MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Despite preparations for war, which began during the late 1930's, the Marine Corps Base was still not equipped to handle the thousands of men who poured in after the war began Dec. 7, 1941. New Marine Corps camps for training purposes were quickly opened to make room for the expansion of the Depot. World War II brought the Marine Corps Base into a new decade of supply and demand of America's finest men and women.
"In those days, three weeks after Pearl Harbor, the base was spreading like an unruly forest fire. More than 18,000 boots arrived for training in one month. Every officer was handling from two to four full-time jobs, and had to until new officers reported in," said Capt. Robert P. White, Public Relations Officer, MCB, San Diego, 1943.
By May 1942, new recruits were overwhelmed the 16-man crew at the receiving barracks. The record, according to The Chevron, was "918 men in a single day."
The rapid expansion of the base created a housing shortage for recruits. New recruits had to be quartered first in tents and then in the hundreds of wooden 16-man huts that were quickly erected during the war. The influx of recruits on the Base also necessitated a rapid expansion of Marine Rifle Range, La Jolla, Calif., which in 1942, was redesignated Camp Matthews.
During the peak of the war in 1944, as many as 9,000 men qualified at Camp Matthews every three weeks. Camp strength grew to more than 700 Marines. The size of the facility also increased dramatically. Camp Matthews saw an array of changes from weaponry to new training courses.
In 1943, the Garand M-1 rifle was introduced, by the end of that same year the M-1 had completely replaced the 03 Springfield. From 1943 through 1949, the highlight of the recruits' training with this weapon came when they entered the fourth week and began a three-week training period at the rifle range.
The Rifle Range Detachment trained recruits in the use of the rifle and other small arms and special weapons including the flamethrower, carbine, browning automatic rifle, bazooka, mortars, light and heavy machine guns, .22 caliber rifle, and the .45 caliber pistol. In 1949, recruits were to receive indoctrination in bayonet and grenade training. The Depot's training schedule called for several hours of instruction and application with the bayonet, and an equal amount of class work and practical use with hand and rifle grenades. New training tactics were created to give the new Marines a combat edge.
Along with tactics, new schools were also formed onboard the Base during the 1940's. Other schools included First Sergeants' School, clerical, motor transport, and military police schools. Most were organized during World War II and closed at the end of hostilities. First Sergeants' School was established in March 1942 by Warrant Officer Ford E. Wilkins and closed in 1944. Motor Transport School opened in May 1943. In addition to training, schools, facilities and units flourished.
The new outdoor theater opened Feb. 11, 1942 on the southeast end of the parade ground. Col. William H. Rupertus ordered the construction, a move that boosted morale. Word soon reached Hollywood of its great endorsements as the "finest place for air (radio) shows." The theater broadcasted the talents of Jack Benny and Bob Hope, accommodating 5,000 Marines. Rupertus was also responsible for beginning The Chevron in Jan 1942. In one year, the paper grew from a four-page weekly of 8,000 copies to 20-page newspaper of 50,000 copies to Marines around the world.
A new swimming pool opened on Sept. 12, 1942. Fourteen platoons from the Recruit Depot opened the pool. Fifteen minutes was allotted to each platoon. This short-time schedule became necessary to classify the recruits into second-class swimmers or non-swimmers. In February 1943, a new 2,506 seat indoor theater opened, equipped with a radio studio that broadcast a weekly show, "Halls of Montezuma."
Demand for personnel was on the rise and the units came flooding in.
The first "all Indian" platoon in the history of the Marine Corps arrived May 5, 1942 at the processing center. These men were to be known as "code talkers," a group of 29 Marines who were part of a secret experiment to use the Navajo language for battlefield communication. Receiving close scrutiny during their seven-week training period, their drill instructors reported the Navajos were "far above the average in military adeptness."
The 1st Marine Depot Company, an all-black unit, that had trained at Montford Point, N.C. arrived on April 5, 1943. "The men put on a warm-up demonstration of close order drill that left observers gaping in admiration," reported The Chevron. They didn't stay long, April 16, the company boarded the destroyer USS Hunt and two days later sailed for Noumea, New Caledonia.
In May of that same year, the first women reserves made their appearance, replacing men at the Depot who were leaving for the battlefield. At wartime peak, the women reserve unit's strength was 661 enlisted and 19 officers. The reserve unit fulfilled its duties in mid-May of 1946 and ceased duty at the Depot. By 1944 the Marine Corps ranks numbered 390,000 men and women.
During mid 1944, a Marine rehab center was set up in the administration building to help veterans returning from the war who were physically or mentally disabled. By 1945, thousands of Marines began returning home. A reclassification and distribution center was set up near the wooden huts with ample space to handle 5,000 to 7,000 men at one time.
By the end of the war, operations on the base had evolved to meet the demands of handling thousands of Marines, both new recruits and war-weary veterans. Recruit training had grown from a small Depot on the base to the primary focus of the entire base. The base would never again function as it did in the 1920's and 1930's. The war had changed that forever. From WW II onward, the paramount mission of MCB San Diego was the training of recruits.
The primary function of the base as a recruit training center was officially recognized in 1948 when its designation was changed to Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. That same year, the Depot received seventeen Mark 4 tanks, better known as General Shermans, destined for the 11th Tank Battalion.
Nearly 300 tank reservists trained at the Depot until they were called to active duty in 1950 for the Korean War.
Jan. 1, 1948, was the official recognition of recruit training. The redesignation also meant the base was removed from the immediate jurisdiction of the 11th Naval District, and now came directly under the Commandant of the Marine Corps.
The names of other base units also changed: Camp Matthews Rifle Range Detachment became Weapons Training Battalion. Base Troops became Headquarters and Service Battalion, and Recruit Training Detachment was redesignated 1st Recruit Training Regiment, according to "The History of MCRD San Diego, 75th Anniversary."
In addition one of the more favored regulations of today were introduced Oct. 4, 1946, Brig. Gen. Leo D. Hermale, Commanding General of MCB, stating, "personnel of the MCB are permitted to wear civilian clothes while off duty outside the base effective yesterday at 1600."