75

OP
Vietnam war OP 35

ing, basic infantry training, and combat familiarization. Those receiving specialized training, such 

as communications, field medical, and language 

studies, would then advance to technical training 

in the Schools Battalion. Marines assigned to infantry units completed an additional two weeks 

of training as riflemen, machine gunners, mortar 

men, scout snipers, and reconnaissance personnel. To prepare new recruits for the particular 

challenges of guerrilla warfare in Vietnam, the 

Korean village combat town was converted into 

a Vietnamese village, complete with booby traps. 

After training, Marines would spend 15 days at 

the Staging Battalion, where they received dog 

tags, clothing, ID cards, immunizations, and 

physical and dental examinations before departing for Vietnam or stations overseas. Additional 

training involved locating and disarming booby traps, identifying Communist Vietnamese 

troops, and firing and maintaining the M16 rifle. 

President Richard M. Nixon began a gradual withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam in 

1969. Six years later, after the United States officially pulled out and North Vietnamese forces 

began to encircle Saigon, the U.S. government 

initiated one of the largest humanitarian airlifts 

in history. In a matter of days, American helicopters evacuated thousands of U.S. military personnel and their families, as well as Vietnamese 

allies and other foreign nationals whose support 

Marines participated in counterinsurgency training at the simulated Vietnam village aboard Camp Pendleton. 

Historical Photograph Collection, MCB Camp Pendleton Archives

Vietnam village, Las Pulgas, Camp Pendleton.

Historical Photograph Collection, MCB Camp Pendleton Archives
36 OP vietnam war

of the United States placed them in grave danger. The displacement of Vietnamese refugees 

precipitated Operation New Arrivals, a resettlement program consisting of processing centers and tent camps at four military bases on 

the U.S. mainland, including Camp Pendleton. 

Housed in large squad tents in a relocation center at Camps Cristianitos and Talega, more than 

36,000 refugees passed through the base during 

the first two phases of the operation. An average 

of 210 refugees arrived each day, and an average 

of 262 departed daily for resettlement. The final 

phase began in September with the last refugee 

departing Camp Pendleton on 31 October. Over 

the course of the operation, Marines erected 

more than 1,000 tents and processed more than 

50,000 refugees. The camp officially closed on 

15 November 1975.

Refugee children continued their studies at Camp Pendleton 

during Operation New Arrivals. Many attended their first classes 

in English at this time. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo, courtesy of Gill
| 37 |

After Vietnam, the Marine Corps shifted its 

mission capabilities from amphibious tactics to 

expeditionary warfare, with a particular focus 

on special operations and urban warfare. In the 

1980s, Camp Pendleton became the West Coast 

home of the U.S. Navy’s new landing craft air 

cushion (hovercraft) and Assault Craft Unit 5, 

the purpose of which was to support naval operations by transporting troops, food, and firepower 

via coastal landings. Combining infantry, armor, 

supply, and air power, Marines have demonstrated the effectiveness of the air-ground team to 

meet modern exigencies in both humanitarian 

and combat operations. 

In the summer of 1990, the 1st Marine 

Division deployed to the Persian Gulf in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Comprising part of the largest deployment of U.S. 

military forces since Vietnam, the Marine Corps 

underscored the speed and efficiency of American military might through its rapid deployment 

of troops and equipment from Camp Pendleton 

to the Middle East in a matter of days. The division returned to the United States by April 1991.

Today, Camp Pendleton is home to the I 

Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) and its subordinate units, as well as tenant units at Marine 

Corps Air Station Miramar, Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity, and the Navy’s 

Assault Craft Units. The base further provides 

specialized schools and training as directed by the 

Commandant of the Marine Corps. The military 

base remains an outstanding training facility preparing military personnel for rapid deployment 

and maintaining combat readiness in the twentyfirst century. Its vast acreage allows the use of 

modern weaponry and permits trainees to engage in landing exercises and tactical maneuPost-Vietnam Era

1976–Present

OP
38 OP post-vietnam era

The 1st Marine Division formed the first combat-ready forces in Saudi Arabia. In early August 1990, Marines at Camp Pendleton 

learned that Iraqi forces led by Saddam Hussein had invaded Kuwait and immediately began preparations for deployment. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo, courtesy of GySgt Chuck Archuleta

vers. With its varied terrain, Camp Pendleton 

also supports experimentation for a wide range 

of combat operations. Since the 1980s, Marines 

stationed at Camp Pendleton have served in Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, and the 

wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Because Camp Pendleton is the home of I MEF, 1st Marine Division remains at the forefront in the Global War on Terrorism, 

maintaining 14 military operations in urban terrain facilities to 

prepare Marines for combat in urban environments. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo
post-vietnam era OP 39

Reconnaissance Training Company Marines receive an aerial view of Camp Pendleton during Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction training at the San Mateo Landing Zone, 17 April 2015. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo, courtesy of LCpl Asia J. Sorenson

| 41 |

The 1st Marine Division Headquarters, also 

known as the “White House,” is a World War 

II-era administrative building. Designed in September 1942 by the architectural firm Hunt, 

Chambers, and Ellingwood, the two-story building is typical of the utilitarian and swiftly constructed temporary structures that sprang up in 

response to wartime mobilization during World 

War II. The rambling wood-frame building takes 

the shape of two Swiss crosses connected via a 

long, central façade. A prominent porch spans 

the principal elevation, connecting north and 

south wings, and the rhythmic placement and 

proportioning of window openings (2:1 ratio) 

create a sense of geometric harmony on an otherwise austere façade. The majority of World 

War II-era buildings at Camp Pendleton were of 

a temporary nature, and the 1st Marine Division 

Headquarters remains one of the few relatively 

unaltered structures of this type on base. LoArchitectural Features 

of 1st Marine Division Headquarters

Building 1133

OP

cated in the Mainside area, it has served as the 

primary administrative building at Camp Pendleton since its construction in 1943. Its surviving 

architectural features include a sprawling shape, 

raised pier-and-beam foundation, and wide ninebay porch. 

The White House was an early and important structure in the development of the new 

West Coast training facility. Its original purpose 

was to serve as the headquarters building for all 

Marine Corps divisions assigned to Camp Pendleton. By the end of World War II, the 3d, 4th, 

and 5th Divisions, or fully one-half of the Marines who fought in the Pacific, used this building 

as their command post. In 1946, General Alexander Vandegrift, Commandant of the Marine 

Corps, ordered the base to remain the center 

of all Marine Corps activities on the West Coast 

and designated the site as the permanent home 

of the 1st Marine Division. The White House 
42 OP Architectural features

has been used continuously as the official West 

Coast headquarters for that division ever since.

Two recent events had a profound influence 

on the design and setting of the Marine Division 

Command Post building: the Japanese attack on 

Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and springtime 

flooding near the Santa Margarita River in 1942. 

Apprehension over the possibility of Japanese 

raids led architects Myron B. Hunt, Harold C. 

Chambers, and E. L. Ellingwood to abandon a 

prescribed military master plan for Camp Pendleton in favor of a deliberately random arrangement of buildings. Dispersing structures across 

the landscape and embedding a shield of vermiculite, or lightweight concrete, under the roofing, 

the architects intended to protect the military 

installation from enemy raids by making the pattern of bombing problematic and the spread of 

1st Marine Division Headquarters, Building 1133, August 2016. 

Photo by the author
1st marine division headquarters OP 43

fire more difficult. Consequently, Hunt’s firm 

discretely sited the headquarters building as a 

stand-alone structure, removed from the cluster of administration buildings that traditionally 

marked the center of a base. Today, the 1st Marine Division Headquarters stands relatively isolated compared to newer construction at Camp 

Pendleton. Set back from one of the primary 

roads on base, the building overlooks a vast parade ground and remains largely surrounded by 

open space.

To counter the threat of seasonal weather, 

the architectural firm raised the administrative 

building on a pier-and-beam foundation. This 

adaptation lifted the principal office space above 

the threat of flooding due to heavy rains. In an 

era when central air conditioning was not yet 

commonplace, the design offered the additional 

benefit of allowing the underside of the building 

to breathe. 

Adapting the design from standardized 

U.S. Navy B1-type barracks, Hunt, Chambers, 

and Ellingwood devised plans that upgraded 

architectural details and incorporated new materials to meet the particularities of function 

and climate for the Marine Division Command 

Post. Barracks were generally two-story frame 

construction with the interior space partitioned 

into offices, classrooms, and dormitories. With 

a double Swiss cross floorplan, the White House 

is more complex in its layout than standard 

barracks; yet like those structures, the interior 

Earliest known photo of Building 1133, taken shortly after construction, ca. 1943. 

J. E. Haddock Scrapbook, MCB Camp Pendleton Archives
44 OP architectural features

arrangement reflects the external logic of the 

structure and creates circulation within. Doublewide entrances at each end of the porch open 

to a small entry hall with a wide stairway to the 

second floor. These modest lobbies lead to a central corridor system connecting all segments of 

the building. On the first and second floors, as 

well as in each side wing, openness is achieved 

through long, narrow hallways flanked by a single row of rectangular rooms on either side. The 

second floor contains a few larger rooms, reserved for the most important occupants of the 

building. Otherwise, there is little to distinguish 

any hierarchy of space throughout the structure.

Embodying characteristics of Hunt, Chambers, and Ellingwood’s temporary World War II 

buildings, the White House displays few overt 

stylistic features. It exhibits minimal surface ornamentation and lacks skirting around the foundation crawlspace. The vernacular aesthetic of 

the structure is further expressed in the architects’ near-symmetrical massing of form and in 

their reliance on simple building materials such 

as wood. The open railing, low gabled roof, and 

wood sheathing further associate the building 

with temporary structures erected during the 

war mobilization years of the early 1940s. These 

defining characteristics remained unchanged unBuilding 1133, ca. mid-to-late 1950s. 

Collection of LtCol H. J. L. Reid, USMC (Ret), MCB Camp Pendleton Archives
1st marine division headquarters OP 45

Top: first-floor plan of Building 1133. Bottom: second-floor plan of Building 1133. 

ASM Affiliates, Carlsbad, CA
46 OP architectural features

til the 1960s, when a major renovation altered 

the building’s exterior appearance. At that time, 

the primary entrance, which the architects had 

centered along the symmetrical front façade and 

accentuated with a “sign marker” or prominent 

center bay, was enclosed and the center bank of 

steps eliminated from the front porch. The porch 

railing system also changed significantly as part 

of this construction; the horizontal rails between 

posts were replaced with a vertical screening device. Although typical of mid-century modern 

architecture, the visual obstruction of the porch 

and diversion of foot traffic to secondary side entrances nevertheless diminished the structure’s 

original legibility of function and transparency 

of design.

A second renovation project in 1983 aimed 

This photograph of the 1st Marine Division Headquarters, taken in the 1970s or 1980s, shows the modern screen alterations made to 

the porch during the 1960s. 

Historical Photograph Collection, MCB Camp Pendleton Archives

New millwork replaced the original in the interior hallways and 

stairwells of the 1st Marine Division Headquarters. 

