Camp Freda Quartermaster Depot
| Prior to WWII, Freda was an uninhabited siding that served the Santa
Fe railroad. During WWII, the Army utilized this remote railroad siding as a
major depot to deliver men and equipment to the central region of the
Desert Training Center area. At Freda, there was a large Quartermaster
depot where tanks, vehicles, artillery guns, weapons, gas, food, tents
and supplies were off-loaded from trains and stored before being
assigned to the divisional camps. Additionally, there was also a field hospital
at Freda. This siding marked the point where hundreds of thousands of
soldiers disembarked Pullman railcars to start their military training.
Many men were shocked at the high temperatures and vast, barren desert-
a sharp contrast from the ocean and cool coastal climate they had
envisioned all of California to be. Known units who were stationed at Camp Freda were; 211th Quartermaster Gas Supply Battalion, 484th Quartermaster Battalion, 378th Engineer Battalion and the 92nd Evacuation Hospital. When the DTC closed down in April, 1944, the Army pulled out and Freda went back to being a desolate, unpopulated railroad siding. Today, there are still remnants of rock-lined walkways, tent areas, roads, as well as some concrete foundations. |
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| Freda gasoline dump in 1942. (Copyrighted photo) | Same view- 2014 |
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| Rock-lined roads | Rock-lined roadway |
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| Tank retriever in 1942. A row of M3 Stuart tanks just off-loaded from the train are in the background. (Copyrighted photo) | Same area in 2014. Note the mountains line up perfectly. |
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| Rock insignia made by the men of the 484th Quartermaster Battalion | Not sure what this was, perhaps a fire-pit? |
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| Three rock-lined circles; likely a divisional area. | This was a divisional insignia or flagpole area. |
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| There are many of these rock piles about. This may have been where trucks dumped them out so soldiers could make walkways, roads, etc... | A portion of railroad track encased in concrete as a post. |
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| An old railroad spur bed. | This may have been a parking area for jeeps and vehicles. |
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| This concrete pad may have been part of a shower area. | A collection of bottles. |
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| A flagpole base. This may have been the camp headquarters area. | Another view. |
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| Some debris scattered about. | A walkway and tent area. |