ASM Affiliates, Carlsbad, CA
1st marine division headquarters OP 47

to refresh the interior of the White House. This 

undertaking involved laying carpet over the original flooring and painting the walls a deep forest green color. In addition, many doors were 

replaced with colonial-style raised panel units, 

while ornamental oak millwork embellished 

door trim, stairway facings, and walls to create the impression of a wainscot. These decorative elements—the Victorian-style millwork, 

colonial-style doors, paint colors, and carpeting—represent a significant departure from the 

building’s minimalist wartime inception. Moreover, many areas feature suspended ceilings, 

The porch railing of the 1st Marine Division Headquarters has 

been restored to handrail height. 

Photo by the author

Main elevation (West and East) of Building 1133. 

ASM Affiliates, Carlsbad, CA
48 OP architectural features

which cover the original acoustic tile-clad ceilings and reduce the overall height of corridors 

and rooms.

Subsequent additions and updates involved 

the replacement of wood windows with aluminum units, removal of original window sills and 

trim, overlay of the original German lap siding 

with fiberboard product, and enclosure of the 

foundation-level crawl space with framed skirts. 

A partial remodel of the front porch railing system restored the height of the vertical screening 

to handrail height, such that the veranda currently contains alternating bays characterized by vertical louvers and planter boxes. In addition, the 

low-profile gable roof was updated with asphalt 

shingles, although the gentle pitch and material 

remain consistent with the original design of the 

structure. 

Today, the White House remains a tangible example of the growing presence of the Marine Corps on the West Coast during World War 

II. Despite extensive surface modifications, the 

floorplan and configuration of space at the 1st 

Marine Division Headquarters has changed little 

since its construction in 1943. The uniqueness of 

its sprawling shape, color, wide porch, and fenestration all combine to evoke a strong sense of time 

and place. In 2011, a historic resources survey and 

evaluation at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton 

recommended the Marine Division Command 

Post building for eligibility with the National Register of Historic Places for its significance as a representative example of temporary military base 

architecture from the World War II-era.

Front entrance of the Marine Division Command Post showing 

the blue diamond insignia of the 1st Marine Division. The first 

shoulder patch to be approved during World War II, the blue diamond insignia commemorates the division’s sacrifices and victory 

in the Battle for Guadalcanal. 

Photo by the author
1st marine division headquarters OP 49

Myron H. Hunt

Myron H. Hunt (1868–1952) was one of the most 

prominent Southern California architects of the 

early twentieth century. With a career spanning 

five decades, he designed numerous well-known 

California landmarks and upper-class homes using 

an eclectic range of styles. 

Born in Sunderland, Massachusetts, Hunt 

spent his formative years in the Lakeview district 

of Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Lake View 

High School and briefly attended Northwestern 

University before advancing to the Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology, where he earned a degree 

in architecture in 1893. He then extended his education with a three-year sojourn to Europe, where 

he studied architectural antiquities. Upon his return to the United States, Hunt joined the Chicago 

office of Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge, a prominent Boston-based architectural firm. During this 

time, Hunt was chiefly involved in the design of expensive suburban homes, for which he called upon 

Chicago architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s innovative 

Prairie School aesthetic for inspiration.

In 1903, Hunt left behind a highly successful 

practice in Chicago and moved to Pasadena, California, to ease his wife’s suffering from tuberculosis. During the next 20 years, he maintained an 

office in Los Angeles, where he worked both independently and in partnership with fellow Midwestern architect Elmer Grey (1872–1963). Among 

Hunt’s best-known commissions of this period are 

Henry Huntington’s estate (now the Huntington 

Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens) 

Architect Myron H. Hunt (1868–1952). This portrait was taken by Master Studio, NY, in 1927. 

Palos Verdes Library Local History Room Photograph Collection, Palos 

Verdes Library District

in San Marino; the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena; the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles; and 

the campus of Occidental College in Los Angeles. 

Hunt formed a new partnership with architect Harold C. Chambers (1885–1971) in 1921. 

A graduate of the Armour Institute of Technology in Chicago, Chambers had worked as a junior 

architect for the firm Hunt and Grey prior to its 
50 OP architectural features

dissolution in 1912 and had maintained a close professional relationship with Hunt. The pair operated 

a successful firm, Hunt and Chambers, until Hunt’s 

retirement in 1947. Their commissions included 

public libraries in Pasadena, Redlands, Palos Verdes 

Estates, and Santa Barbara. 

After World War I, Hunt’s designs evolved 

into a bold, personal style that he called “Californian,” an interpretative take on the Spanish Revival 

style fusing historical and modern influences. The 

Beach Club at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, completed in 1946, exemplifies the low gable 

roof, long veranda, and irregular window and door 

openings typical of his designs. An avid gardener, 

Hunt felt that the style grew naturally out of the 

landscape and culture of Southern California and 

thus was more appropriate to the region than European precedents. He also intended the Beach 

Designed one year before Myron Hunt’s retirement, the Beach Club at MCB Camp Pendleton demonstrates a return to the Californian style he had helped to foster. He intended the recreational facility to be sympathetic with the architectural styles of Las 

Flores Adobe National Historic Landmark and Santa Margarita Ranch House National Historic Site.

MCB Camp Pendleton Archives
1st marine division headquarters OP 51

Club, in particular, to harmonize visually with the 

historic architectural styles of the Santa Margarita 

Ranch House complex and Las Flores Adobe located nearby. 

The 1st Marine Division Headquarters 

building at Camp Pendleton is a strong example 

of Hunt’s late work, which increasingly focused on 

public sector projects during the lean years of the 

Great Depression and World War II. Base planners 

frequently involved civilian architects in military 

design projects, and Hunt completed numerous 

commissions for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps 

over the course of his career. With Chambers, he 

developed site plans, buildings, roads, water supply, sewage, and utilities for several military installations. The pair hired E. L. Ellingwood to assist 

with temporary construction projects during the 

war mobilization years. In addition to serving as 

the original architects for Camp Pendleton, Hunt 

and his partners received commissions for Naval 

Air Station North Island and Camp Callan in San 

Diego; March Field in Riverside; and Camp White 

in Medford, Oregon. Designed largely as temporary structures, many of the firm’s designs have 

been destroyed or substantially altered since their 

construction. At Camp Pendleton, the 1st Marine 

Division Headquarters building remains as the only 

known example of Hunt’s military base design 

work to be completed during the war. 

| 53 |

Among the oldest structures on the grounds of 

present-day Camp Pendleton are a cluster of 

adobe buildings belonging to the historic Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores, an expansive 

tract of ranch land whose origins date to the 

first quarter of the nineteenth century. Located 

at the corner of Vandegrift Boulevard and Basilone Road, the property includes the main residence and outbuildings now known as the Ranch 

House, the Bunkhouse Museum, and the Ranch 

House Chapel. The Santa Margarita Ranch House 

complex, often referred to simply as the “Ranch 

House,” features adobe-and-timber construction 

common to Spanish colonial architecture in early California. Placed on the National Register of 

Historic Places in 1971, the site exudes historical 

charm with mission-style architectural features 

including wood-framed ceilings, tiled roofs, covArchitectural Features 

of the Santa Margarita Ranch 

House National Historic Site

OP

ered porches, and plastered walls constructed 

from locally sourced sun-dried brick.1

Constructed between approximately 1810 

and 1827, the Santa Margarita ranch house 

building initially formed one of six ranchos providing the Spanish clergy at Mission San Luis Rey 

with tallow and hides, which could be traded for 

European goods, such as printed pottery. In an 

1827 inventory of the estancia, or outpost, Father Antonio Peyri observed a modest two-room 

structure measuring 44 feet by 36 feet with one 

1

 The National Register of Historic Places is the federal government’s official list of cultural resources that have been identified 

as being worthy of preservation. Authorized under the National 

Historic Preservation Act of 1966, it is part of a nation-wide program to coordinate public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect historic sites in the United States.
54 OP architectural features

door, a tile roof, and a walled enclosure protecting a garden and a vineyard: 

To the North at a distance of one 

league and a half [about four miles] 

the mission was a place with a house 

and a garden, and near the beginnings 

of the sierra, a vineyard. The land is 

cultivated and wheat, corn, beans, 

and barley are raised. The fields are 

irrigated by means of water from the 

sierra, which, though not plentiful, 

assures some crops.2

Today, the Ranch House grounds contribute significantly to its historical appeal. Built 

atop a rocky knoll, the adobe buildings possess a 

commanding view of the picturesque Santa Margarita River valley.

After Mexico gained independence from 

Spain in 1821 and Alta California became a possession of the Mexican government, the Santa Margarita Ranch House complex flourished 

as one of the largest and most successful cattle 

2

 Stephen D. Mikesell and Stephen R. Wee, National Register Nomination: Santa Margarita Ranch House (Washington, DC: National 

Parks Service, 1994), 3, 25.

Aerial view of the Santa Margarita Ranch House. 

Camp Pendleton Historical Society
santa margarita ranch house OP 55

ranches in the region.3 In an effort to disperse 

the enormous wealth and power that had long 

3While a Spanish colony, the province of Alta California encompassed the present-day states of California, Nevada, and Utah, 

as well as parts of four additional states. The Mexican Constitution of 1824 designated this area as Alta California Territory, 

with Monterey as the capital. The United States occupied much 

of the area during and following the Mexican-American War and 

the state of California was formally organized at a constitutional 

convention held in Monterey in late 1849.

been the exclusive purview of the Franciscan 

clergy, the new Mexican leadership opened the 

frontier with more liberal trade practices and 

commenced secularizing the California mission 

system, including Mission San Luis Rey. Among 

the beneficiaries of this redistribution process 

were Andrés and Pio Pico of San Diego. Members of the diputación, or local legislative body 

in Alta California, the Pico brothers were foremost proponents of the liberal movement and 

Established in 1798, nearly 30 years after Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolá and his expeditionary force arrived in Alta California, 

Mission San Luis Rey facilitated Spanish claim-staking in the region through the colonization of indigenous populations. Franciscan 

priests preached to the Luiseño people, whose villages dotted nearby valleys, streams, and coasts, and taught them agricultural skills 

to benefit the Spanish Crown. This oil painting, created by artist Christian Jörgensen (1860–1935) depicts Mission San Luis Rey as it 

appeared in 1910.

The Bancroft Library, University of California Berkeley
56 OP architectural features

influential leaders in the community. Following 

the revolution in 1821, Pio, the elder brother, 

served as one of two commissioners appointed 

by Governor José Figueroa during the Mexican 

secularization process to take possession of Mission San Luis Rey and later served as mission administrator.4

Pio Pico moved into the old mission building and began erecting for his family a suitably 

aristocratic abode, the Santa Margarita Ranch 

House, between 1842 and 1844. Built at or near 

the site of the older adobe structure, the new 

residence consisted of a gable-roofed one-anda-half story main block with an open interior 

court. The structure was characterized by thick 

adobe brick walls and giant hand-cut ceiling 

timbers supporting a heavy, fired clay tile roof 

and covered porches or corredors. A free-standing 

kitchen wing was oriented at an approximate 

right angle to the larger structure.

An ensuing cattle boom greatly increased 

their fortunes, and the Pico brothers added to 

their land holdings over the next decade. In 

1844, the Picos acquired an adjoining parcel at 

Las Flores, the site of another historic estancia 

4

 Although the law of secularization stated that former mission 

land would transfer to native populations, the terrain instead 

came under the control of various secular administrators, who 

awarded large parcels of land to prominent Californio citizens 

sympathetic to Mexican governance.

near the village of San Onofre.5 The combined 

land grant became known as the Rancho Santa 

Margarita y Las Flores.

In 1845, Pio Pico entered office as the last 

5

 Rancho San Onofre y Santa Margarita was the likely original 

name of the Picos’ land. 

Pio de Jesus Pico IV (1801–94) was a prominent Californio 

rancher and politician in the Mexican government from 1828 to 

1848, when California became part of the United States. Following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Pico became a private 

American citizen, businessman, and later served on the Los Angeles City Council. 

Whittier Museum, Whittier, CA
santa margarita ranch house OP 57

Surveyor and architect Jasper O’Farrell (1817–75) delineated the boundaries of Rancho Santa Margarita in 1845. 

The Bancroft Library, University of California Berkeley
58 OP architectural features

Mexican governor of Alta California prior to 

the Mexican-American War. The arrival of Army 

Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny the following year cut short Pico’s term in office, and the 

elder brother fled to Mexico. Remaining in California, Pio’s brother Andrés served as a general 

in the Mexican Army, in which capacity he fought 

General Kearny at the Battle of San Pasqual in 

1846. Remarkably, the ranch remained intact 

during these tumultuous years, which resulted 

in the transfer of California sovereignty to the 

United States. Both brothers returned to the estate after the war, but neither stayed long; Pio 

relocated to Los Angeles, and Andrés left the region in pursuit of gold in Northern California.

The Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores 

remained in the Pico family until the 1860s, when 

the brothers trasnferred their shares to their English-born brother-in-law John Forster to avoid 

foreclosure. Californios were swiftly becoming 

a minority and facing diminished political power and social status under U.S. governance. Reversals in the livestock trade and the high costs 

of defending Mexican-issued land grants added 

further to the challenges facing the Pico brothers. Already in 1862, Andrés Pico found himself 

deeply in debt and deeded his portion of the 

ranch to Pio. A severe drought in 1863 and 1864 

decimated the livestock, and the elder Pico was 

forced to sell as well.6

6

 Although Pio Pico offered the mortgage brokers Picche and 

Like many of the Anglo merchants who 

immigrated to Alta California well before the 

gold rush, Forster embraced Spanish language 

and customs and married into a prominent 

Hispanic family. A successful businessman, Forster acquired multiple land grants during Pio 

Pico’s tenure as governor and became a wealthy 

ranchero during the cattle boom. Even before 

adding Santa Margarita to his holdings, Forster 

had amassed more than 100,000 acres headquartered at the old Mission San Juan Capistrano and 

assumed the title “Don.”7

Rains in late 1864 and early 1865 brought 

relief from the drought that had forced Pico to 

sell the ranch, and Forster began making improvements to the property almost immediately. 

The renovation campaign produced a one-and-ahalf story adobe main block with a series of onestory wings enclosing a central courtyard.8

 By 

Boyerque a deed to the property and 5,000 head of cattle as payment, the French entrepreneurs refused. Thus, when his brotherin-law John Forster offered $14,000 in exchange for the deed to 

the ranch, the elder Pico accepted.

7

 Forster moved from Capistrano to Las Flores in 1864. He attempted to improve his cattle holdings, but his aspirations were 

stymied by the Picos, who claimed that Forster had purchased 

only half of the ranch. Andrés purported still to own his original 

parcel of the estate, and he presented a map as part of his court 

battle. Forster brought the claim to court, and after an extended 

trial, the San Diego District Court decided in Forster’s favor.

8

 The historical record is unclear on the exact floorplan of the 

Santa Margarita Ranch House at the time Forster acquired the 

property. As a result, it is difficult to distinguish which renovations were completed as part of Pio Pico’s 1840s construction 

and which emerged through Forster’s subsequent projects. 
santa margarita ranch house OP 59

the 1870s, the Ranch House included corredors 

on the west and south sides of the main block, 

the south side of the south wing, and surrounding the courtyard. As was typical in adobe construction in nineteenth-century California, walls 

exposed to external elements like sun and rain 

were originally covered with lime plaster, while 

interior walls employed a covering of earthen 

plaster and limewash. In addition, Forster purchased tile from the Mission San Juan Capistrano, his former residence, as roofing material for 

the new construction. He built a retaining wall 

on the west side of the building, added a corral 

and two barns, a winery and a wine cellar, improved the orchards, and established new fields 

for cultivation. 

The Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores 

gained renown as a destination for travelers, who 

remarked on the Forster family’s lavish hospitalJohn “Don Juan” Forster (1815–81) rose from modest circumstances in Liverpool, England, to become one of the largest landowners in California. He married Ysidora Pico, sister of Pio and 

Andrés Pico, in 1837.

San Juan Capistrano Historical Society

The Santa Margarita Ranch House, ca. 1880. The vineyard covered 12 acres, while the orchard spanned roughly 5 acres and 

supported 100 apple and 80 peach trees. 

California History Section Picture Catalog, California State Library

The bunkhouse that lies to the south of the Ranch House probably began construction during John Forster’s ownership between 

1865 and 1870. The building appears in several nineteenthcentury photographs, plastered and roofed in tile. 

Collection of Jerome Baumgartner Jr., MCB Camp Pendleton Archives
60 OP architectural features

ity. Recounting a conversation he had had with 

Forster’s son Marco, travel author Charles B. 

Nordhoff described the reception one could expect to receive at the Ranch House: 

In those days, said Don Marco Forster, men used to travel from San Diego to Monterey and never spend a 

cent of money. When night came, you 

stopped at the nearest house. After 

supper, you were shown your room. 

In the morning, a clean shirt was at 

your bedside; and if you were known 

to the family, it was customary to 

place near the bed, on the table, also a 

sum of money, a hundred or two hundred dollars, from which the visitor, 

if he needed it, was expected to help 

himself.9

The ranch also maintained during this period a relatively large workforce of between 30 

and 50 people, many of them servants. Faced 

with declines in the market, loss of livestock to 

drought, and high taxes on unimproved land, 

Forster sought out mortgages with high interest 

rates to sustain the customary ranchero lifestyle 

and to prevent foreclosure. Following Forster’s 

death in 1882, his heirs sold the ranch to settle 

the estate. 

In the final decades of the nineteenth century, the Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores 

became one of the largest and most prosperous 

ranches in California under the enduring partnership of James C. Flood and Richard O’Neill. 

In addition to the 133,000 acres at Santa Margarita y Las Flores, they purchased two neighboring ranches in Orange County: Mission Viejo 

and Trabuco. At its peak, the ranch exceeded 

205,000 acres, extending from Oceanside to 

Orange County, and became known simply as 

the Santa Margarita Ranch. 

9

 Charles Nordhoff, California: For Health, Pleasure, and Residence—A Book for Travelers and Settlers (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1873), 243.

Forster City

John Forster encountered financial difficulties in 

the latter part of the nineteenth century, when 

Southern California saw a shift away from traditional ranching with large cattle herds and the 

Spanish padrone lifestyle to smaller farming operations and fenced properties. By the 1870s, 

he was looking for a way to profit on the ranch 

through real estate development. Hoping to emulate the success of Los Angeles ranchers like 

Abel Stearns, Forster planned to sell off ranch 

land and create a housing subdivision. By 1880, 

the town of Forster City could boast of a general 

store, post office, blacksmith shop, hotel, lumber yard, and livery stable. In time, however, the 

venture failed. 
santa margarita ranch house OP 61

Oil painting of the Santa Margarita Ranch House, artist unknown. 

MCB Camp Pendleton Archives

Whereas Flood had provided the majority of the purchase price for the ranch, O’Neill 

assumed responsibility over the day-to-day operations. Shortly after the O’Neill family moved 

into the old Ranch House, the California Southern Railroad completed a line across the ranch. 

With tracks located immediately north of the 

Ranch House, long cattle drives to markets in 

Los Angeles and San Diego became a relic of the 

past. With new transportation methods came 

new infrastructure requirements, and O’Neill 

constructed a small rail station, warehouses, 

stock pens, and loading platforms in several places throughout the estate. By 1885, he erected a 

windmill and pump house directly behind the 

corral. He also ceased the commercial production of wine and converted the winery building 

into a blacksmith, carpenter, and tool shop.
62 OP architectural features

By the turn of the century, the Santa Margarita Ranch House had been altered from its 

1870s configuration. It is not clear whether the 

Floods or the O’Neills were responsible for the 

change in floorplan, or whether Forster had 

completed some additional remodeling prior to 

his death. As indicated by an architectural model 

of the residence from this period, the building 

contained corredors on the west side of the main 

block and the south and north sides of the south 

wing, all covered in clay roofing tiles. The corredors on the remaining three sides of the courtyard and on the south side of the main block 

were roofed in cedar shingles, suggesting that the 

corredors denote two distinct construction campaigns. The model also reveals a second-story addition near the southwest corner of the house, 

which may have served as quarters for the cook, 

and the enclosure of a portion of the south portal 

on the kitchen wing. 

After O’Neill passed away in 1910, the 

Flood-O’Neill partnership continued under the 

guidance of their sons James C. Flood Jr. and 

Born in Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ireland, Richard O’Neill 

(1824–1910) met James Flood on a ship en route to the United 

States. The two men formed a lasting friendship and prosperous 

partnership that included the vast ranching operations at Rancho 

Santa Margarita y Las Flores. As ranch manager, O’Neill devoted 

a portion of his yearly profits to Flood to purchase one-half interest in the venture. He became a full partner by 1906. 

San Juan Capistrano Historical Society

The adobe portion of the building that is now used as a chapel 

was constructed by John Forster and likely used as a winery. This 

photograph, taken during the Flood-O’Neill period, shows the 

Ranch House building after it had been converted to a blacksmith 

shop. 

Collection of Jerome Baumgartner Jr., MCB Camp Pendleton Archives
santa margarita ranch house OP 63

John Jay Baumgartner (1865–1946), a painter and architectural delineator who lived and worked in California, was related to the 

O’Neill family by marriage. A frequent visitor to the ranch houses at Santa Margarita and Las Flores, Baumgartner produced a handdrawn floor plan and a scale model of the Santa Margarita Ranch House, ca. 1900. 

Collection of Jerome Baumgartner Jr., MCB Camp Pendleton Archives
64 OP architectural features

Jerome O’Neill. A major flood on 30 January 

1916 precipitated significant updates to the Santa Margarita Ranch House. The natural disaster 

washed out the railroad bed and damaged the 

bunkhouse, shops, barns, and corral. The Ranch 

House, perched on a small knoll, fortunately did 

not sustain significant damage. After the floodwaters subsided, Jerome O’Neill undertook major 

construction to repair the damaged outbuildings 

and to complete an extensive remodeling of the 

Ranch House and bunkhouse. 

Photographs from this period indicate 

that O’Neill made substantial additions at the 

northeast, southeast, and southwest corners of 

the house. Each expansion is characterized by a 

different construction scheme, although all have 

many features in common with respect to concrete detailing, millwork, and finishes. Whereas 

the southeast corner has a reinforced concrete 

frame with hollow clay infill, the main level addition at the northeast corner is constructed entirely of structural hollow clay tile. Additions to 

the northeast and southeast are two stories, with 

basements accessed at ground level below main 

level rooms. The addition at the southwest corner infills the space once occupied by the hallway 

on the south end of the main block. 

Because the old roof had begun to leak by 

1915, O’Neill reframed and replaced the roof, 

adapting roof lines to incorporate new additions. 

As part of this update, the stairs to the attic were 

removed and the upper floor ceased to be used as 

a living space. The installation of interior doorways established new traffic patterns throughout 

the house, as it became possible for the first time 

to pass from room to room without accessing the 

corredors of the courtyard and patio. With this 

reconfiguration of the house, the courtyard entrance on the north façade came to serve as the 

primary entrance to the home. The first bathtub 

also was reportedly installed in 1916, although 

the zinc tub had to be filled and emptied by hand, 

as indoor plumbing was not installed until approximately 1928. The house was equipped with 

its first electrical system at this time as well.

Jerome O’Neill oversaw the cattle ranching enterprise until his death in 1926, at which 

time the estate went to an assortment of heirs 

in both families. The property lacked a manager with the interest and expertise required to 

remain in the agricultural business, so the vast 

ranch was divided between the O’Neills, Floods, 

and Baumgartners (who had married into the 

O’Neill family) in 1938. The Flood descendants 

assumed the southern portion, and the northern 

portion split into two parts going to the O’Neill 

and Baumgartner families, respectively.

With the Marine Corps’ purchase of the 

ranch in 1942, the Santa Margarita Ranch House 

became an enormous construction site. Working around the clock, laborers developed the 

landscape to provide airstrips, administration 
santa margarita ranch house OP 65

buildings, and housing for the new military base. 

Alterations to the Ranch House complex took 

immediate effect. Numerous buildings associated with the ranch operation were demolished to 

make way for new construction necessary to the 

development of the base. By September 1942, 

only the adobe buildings—the Ranch House, 

bunkhouse, blacksmith shop, and outhouse—

had not been demolished. 

Base architects put forward two plans for 

redevelopment and reuse of the Santa Margarita 

Ranch House. The first plan, devised by Major 

General Clayton B. Vogel, proposed substantial 

alteration of the existing building with the addition of a wing enclosing a second courtyard. The 

At the entryway to the courtyard on the north side of the building, the doors were replaced with a more decorative set to reflect 

the increasing importance of this entryway in the reconfigured 

house. 

Photo by the author

A new corredor was constructed in 1916 to create a covered 

walkway along the remodeled southwest façade. In addition, many 

new doors were added to connect interior rooms, thereby eliminating the need to use the corredors to move from room to room. 

Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, courtesy of Henry F. Withey

Few changes occurred on the property between Jerome O’Neill’s 

1916 remodeling project and the Marine Corps acquisition of the 

Santa Margarita Ranch House in 1942. With the transformation 

of the ranch to a military base during World War II, the Marine 

Corps razed many of the outbuildings surrounding the Ranch 

House. 

Progress Edition, 1943, MCB Camp Pendleton Archives
66 OP architectural features

second plan, developed by California architects 

Myron Hunt and Harold C. Chambers, called for 

several minor changes directed to converting the 

old Ranch House into an officers’ club. Detailed 

in a plan drawn by the architects in 1942, the 

proposed modifications focused on the south and 

east wings of the building and consisted of the 

addition of an arched opening between the dining room and tap room, a reconfigured doorway 

featuring banco, or bench, seating between the 

tap room and vestibule, and the installation of 

new casework. As part of this remodel, the architects designated a large kitchen with a scullery 

and pantry, from which the dining room could be 

directly accessed, as well as a coffee room with 

its own kitchenette. Hunt and Chambers further 

incorporated a lavatory and bathroom, which 

could be accessed from corredors on the east and 

south of the courtyard. 

The Marine Corps secured funding and adopted the Hunt/Chambers plan to refurbish and 

adapt the Ranch House to suit its new purpose; 

however, when word of the extensive renovation 

leaked in August 1942, the California Historical 

Society intervened with an appeal to General Joseph C. Fegan to preserve the historical integrity 

of the Santa Margarita Ranch House complex. 

President Franklin D. Roosevelt also weighed in 

on the planned changes. While touring the Ranch 

House during his visit to base for the dedication 

ceremony on 25 September 1942, Roosevelt expressed his admiration for the historical structure and encouraged Brigadier General Fegan to 

adopt a policy of preservation and restoration. 

According to Fegan, the president instructed 

“that all restoration must proceed along historical lines; that as much of the old furniture as 

possible should be retained and re-procured; that 

the gardens, bunk house [sic] and winery should 

Plan of the Santa Margarita Ranch House, 1944. 

MCB Camp Pendleton Archives
santa margarita ranch house OP 67

be restored, and that the landscaping be carried 

out at points indicated by him.”10

Under the careful watch of California Gov10 Joseph Fegan, letter dated February 1943, as quoted in Milford 

Wayne Donaldson, Santa Margarita Ranch: United States Marine 

Corps Base Camp Joseph H. Pendleton (San Diego, CA: Office of Historic Preservation, 1998), 36.

ernor Culbert L. Olson and the California Historical Society, the Marine Corps restored and 

modernized the Santa Margarita Ranch House. 

As part of this construction, the southeast corner 

of the house was slightly reconfigured to support 

the officers’ club function. Between 1942 and 

1946, a bar was installed in the room adjacent 

to the large dining room. Both the kitchen and 

Gen Joseph C. Fegan commissioned light fixtures for the corredors, main hall, and formal living spaces and began to assemble a collection of antiques to use as furnishings, such as the Empire-style sofa and armchairs in the sala, or reception room, pictured above. 

Photo by the author
68 OP architectural features

a buggy shed, which had previously not been attached to the house, were incorporated into the 

main structure. New doorways created a foyer, 

while the adobe wall on the north side of the 

main block was partially demolished, and a castin-place concrete wall was installed to stabilize 

the remaining adobe. Modern heating, plumbing, and electrical systems also were installed 

during this period. The arcaded walk along the 

south wall of the northeast corner was added 

sometime after the Marine Corps acquired the 

property as well.

The Santa Margarita Ranch House served briefly as an officers’ club in the 1940s. The meat hooks on the wall of the barroom recall its 

prior iteration as a cattle ranch, when the floor was slanted to drain blood dripping from freshly cut meat. 

Historical Photograph Collection, MCB Camp Pendleton Archives
santa margarita ranch house OP 69

In addition, the bunkhouse underwent repairs and the winery was converted into a chapel as part of this modernization and restoration 

effort. Updated for use as quarters for noncommissioned officers, the bunkhouse remodel 

included the installation of a new tile roof. In 

The arbor entrance of the Ranch House has a bell that was once used at the Las Flores estancia. Cast in 1828 and brought to the small 

mission by Spanish priests from Mission San Luis Rey, the bell was donated to the Marine Corps by officials of the railway station at 

San Juan Capistrano, where it had hung since 1887. In 1943, the general manager of the Santa Fe Railway’s Coast Lines, E. E. McCarty, 

presented the bell to Camp Pendleton. 

Photo by the author

1949, the wooden corredor posts were replaced 

with concrete columns. In 1965, the Marine 

Corps established a museum in the building. The 

winery, meanwhile, had already been converted 

into a blacksmith shop during the O’Neill stewardship. The Marine Corps repaired the struc-
70 OP architectural features

Murals

The first commanding general to reside in the 

house was Major General Graves B. Erskine, who 

moved in with his family in July 1947. His wife, 

Peg, was responsible for two murals in the house. 

She painted the first herself. The second, painted by 

Master Sergeant Russ Vickers during World War II 

when the building served as an officers’ club, nostalgically depicted an Old West scene of San Francisco’s Barbary Coast during the mid-nineteenth 

century. A later resident of the Ranch House objected to the “lady of the evening” who was “clearly 

advertising her wares” in the dining room mural. 

Although the vignette was modified to depict the 

offending window with closed shades, the mural 

was subsequently covered in target paper and then 

plastered. In 1962, Mrs. John C. Munn uncovered 

Vicker’s mural, which remains visible today in the 

vestibule near the southeast corner of the house.

Mural of the Barbary Coast of San Francisco by MSgt Russ 

Vickers. Commissioned by Graves B. Erskine’s wife, the mural was considered too risqué by a later resident of the Ranch 

House. Vickers, a Marine combat artist during the Korean 

War, later worked as a technical illustrator for the aerospace 

industry in Los Angeles. Painting Western scenes in his spare 

time, he developed a naturalistic style. Several of his paintings 

appear in the film Chisum (1970) starring John Wayne. 

Photo by the author

ture for use as a chapel for the Marine Corps 

Women Reserves in 1943. They repaired adobe walls and added a vestry, arcaded corredor, 

and bell tower framed in wood and stucco 

to emulate adobe. The funding for the latter 

project came primarily from private donations, 

including money given by the O’Neill family, General Fegan, and the widow of James L. 

Flood. 

The Marine Corps ceased using the Santa 

Margarita Ranch House as an officers’ club in 

1946. As the building became quarters for the 

commanding general at Camp Pendleton the following year, the historical structure underwent 

further adaptation to suit this new purpose. Alterations included the installation of a central 

heating system, updating the electrical system, 

renovating existing bathroom facilities, and converting the kitchenette in the south wing to an 

entry foyer. New windows and doors accompanied these changes, as did the installation of 

casework in closets. To accommodate the new 
santa margarita ranch house OP 71

ing funding for an extensive upgrade project in 

2018 to comply with earthquake stabilization requirements. Pending this essential preservation 

work, the historic Santa Margarita Ranch House 

will continue to serve the Marine Corps and 

surrounding community as a multiuse gathering 

place equipped with meeting rooms, exhibition 

space, and comfortable lodging for Camp Pendleton’s distinguished guests.

As the oldest building at the Santa Margarita Ranch House complex, the Ranch House chapel operated as a winery, a blacksmith’s shop, and as a home for the Pico family during the course 

of its long history. When the first women Marine reservists arrived at Camp Pendleton in 1943, the structure was renovated 

as a chapel and opened primarily for their use. Today, the Ranch 

House chapel holds weekly services and hosts weddings and other special events. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo

central heating system, the scullery was converted into a mechanical room. 

Additional remodeling to update the 

kitchen and all of the bathrooms in the general’s quarters has occurred since the 1950s. In 

1951, then-resident of the Ranch House General 

Clifton B. Cates ordered that “no modification 

of this building, its immediate surroundings, or 

out-buildings, shall be made which might possibly affect its architecture or vary its character.”11 Since then, most of the changes fall under 

maintenance or have concentrated in portions of 

the building erected in 1916 to leave the adobe portions historically intact. It has undergone 

building systems upgrades, and facilities have 

generally been additive, preserving the significant historical fabric of the structure. Following 

a flood in 1993, during which the chapel sustained significant damage but the Ranch House 

was only minimally impacted, the Marine Corps 

constructed a levee to the north and east of the 

Santa Margarita Ranch House complex.

Today, the Santa Margarita Ranch House, 

Bunkhouse Museum, and chapel form the Ranch 

House National Historic Site. A total of 36 base 

commanders lived in the house between 1947 

and October 2007. All had distinguished careers. 

Currently unoccupied, the Ranch House is being maintained in its present state while await11 Witty and Morgan, Marines of the Margarita, 55.
72 OP architectural features

Mrs. Sandi Boomer, wife of LtGen Walter E. Boomer, oversaw a 

redesign of the kitchen during her residency in the Ranch House. 

Photo by the author

The fountain in the courtyard was donated by the only Marine 

Corps reservist to reside in the building, MajGen Hugh W. Hardy. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo, courtesy of Cpl Shannon E. McMillan

Southern entrance to the Santa Margarita Ranch House as it appears today. 

Photo by the author
| 73 |

Largely undisturbed by subsequent development 

of the Marine Corps base, the Las Flores Adobe site remains one of only a few in the region 

that represents a microcosm of Southern California history. Archaeological and historical evidence in the vicinity indicates nearly 2,000 years 

of occupation by Native American tribes prior 

to the arrival of Franciscan missionaries in the 

eighteenth century. When exactly Spanish priests 

from Mission San Luis Rey began to use the lands 

at Las Flores for farming and raising sheep remains unknown; however, the missionaries were 

established enough by April 1810 to complain to 

Comandante Francisco Ruiz of San Diego that 

Spanish troops were occupying one of their pastures.

After Mexico gained independence from 

Spain, the old mission buildings were the site of 

the Battle of Las Flores. In 1838, rival politicians 

Carlos Antonio Carrillo and Juan Bautista Alvarado clashed over the appointment of a provisional 

governor of California. Both mounted armies of 

approximately 200 men, and Carrillo retired to 

the Las Flores estancia or outpost where he used 

an old adobe building as a barracks and a corral as a fort. A standoff ensued, and only after 

cannon shots were fired did the two leaders and 

their representatives agree to a détente. On 23 

April 1838, the two sides signed a treaty granting the power of government to Alvarado.

During the Mexican period, a decree of 

secularization broke up the large land holdings 

of Spanish missions, including Mission San Luis 

Rey. The Mexican government deeded 20,000 

acres of land to Native Americans residing near 

the former Las Flores estancia. Belonging communally to 32 Luiseño families, the site became 

a pueblo libre or free village called Ushmai. BrothArchitectural Features 

of the Las Flores Adobe 

National Historic Landmark

OP
74 OP architectural features

ers Andrés and Pio Pico, who owned the adjacent Santa Margarita ranch, purchased the parcel 

from the Luiseños in 1844.1

Following the Mexican-American War and 

the transfer of California to U.S. governance, 

the Picos sold the Rancho Santa Margarita y 

Las Flores to their brother-in-law, John Forster. In 1867, Forster gave a parcel of the ranch 

at Las Flores to his son, Marco A. Forster, to 

construct Las Flores Adobe as a home for his 

family.2

 The structure is one of the few authentic nineteenth-century, two-story adobe ranch 

houses combining the Hacienda and Monterey 

1

 This transaction was not without controversy. In February 1840, 

Pio Pico reported that he had turned over the property at Las 

Flores to a native man, Jose Manuel, but by May of that year, Father Francisco Ibarra of San Luis Rey wrote to another priest that 

Las Flores had become a seraglio for the Pico family. The indigenous inhabitants denounced Pio Pico and asked the government 

to intervene to force him to vacate any dwellings and remove 

his cattle from the territory. Following American occupation and 

subsequent transition of governmental power, the Pico brothers 

filed a petition with the U.S. Land Commission claiming possession of the land and buildings at Las Flores. On 24 April 1855, 

the board confirmed ownership rights for the Pico brothers, and 

after a series of appeals during the next decade, the Rancho Santa 

Margarita y Las Flores was legally established as belonging to the 

Pico family.

2

 Historical lore maintains that John Forster gave the Las Flores 

property to his son as a wedding gift; however, Marco was already 

with his wife when he began building their home in 1867. In addition, their first child was born four years earlier, in 1863, when 

Marco was 23 years old. Whether the elder Forster allowed Marco to live and build a home on his estate due to local custom or 

convenience, the arrangement likely was not a wedding gift. The 

author wishes to thank Faye Jonason, museum director at MCB 

Camp Pendleton, for her insights and expertise on this topic.

Colonial styles, which are unique to California. 

Marked by arcaded silhouettes, spindled window grills, and heavy wooden colonial doors, 

the Hacienda style celebrates natural materials 

of the Southwest and relies on decorative tiling 

and an earthy color palette. Used primarily for 

residential properties, the Monterey Colonial 

Portrait of Marco A. Forster (1893–1904). John Forster’s sons 

took an active role in the daily operations of the ranch. His oldest 

son, Marco, led the rodeos and managed the farm at Las Flores. 

Chico and Juan Jr. managed the vaqueros leading the cattle 

drives, while Thomas handled the sheep business. In 1867, Marco 

Forster began construction on the Ranch House at Las Flores, 

where he would reside with his wife and children until 1882.

Ancestry.com
las flores adobe OP 75

An estancia, or mission outpost, was established near the coast at the mouth of Las Flores Creek sometime before 1827. Constructed 

of adobe, the buildings consisted of a residence, granaries, and a chapel arranged around a central courtyard. 

Sketch by H. M. T. Powell, March 1850, MCB Camp Pendleton Archives

Las Flores Adobe National Historic Landmark. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo
76 OP architectural features

style emerged from early Californians’ desire 

to merge local Spanish influences with Colonial 

designs from the East Coast. Developed in the 

early part of the eighteenth century, the Monterey style grew in popularity between 1930 and 

1950. Architecture in this style typically features 

two stories with continuous surrounding porches on both levels, a hipped roof, and adobe walls. 

Of the numerous buildings that originally 

comprised the complex, only Las Flores Adobe and the Carriage House survive. The most 

prominent component of Las Flores Adobe is 

the Monterey Colonial block, a two-story, oneroom-deep, hipped-roof structure. Characterized 

Plan of first floor from east elevation, including detail of foundation and walls. 

Plans by Jake Barrow, National Park Service (Ret)
las flores adobe OP 77

by thick adobe walls that taper as they ascend, 

the building is laid out around a central hallway, or zaguan, that opens onto the porch of the 

Hacienda wing. High-style porches originally 

adorned the front and rear, but were later replaced by a porch wrapping the entirety of the 

block; a covered balcony also was added on the 

second level facing the Pacific Ocean. The Hacienda block is the long, single-story portion 

connecting the Monterey block of Las Flores 

Adobe and the Carriage House. Mostly utilitarian, the low, gable-roofed structure is one room 

deep and features a continuous shed-roof corredor, or covered porch. The Carriage House, 

also gable-roofed, is located at the north end of 

the Hacienda block and oriented parallel to the 

Plan of first and second floors from west, south, and north elevations. 

Plans by Jake Barrow, National Park Service (Ret)
78 OP architectural features

Monterey block so that the three buildings form 

a U-shape. Early in its history, a hedgerow on the 

east side of the property completed the courtyard enclosure.

Twenty years later, in 1888, Las Flores Adobe passed out of the Pico/Forster family to new 

owners, who in turn engaged the Magee family 

to manage the property. The Magees converted the cattle ranch operation into a large lima 

bean farm, which they maintained from the early 

1900s until mid-century. In 1942, the Santa Margarita Ranch was absorbed into the new Camp 

Pendleton Marine Corps base. The Magees were 

given lifetime occupancy and continued living at 

the ranch until the last family member died in 

1968, at which time the Marine Corps assumed 

management of the property. 

The U.S. government’s development of a 

military base on the former ranch land altered 

its primary usage and removed maintenance 

incentives and proprietary interests from local 

residents, resulting in very expedient and negative alterations to the site. Many of the adobe 

buildings were destroyed over time, as the general impression incorrectly assumed that they 

were structurally unsuitable for contemporary 

use. By 1968, the Las Flores Adobe and surrounding buildings were in an advanced state 

of disrepair. Threatened with demolition due 

The Magee family resided at Las Flores Adobe ranch house between 1888 and 1968, at which time the Marine Corps assumed 

management of the property. During their occupancy, the Magees converted the cattle ranch operation into a large lima bean 

farm, which they maintained from the early 1900s until midcentury. This photograph, taken in 1938, shows the wedding announcement dinner for Mrs. Jane Magee Stauss.

MCB Camp Pendleton Archives, courtesy of Bob Stauss
las flores adobe OP 79

to its poor condition, the property inspired local citizens to mobilize in a preservation campaign. In 1968, Las Flores Adobe was placed 

on the National Register of Historic Places 

and designated a National Historic Landmark.3

3

 The National Historic Landmark designation is made by the secretary of the interior and is reserved for historical sites that possess 

exceptional value in illustrating the heritage of the United States. 

This designation is the highest level of federal recognition available 

As the buildings at Las Flores Adobe had 

not been used since the last resident departed in 

the 1960s, the Marine Corps sought a tenant to 

help maintain the house and surrounding property. In 1974, the Marines leased Las Flores to 

for cultural resources. Whereas the nation’s National Register of 

Historic Places includes more than 85,000 sites, the National Historic Landmark program recognizes only about 2,500 buildings, 

objects, or sites as having cultural heritage of national importance.

Las Flores Adobe, ca. 1935. Renovations made to the ranch house around 1918 enclosed the two-story porch and extended the corredor the entire length of the Hacienda block. 

MCB Camp Pendleton Archives, courtesy of Bob Stauss
80 OP architectural features

the Boy Scouts of America, who carried out 

extensive modifications to the Carriage House. 

The remodeling project involved the complete 

removal of the structure’s roof covering, large 

doors, and shed additions. The Boy Scouts also 

installed a concrete beam atop the adobe walls, 

increasing their height by approximately eight 

inches, and reframed the roof using modern materials. A concrete contra pared, or skirting wall, 

was added against the foundation stonework and 

along the lowest courses of adobe on the building perimeter, and a concrete floor was poured 

on the interior. Both interior and exterior walls 

were covered with a hard, relatively impermeable Portland cement plaster.

Deterioration of Las Flores Adobe and the 

Carriage House nevertheless continued as minimal resources were available, and by the 1990s, 

the site was closed for safety reasons. Recognizing the value and declining condition of Las 

The Las Flores Adobe complex from the southeast, ca. 2008.

MCB Camp Pendleton Archives
las flores adobe OP 81

Park Service to assist with the stabilization and 

restoration effort at Las Flores Adobe. Preservation work included restructuring the floor foundation, removing vegetation, improving drainage 

and ventilation, applying protective lime plaster, and restoring the roof. Located in a seismic 

zone—just several kilometers east of a major 

fault running along the coastline of Southern California—Las Flores Adobe also underwent seismic stabilization. Whereas previous approaches 

to earthquake stabilization had required major 

demolition to the historic fabric of the structure, 

the team at Las Flores installed minimally invasive systems using rods, steel strapping, grouted 

pins, and plywood sheer panels. Recent renovations also restored the lost two-story porch, 

which completely surrounds the Monterey section, to better protect the adobe walls. 

Renovations to the Carriage House implemented in 2004 included the replacement of 

an asphalt roof covering with cedar shingles, installation of a seismic retrofit system, repair of 

decayed woodwork, and conservation of earthen and lime finishes. This project also entailed 

the reinstatement of a connection between the 

Hacienda block and Carriage House, which had 

to be modified due to the 1974 change in elevation and pitch of the Carriage House roof. Because the design could not replicate the original 

configuration, the Las Flores Adobe roof extends 

to the Carriage House only to the extent reFlores Adobe, the Marine Corps registered the 

property with the National Trust for Historic 

Preservation’s most endangered structures list. 

When funds finally became available in 

1999, the Marine Corps contracted the National 

Aerial shot of Las Flores Adobe historic site. 

Camp Pendleton Historical Society
quired to weather-protect the walkway between 

the buildings. 

Following the success of this project, the 

Marine Corps has maintained its collaboration with staff and graduate students from the 

University of Vermont Historic Preservation 

Program to continue its preservation and rehabilitation efforts at Las Flores Adobe. 

82 OP architectural features

Exterior view of Las Flores Adobe showing how the change of 

elevation enacted in 1974 resulted in the modern roof extension 

abutting the wall rather than the eaves of the Carriage House.

MCB Camp Pendleton Archives

Restoration work on Las Flores Adobe began in 2002 by the University of Vermont with the support of the National Park Service and the U.S. Marine Corps. Surviving plaster was cleaned, 

and wholesale plaster loss was replaced in kind. New layers of 

limewash were applied where needed. The National Park Service 

completed structural stabilization of the main house in 2004. 

MCB Camp Pendleton Archives
las flores adobe OP 83

Las Flores Adobe National Historic Landmark as it appears today.

Official National Park Service photo

| 85 |

1769: Capt Gaspar de Portolá leads an expeditionary force to the location now known 

as Camp Pendleton. They baptize the 

land “Santa Margarita” in honor of Saint 

Margaret of Antioch, the fourth-century 

martyr on whose feast day (20 July) the 

expedition arrives.

1821: The Mexican War of Independence ends 

Spanish rule in the territory of New 

Spain, which results in Mexico taking 

possession of California.

1827: An inventory by Father Antonio Peyri 

notes the existence of adobe structures 

at the current site of the Santa Margarita 

Ranch House.

1838: Rival politicians Carlos Antonio Carrillo and Juan Bautista Alvarado faced off 

in the Battle of Las Flores to determine 

the governorship of California. Following a military standoff at the site of the 

Las Flores estancia, the two sides signed 

a treaty granting the power of government to Alvarado.

1841: Brothers Pio and Andrés Pico receive a 

land grant in Alta California for a parcel 

now known as Rancho Santa Margarita y 

Las Flores from Mexican Governor Juan 

Bautista Alvarado.

1846: The United States declares war on Mexico. A detachment of Marines from the 

sloop-of-war Cyane make landfall and 

raise American and Marine Corps flags 

in the Old Town Plaza of San Diego. Later that year, a joint force of U.S. Army 

dragoons, Marines, and sailors challenge 

Californio lancers, led by Andrés Pico, 

at the Battle of San Pasqual.

1848: The United States acquires California as 

part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

1864: The Pico brothers sell their shares of 

Appendix A

Timeline

OP
86 OP appendix a

Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores to 

their English brother-in-law, John Forster, to pay off their debts.

1867: Marco Forster, the eldest son of John 

Forster, constructs Las Flores Adobe as 

a residence for his family.

1882: John Forster dies and leaves the Santa 

Margarita Ranch House and property to 

his heirs, who are forced to sell the land 

following a series of droughts and a new 

fence law. Wealthy cattleman James C. 

Flood and his manager, Richard O’Neill, 

acquire the ranch.

1888: The Magee family leases the Las Flores 

Adobe complex.

1910 Richard O’Neill dies. His eldest son, Jerome, inherits his father’s interest in the 

property and takes over his management 

duties.

1911: President William H. Taft dispatches the 

4th Provisional Marine Regiment to San 

Diego in response to the Mexican Revolution. The Marines establish Camp 

Thomas on North Island.

1914: Called back to San Diego in response 

to continued Mexican political and civil 

disorder, Col Joseph H. Pendleton leads 

the 4th Marine Regiment to the Gulf of 

California as a show of force. 

1915: Col Pendleton and Capt Charles H. Lyman, commanding officer and adjutant 

4th Regiment, oversee an encampment 

of Marines at the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego’s Balboa Park. 

1916: Overflow of the Santa Margarita River 

causes extensive flooding, resulting in a 

major repair and renovation project at the 

Santa Margarita Ranch House complex 

under the stewardship of Jerome O’Neill.

1921: The Marines move to Dutch Flats, site 

of the Marine Advanced Base.

1923: The Marine Corps recruit depot for 

the western United States is transferred 

from the Marine Barracks, Mare Island 

Naval Shipyard, California, to the new 

post in San Diego.

1924: The recruit depot at San Diego receives 

the official designation of Marine Corps 

Base, Naval Operating Base, San Diego, 

on 1 March 1924.

1926: Jerome O’Neill dies.

1927: Marine Corps units bound for China assemble and embark at San Diego in the 

largest operation of this kind at Marine 

Corps Base (MCB) San Diego prior to 

World War II.

1935: Established in 1933, Headquarters, Fleet 

Marine Force, transfers from MCB 

Quantico to MCB San Diego.

1941: The 1st Marine Brigade becomes the 

1st Marine Division in February. The 

United States declares war on Japan and 

Germany in response to the attack on 

Pearl Harbor. 
timeline OP 87

1942: The U.S. Navy acquires Rancho Santa 

Margarita y Las Flores from the Flood 

and O’Neill families and commissions 

architect Myron H. Hunt and his firm 

Hunt, Chambers, and Ellingwood to design several buildings on the new base, 

including the administrative building 

now used as 1st Marine Division Headquarters. At the suggestion of President 

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the historic Santa Margarita Ranch House is preserved 

and used as quarters for distinguished 

visitors.

1943: Women Marine Reserves arrive at Camp 

Pendleton. The 4th Marine Division is 

activated at Camp Pendleton. Sgt Wayne 

Richards wins a contest to select an emblem for the base; the Marines adopted 

the O’Neill cattle brand—a hooked “T” 

atop an “O”—as Camp Pendleton’s logo. 

Sgt Richards got the idea when he saw 

the brand on one of the ranch’s earliest 

buildings: the blacksmith shop. 

1944: Camp Pendleton is declared a “permanent” installation in October. 

1946: Gen Alexander A. Vandegrift, Commandant of the Marine Corps, designates Camp Pendleton as the center of 

all West Coast Marine Corps activities 

and home to the 1st Marine Division. 

1947: The 1st Marine Division arrives at 

Camp Pendleton after combat and occupation duty in the Pacific. MajGen 

Graves B. Erskine takes up residence at 

the Santa Margarita Ranch House, and 

his wife Peg commissions a mural of San 

Francisco’s Barbary Coast by MSgt Russ 

Vickers. A later resident of the house 

considers the painting too racy and has 

it covered.

1950: The United States enters the Korean War. 

Reserve Marines arrive at Camp Pendleton and begin processing and training for 

subsequent deployment to Korea. 

1953: Camp Pendleton is officially designated 

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

1960s: The 1st Division Headquarters building undergoes extensive modifications 

to the porch and other external elements. The 1st Marine Division deploys 

to Southeast Asia for involvement in the 

war in Vietnam.

1964: Congress passes a resolution granting President Lyndon B. Johnson free 

hand in Vietnam. At the Santa Margarita 

Ranch House, Mrs. J. C. Munn uncovers 

the mural by MSgt Vickers.

1966: The 4th Marine Division Reserves, Fleet 

Marine Force, is reactivated at Camp 

Pendleton.

1968: Las Flores Adobe is designated a National Historic Landmark by the National 

Park Service.

1971: The I Marine Amphibious Force (I MAF) 
88 OP appendix a

is relocated to Camp Pendleton. The 

Santa Margarita Ranch House is listed 

on the National Register of Historic 

Places.

1975: Camp Pendleton serves as a staging area 

for refugees arriving from South Vietnam during Operation New Arrivals.

1980s: The 1st Division Headquarters building 

undergoes major renovations that alter 

its interior and exterior appearance.

1988: I MAF is redesignated as I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF).

1990s: Marines from I MEF deploy to Saudi 

Arabia in support of Operations Desert 

Shield and Desert Storm.

1991: The 1st Marine Division assists in relief 

efforts in Bangladesh and the Philippines.

1992: I MEF participates in Operation Restore 

Hope.

1993: Overflow of the Santa Margarita River causes significant flooding at Camp 

Pendleton, resulting in serious damage 

to the Santa Margarita Ranch House, 

chapel, and numerous other structures 

on base.

2000s: Las Flores Adobe undergoes an extensive renovation and stabilization project. 

2002: I MEF units deploy to Kuwait in support 

of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).

2003: The 1st Marine Division deploys by air 

and sea to link up with its advanced 

headquarters in Kuwait under I MEF in 

support of OIF. The 1st Marine Division 

conducts the longest ground march in 

Marine Corps history, attacking Baghdad alongside the U.S. Army.

2004: The 1st Marine Division relieves the 

Army’s 82d Airborne Division in Iraq’s 

Sunni Triangle. During OIF II, 1st MarDiv conducts counterinsurgency operations throughout al-Anbar Province.

2005: Marine Corps Installations-West (MCIWEST) is reactivated at Camp Pendleton.

2006: The 1st Marine Division deploys to Iraq 

as the ground combat element for I 

MEF.

2007: MajGen Michael R. Lehnert becomes 

the last Marine general officer to occupy 

the Santa Margarita Ranch House.

2010: Personnel and units of the 1st Marine 

Division deploy to Afghanistan to provide advisory support and maneuver 

elements in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

2012: The 1st Marine Division deploys to Afghanistan to serve as the headquarters 

for Task Force Leatherneck, the ground 

combat element for Regional CommandSouthwest. MCIWEST merges with 

MCB Camp Pendleton to form Marine 

Corps Installations West-Marine Corps 

Base Camp Pendleton.
| 89 |

July 1947–July 1950 MajGen Graves B. Erskine

July 1950–July 1951 MajGen Alfred H. Noble

July 1951–May 1953 MajGen Oliver P. Smith

May–August 1953 MajGen Robert H. Pepper

November 1953–April 1955 MajGen John T. Selden

April 1955–July 1957 MajGen George F. Good Jr.

July 1957–July 1959 MajGen Reginald H. Ridgely

November 1959–March 1961 MajGen Alan Shapley*

June 1962–April 1963 MajGen James M. Masters Sr.

May 1963–June 1964 MajGen John C. Munn

July 1964–April 1967 MajGen Robert E. Cushman Jr.

March 1967–June 1968 MajGen Lewis J. Fields

July 1968–August 1970 MajGen Donn J. Robertson

August 1970–December 1971 MajGen George S. Bowman Jr.

January 1972–November 1973 MajGen Herman Poggemeyer Jr.

November 1973–August 1974 MajGen Robert L. Nichols

August 1974–April 1975 BGen Paul G. Graham

June 1975–June 1978 MajGen Carl W. Hoffman

Appendix B

U.S. Marine Corps General Residents, 

Santa Margarita Ranch House, 1947–2007

OP

*

 BGen Raymond L. Murray served as base commanding general from March 1961 to June 1962; however, he never resided in the 

Ranch House as a result of orders from then-Commandant Gen David M. Shoup, who instructed Murray to await a new assignment.
90 OP appendix b

July 1978–June 1980 MajGen Stephen G. Olmstead

June 1980–August 1980 MajGen Hugh W. Hardy (shortest stay at 52 days)

August 1980–August 1983 MajGen Kenneth L. Robinson

August 1983–July 1984 MajGen Anthony Lukeman

July 1984–June 1987 MajGen Robert E. Haebel

July 1987–April 1988 BGen Matthew T. Cooper

June 1988–June 1990 BGen Richard H. Huckaby

August 1990–September 1991 LtGen Walter E. Boomer

September 1991–June 1993 LtGen Robert B. Johnston

July 1993–May 1994 LtGen George R. Christmas

June 1994–April 1996 LtGen Anthony C. Zinni

September 1996–August 1998 MajGen Claude W. Reinke

August 1998–July 2000 LtGen Bruce B. Knutson Jr.

July 2000–November 2002 LtGen Michael W. Hagee

November 2002–September 2004 LtGen James T. Conway

October 2004–August 2006 LtGen John F. Sattler

August 2006–September 2007 MajGen Michael R. Lehnert

 
| 91 |

Marine Barracks, U.S. Naval Station, 

San Diego, California, 1914–24

December 1914–June 1915 Maj William N. McKelvey

July 1915–January 1916 Capt Ellis B. Miller

January–February 1916 Maj William N. McKelvey

February–June 1916 Col Joseph H. Pendleton

June–September 1916 1stLt Seldon B. Kennedy*

September–December 1916 1stLt Earl C. Long*

December 1916–January 1917 Capt Thomas C. Turner

January 1917 1stLt Earl C. Long

January–October 1917 Maj Thomas C. Turner*

October 1917–October 1918 LtCol Carl Gamborg-Andresen

October 1918–April 1919 Maj David M. Randall

April 1919–July 1921 Col John F. McGill

July–October 1921 None designated

October 1921–January 1922 LtCol James McE. Huey

January–March 1922 Maj Eugene P. Fortson

March 1922–February 1924 LtCol Giles Bishop, Jr.

*

 Individuals marked with an asterisk received a promotion during their tenure as commander.

Appendix C

Commanders of Marine Corps Activities, 

San Diego, California, 1914–42

OP
92 OP appendix c

Marine Corps Base San Diego, 

California, 1924–42

March 1924 MajGen Joseph H. Pendleton

April–May 1924 Col James McE. Huey

May–June 1924 MajGen Joseph H. Pendleton

June 1924–April 1925 Col John T. Myers

April–May 1925 LtCol William H. Pritchett

May–October 1925 Col John T. Myers

November 1925–February 1926 Col Alexander S. Williams

February–March 1926 BGen Smedley D. Butler

March–May 1926 LtCol William H. Pritchett

May 1926–March 1927 BGen Smedley D. Butler

March 1927 Maj Benjamin A. Moeller

April–August 1927 LtCol William H. Pritchett

August 1927–June 1928 Col Charles H. Lyman

June–July 1928 Maj Benjamin A. Moeller

July 1928–April 1929 BGen Dion Williams

April 1929–January 1930 Col Harry R. Lay

January–December 1930 BGen Robert H. Dunlap

December 1930–November 1931 BGen John H. Russell

November–December 1931 Col Charles H. Lyman

December 1931–January 1932 BGen Frederick L. Bradman

January–February 1932 Col Harry R. Lay

February 1932–December 1933 BGen Frederick L. Bradman

December 1933–January 1934 Col Rush R. Wallace

January–March 1934 BGen Frederick L. Bradman

March–June 1934 Col Rush R. Wallace

June 1934–April 1935 BGen Frederick L. Bradman

May 1935 Col Rush R. Wallace

May 1935–January 1937 BGen Douglas C. McDougal

January–February 1937 Col Alley D. Rorex

February–May 1937 BGen Douglas C. McDougal
commanders, san diego OP 93

May 1937–March 1938 MajGen Louis Mac. Little

March–April 1938 LtCol Harry L. Smith

April 1938–August 1939 MajGen Louis Mac. Little

August 1939 BGen Clayton B. Vogel

September 1939 BGen Richard P. Williams

September 1939–December 1941 BGen William P. Upshur

December 1941–March 1942 Col William H. Rupertus

March–April 1942 Col Matthew H. Kingman

April–August 1942 Col James L. Underhill
| 94 |

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton 

Commanding generals

August 1942–May 1944 MajGen Joseph C. Fegan

June 1944–July 1945 MajGen Charles F. B. Price

July 1945–May 1946 LtGen Holland M. Smith

May 1946–June 1947 LtGen Harry Schmidt

June–July 1947 BGen John T. Walker

July 1947–July 1950 MajGen Graves B. Erskine

July 1950–June 1951 MajGen Alfred H. Noble

June 1951–May 1953 MajGen Oliver P. Smith

May–August 1953 MajGen Robert H. Pepper

August–October 1953 BGen William J. Scheyer

October–November 1953 MajGen James P. Riseley

November 1953–April 1955 MajGen John T. Seldon

April 1955–July 1957 MajGen George F. Good Jr.

July 1957–October 1959 MajGen Reginald H. Ridgely Jr.

November 1959–March 1961 MajGen Alan Shapley

March 1961–June 1962 BGen Raymond L. Murray

June 1962–April 1963 MajGen James M. Masters Sr.

Appendix D

Base Commanding Generals,

Camp Pendleton, 1942–present

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commanding generals, camp pendleton OP 95

May 1963–June 1964 MajGen John C. Munn

July 1964–March 1967 MajGen Robert E. Cushman Jr.

March 1967–June 1968 MajGen Lewis J. Fields

June–July 1968 MajGen Wood B. Kyle

July 1968–August 1970 MajGen Donn J. Robertson

August 1970–December 1971 MajGen George S. Bowman Jr.

December 1971–November 1973 MajGen Herman Poggemeyer Jr.

November 1973–August 1974 MajGen Robert L. Nichols

May–June 1974 BGen Leonard E. Fribourg

August 1974–June 1975 BGen Paul G. Graham

June 1975–June 1978 MajGen Carl W. Hoffman

July 1978–June 1980 MajGen Stephen G. Olmstead

June–August 1980 MajGen Hugh W. Hardy

August 1980–August 1983 MajGen Kenneth L. Robinson

August 1983–July 1984 MajGen Anthony Lukeman

July 1984–June 1987 MajGen Robert E. Haebel

June 1987–April 1988 MajGen Matthew T. Cooper

April–June 1988 MajGen James J. McMonagle

June 1988–June 1990 BGen Richard H. Huckaby

June–August 1990 MajGen John P. Monahan

August–September 1990 LtGen Walter E. Boomer

September 1990–June 1991 BGen Michael I. Neil

June–September 1991 LtGen Walter E. Boomer

September 1991–June 1992 LtGen Robert B. Johnston

June 1992–May 1994 MajGen B. Don Lynch

May 1994–August 1998 MajGen Claude W. Reinke

August 1998–June 2001 MajGen Edward Hanlon Jr.

June 2001–June 2002 MajGen David F. Bice

June 2002–July 2004 MajGen William G. Bowdon

July 2004–April 2005 MajGen Timothy E. Donovan

April–October 2005 MajGen Michael R. Lehnert
96 OP appendix d

October 2005–May 2006 Col John C. Coleman

May 2006–June 2009 Col James B. Seaton III

June 2009–March 2012 Col Nicholas F. Marano

Marine Corps Installations West (MCIWEST) *

Commanding Generals

October 2005–September 2009 MGen Michael R. Lehnert

September 2009–November 2011 MajGen Anthony L. Jackson

November 2011–April 2012 BGen Vincent A. Coglianese

MCIWEST-Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

Commanding Generals

April 2012–August 2013 BGen Vincent A. Coglianese

August 2013–August 2014 BGen John W. Bullard

August 2014–July 2016 BGen Edward G. Banta

July 2016–present BGen Kevin J. Killea

*

 MCIWEST was reactivated in 2005 and then MCIWEST and MCB Camp Pendleton were merged in 2012.
| 97 |

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton 

Sergeants Major

November 1956–February 1960 SgtMaj Edwin L. Schwaner

March–December 1960 SgtMaj Milburn N. Zell

January 1961–September 1962 SgtMaj Otis B. Joyner

October 1962–October 1966 SgtMaj William J. Scheffer

October 1966–May 1968 SgtMaj Edgar R. Huff

May–October 1968 SgtMaj Warren W. McElliot

October 1968–April 1970 SgtMaj George E. Parker

May 1970–February 1972 SgtMaj Homer L. Akin Jr.

March–August 1972 SgtMaj Mike D. Mervosh

August 1972–September 1975 SgtMaj Henry M. Kajdacz

October 1975–October 1978 SgtMaj Daniel A. Misernay Sr.

November 1978–March 1980 SgtMaj L. C. Johnson

March–September 1980 SgtMaj Eleanor L. Judge

September 1980–September 1982 SgtMaj Donald L. Dolan

October 1982–November 1983 SgtMaj Lawrence C. Lookenbill

November 1983–January 1984 SgtMaj Dearl R. Fraze

February 1984–July 1985 SgtMaj Joe R. Rodriguez

July 1985–July 1986 SgtMaj Raymond T. Fitzhugh

Appendix E

Base Sergeants Major,

Camp Pendleton, 1956–present

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98 OP appendix e

July 1986–March 1987 SgtMaj Lee M. Bradley

March 1987–April 1990 SgtMaj Michael J. Baumhover

May 1990–September 1991 SgtMaj Harold A. Robinson

September 1991–November 1992 SgtMaj James I. L. Celestine

November 1992–June 1994 SgtMaj Mikel R. Beal

June 1994–September 1995 SgtMaj Chris A. Crawford

September 1995–November 1997 SgtMaj Richard W. Smith

November 1997–December 1998 SgtMaj Carlos R. Ramirez

December 1998–June 2000 SgtMaj Richard E. Jones

June 2000–August 2002 SgtMaj Michael G. Markiewicz

August 2002–April 2004 SgtMaj Jerome B. Price

April 2004–February 2006 SgtMaj Juan F. Sandoval Jr.

February–November 2006 SgtMaj Javier A. Nicholas

November 2006–January 2007 SgtMaj Wayne R. Bell

January–May 2007 SgtMaj Kenneth W. Jones

May 2007–March 2009 SgtMaj Jeffrey H. Dixon

March 2009–April 2012 SgtMaj Ramona D. Cook

Marine Corps Installations West (MCIWEST) 

Sergeants Major

February 2006–January 2007 SgtMaj Wayne R. Bell

January 2007–April 2009 SgtMaj Barbara J. Titus-Tention

April 2009–June 2011 SgtMaj Jeffrey H. Dixon

June 2011–April 2012 SgtMaj Derrick Christovale Sr.

MCIWEST-Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton 

Sergeants Major

April 2012–June 2013 SgtMaj Derrick Christovale Sr.

June 2013–May 2016 SgtMaj Scott R. Helms

May 2016–present SgtMaj Julio E. Meza
| 99 |

February 1941–June 1941 MajGen Holland M. Smith

June 1941–March 1942 MajGen Philip H. Torrey

March 1942–July 1943 MajGen Alexander A. Vandegrift

July 1943–November 1944 MajGen William H. Rupertus

November 1944–August 1945 MajGen Pedro A. del Valle

August 1945–June 1946 MajGen DeWitt Peck

June–September 1946 MajGen Keller E. Rockey

September 1946–June 1947 MajGen Samuel L. Howard

June–July 1947 Col Alva B. Lasswell (Acting)

July 1947–July 1950 MajGen Graves B. Erskine

July 1950–February 1951 MajGen Oliver P. Smith

February–March 1951 BGen Lewis B. Puller (Acting)

March–April 1951 MajGen Oliver P. Smith

April 1951–January 1952 MajGen Gerald C. Thomas

January–August 1952 MajGen John T. Selden

August 1952–June 1953 MajGen Edwin A. Pollock

June 1953–May 1954 MajGen Randolph McC. Pate

May–July 1954 MajGen Robert H. Pepper

Appendix F

Commanding Generals 

of 1st Marine Division,

Camp Pendleton, 1941–present

OP
100 OP appendix f

July 1954–January 1955 MajGen Robert E. Hogaboom

January 1955–August 1956 MajGen Merrill B. Twining

August 1956–June 1957 MajGen Robert O. Bare

July 1957–January 1958 MajGen David M. Shoup

January–February 1958 BGen Harvey C. Tschirgi

February 1958–October 1959 MajGen Edward W. Snedeker

October–November 1959 BGen Thomas F. Riley

November 1959–June 1961 MajGen Henry R. Paige

June–July 1961 BGen Frederick E. Leek

July 1961–June 1962 MajGen James M. Masters Sr.

June 1962–April 1963 MajGen Herman Nickerson Jr.

April 1963–July 1965 MajGen William T. Fairbourn

July–August 1965 BGen Edward H. Hurst

August 1965–September 1966 MajGen Lewis J. Fields

October 1966–May 1967 MajGen Herman Nickerson Jr.

June 1967–June 1968 MajGen Donn J. Robertson

June–December 1968 MajGen Carl A. Youngdale

December 1968–December 1969 MajGen Ormond R. Simpson

December 1969–April 1970 MajGen Edwin B. Wheeler

April 1970–April 1971 MajGen Charles F. Widdecke

April 1971–August 1972 MajGen Ross T. Dwyer Jr.

August 1972–April 1973 BGen Adolph G. Schwenk

May 1973–August 1974 MajGen Kenneth J. Houghton

August 1974–June 1975 BGen William L. McCulloch

June 1975–July 1976 MajGen Charles D. Mize

July 1976–July 1977 MajGen Edward A. Wilcox

July–August 1977 BGen Marc A. Moore

August 1977–August 1979 MajGen Charles G. Cooper

August 1979–July 1980 MajGen Francis X. Quinn

August 1980–August 1982 MajGen James L. Day

August 1982–June 1985 MajGen Ernest C. Cheatham

July 1985–July 1988 MajGen James J. McMonagle
commanding generals, 1st marine division OP 101

July 1988–August 1990 MajGen John P. Monahan

August 1990–July 1992 MajGen James M. Myatt

July 1992–June 1994 MajGen Charles E. Wilhelm

June 1994–June 1996 MajGen Frank Libutti

June 1996–July 1998 MajGen John H. Admire

July 1998–May 1999 MajGen Michael W. Hagee

May 1999–July 2000 MajGen Gregory S. Newbold

July 2000–August 2002 MajGen James T. Conway

August 2002–August 2004 MajGen James N. Mattis

August 2004–August 2006 MajGen Richard F. Natonski

August 2006–May 2007 MajGen John M. Paxton Jr.

May–September 2007 BGen Richard P. Mills

September 2007–July 2009 MajGen Thomas D. Waldhauser

July 2009–August 2010 MajGen Richard P. Mills

August 2010–June 2011 MajGen Michael R. Regner

June 2011–June 2013 MajGen Ronald L. Bailey

June 2013–July 2015 MajGen Lawrence D. Nicholson

July–September 2015 BGen Daniel D. Yoo

September 2015–June 2017 MajGen Daniel J. O’Donohue

June 2017–present BGen Eric M. Smith
| 102 |

Amero, Richard W. Balboa Park and the 1915 Exposition. Edited by Michael Kelly. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2013. 

Barrow, J. M., and D. W. Porter. “Carriage House Stabilization at the Las Flores Adobe Site: Field 

School Training in the Conservation of Historic Adobe Structures.” Paper presented at EarthBuild 2005, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, 2005.

Barrow, J. M., E. L. Tolles, and S. J. Farneth. “Stabilization of the Landmark Las Flores Adobe: A Case 

Study of Restrained Seismic Retrofit.” In Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions. Edited 

by Claudio Modena, Paulo B. Lourenço, and Pere Roca. London: A. A. Balkema Publishers, 

2005.

Baumgartner, Jerome W. Rancho Santa Margarita Remembered: An Oral History. Santa Barbara, CA: Fithian 

Press, 1989.

Brigandi, Phil. “The Outposts of Mission San Luis Rey.” Journal of San Diego History 45, no. 2 (Spring 

1999): 1–5.

Camp Pendleton Archives, Museum Branch, MCIWEST-Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, San 

Diego, CA. 

Camp Pendleton Scout. Weekly newspaper of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

Champie, Elmore A. A Brief History of the Marine Corps Base and Recruit Depot: San Diego, California 

1914–1962. Revised ed. Marine Corps Historical Reference Series, No. 9. Washington, DC: 

Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Headquarters Marine Corps, 1962.

Further Reading

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further reading OP 103

Chapin, 1stLt John C. The 4th Marine Division in World War II. Washington, DC: History and Museums 

Division, Headquarters Marine Corps, 1945, 1976.

Crawford, Danny J., Robert V. Aquilina, Ann A. Ferrante, and Shelia P. Gramblin. The 1st Marine Division and Its Regiments. Washington, DC: History and Museums Division, Headquarters Marine 

Corps, 1999.

Dunham, Maj George R., and Col David A. Quinlan. U.S. Marines in Vietnam: The Bitter End, 1973–

1975. Washington, DC: History and Museums Division, Headquarters Marine Corps, 1990.

Engstrand, Iris H. W. “A Brief Sketch of San Diego’s Military Presence: 1542–1945.” Journal of San 

Diego History 60, no. 1–2 (Winter/Spring 2014): 1–26.

Geer, Andrew. Reckless: Pride of the Marines. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1955.

HDR, Inc. “Advanced Draft Report: Historic Resources Survey and Evaluation, Marine Corps Base, 

Camp Pendleton.” Unpublished manuscript, July 2014.

Hebert, Edgar W. “Las Flores.” Journal of San Diego History 7, no. 3 (July 1961): 31–35.

Photograph collection, Historical Reference Branch, Marine Corps History Division, Quantico, VA.

Hoffman, Nancy Lee White. “Sgt Reckless: Combat Veteran.” Leatherneck, November 1992.

Hutton, Robin. Sgt. Reckless: America’s War Horse. Washington, DC: Regnery History, 2014.

Jensen, James M. “John Forster: A California Ranchero.” California Historical Society Quarterly 48, no. 

1 (March 1969): 37–44.

Jordan, Ryan. “Remembering the Forgotten Village of San Onofre: An Untold Story of Race Relations.” Journal of San Diego History 60, no. 1–2 (Winter/Spring 2014): 27–44.

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton: Celebrating 75 Years. Oceanside Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Camp Pendleton Historical Society, 2017.

Mikesell, Stephen D., and Stephen R. Wee. National Register Nomination: Santa Margarita Ranch House. 

Washington, DC: National Parks Service, 1994.

Millett, Allan R. Semper Fidelis: The History of the United States Marine Corps. Revised ed. New York and 

Toronto: Free Press, 1991.

Nordhoff, Charles. California: For Health, Pleasure, and Residence—A Book for Travelers and Settlers. New 

York: Harper & Brothers, 1873.

O’Hara, Thomas. Images of America: Camp Pendleton. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2005.

Porter, Douglas, Steve Farneth, Sara Lardinois, Gee Heckscher, E. Leroy Tolles, Kelly Cobeen, Christian Carey, Julie Weisgerber, Liisa Reimann, and the Graduate Program in Historic Preser-
104 OP further reading

vation at the University of Vermont. Santa Margarita Ranch House Historic Structure Report. San 

Diego, CA: U.S. Marine Corps and University of Vermont, 2007.

Santelli, Gabrielle M. Neufeld. Marines in the Mexican War. Edited by Charles R. Smith. Washington, 

DC: History and Museums Division, Headquarters Marine Corps, 1991.

Smith, Charles R., ed. U.S. Marines in the Korean War. Washington, DC: Marine Corps History Division, 2007.

The 3d Marine Division and Its Regiments. Washington, DC: History and Museums Division, Headquarters Marine Corps, 1983.

Thompson, P. L. “Rancho Santa Margarita.” Leatherneck, September 1982.

Westermeyer, Paul. U.S. Marines in the Gulf War, 1990–1991: Liberating Kuwait. Quantico, VA: Marine 

Corps History Division, 2014.

Westermeyer, Paul W., and Alexander N. Hinman, ed. Desert Voices: An Oral History Anthology of Marines 

in the Gulf War, 1990–1991. Quantico, VA: Marine Corps History Division, 2016.

Witty, Robert M., and Neil Morgan. Marines of the Margarita: The Story of Camp Pendleton and the Leathernecks Who Train on a Famous Rancho. San Diego, CA: Frye and Smith, 1970.

9 780997 317466

ISBN 978-0-9973174-6-6

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Marine Corps History Division

2044 Broadway Street

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www.usmcu.edu/historydivision

Camp Pendleton

The Historic Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores 

and the U.S. Marine Corps in Southern California

Approximately 50 miles north of San Diego stands the historic Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores. Since 

its founding in the early nineteenth century, this sprawling estate has sat in silent witness to notable events 

in Southern California history, including the birth of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and the modern 

Marine Corps on the West Coast. The Corps would go on to transform the expansive ranch lands into a 

permanent training installation at Camp Pendleton, and the Santa Margarita Ranch House would serve as 

a primary residence for Marine Corps commanders for the next 60 years. Today, the Marine Corps proudly 

protects these cultural resources, preserving the rich history of the base and assuring their continuing place 

in military history for years to come.