This list of Prisoner of War Camps, Italian Service Unit Camps, and Prisoner of War Hospitals is based on weekly reports located on NARA microfilm #66-538 (population lists June 1942-June 1946). Additional locations based on newspapers, interviews, and other NARA records (at College Park and Regional Archives).
The POW Camps in California during World War II included:
Angel Island, Tiburon, Marin County, CA (Prisoner of War Processing, base camp) (part of San Francisco Port of Embarkation, CA)
Anza (Camp), Riverside County, CA (branch camp under Haan) (see Arlington)
Arbuckle, Colusa County, CA (branch camp under Beale)
Arlington, Riverside County, CA (branch camp under Haan) (see Anza, part of Los Angeles Port of Embarkation)
Ashview, Madera County, CA (branch camp under Ord) (see Chowchilla)
Bacon Island, San Joaquin County, CA (branch camp under Stockton)
Barstow, San Bernardino County, CA (ISU)
Beale (Camp Edward F.), Yuba County, CA (base camp), now Beale Air Force Base, an active military installation
Benicia Arsenal, Pittsburg, Contra Costa County, CA (base camp, Italian Service Units)
Birmingham (Henry P.) General Hospital, Van Nuys, Los Angeles County, CA (base camp), now Birmingham High School and Birmingham Junior High School
Blythe Army Air Field, Riverside County, CA (branch camp under Florence, AZ)
Boswell Ranch, near Corcoran, Kings County, CA (branch camp under Cooke, sometimes under Lamont)
Bouldin Island, San Joaquin County, CA (branch camp under Stockton)
Buttonwillow, Kern County, CA (branch camp under Cooke)
Byron Hot Springs, Contra Costa County, CA (restricted listing, interrogation center) (see Camp Tracy, CA)
California-Arizona Manuever Area (CAMA), Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Imperial and Riverside Counties, CA; Yuma, La Paz, Maricopa, and Mohave Counties AZ; and Clark County, NV (branch camp under Florence, AZ) see Desert Training Center
Chico (Camp), Butte County, CA (branch camp under Beale)
Chino, San Bernardino County, CA (branch camp under Pomona, sometimes Cooke)
Chowchilla, Madera County, CA (branch camp under Ord, see Ashview)
Clarksburg, Yolo County, CA (branch camp under Stockton)
Clipper, San Bernardino County, CA (ISU) (part of CAMA, see Essex)
Coalinga, Fresno County, CA (branch camp under Ord)
Cooke (Camp Phillip), Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA (base camp), now Vandenburg Air Force Base and the Federal Penitentiary at Lompoc
Corcoran, Kings County, CA (branch camp under Cooke, sometimes Stockton) (see Lakeland)
Corcoran #2, Kings County, CA (branch camp under Cooke)
Coronado Amphibious Training Base, San Diego, San Diego County, CA (base camp), active military installation
Coxcomb, Riverside County, CA (ISU) (part of CAMA, see Desert Center)
Cucamonga, San Bernardino County, CA (branch camp under Florence, AZ)
Dairyland, Madera County, CA (branch camp under Ord)
Davis, Yolo County, CA (branch camp under Beale)
Delano, Kern County, CA (branch camp under Cooke)
Desert Center, San Bernardino County, CA (ISU) (part of CAMA, see Coxcomb)
DeWitt (Calvin) General Hospital, Auburn, Placer County, CA (base camp), later a state hospital until 1972, now DeWitt Government Center
Dos Palos, Merced County, CA (branch camp under Ord)
Edwards Ranch, Santa Barbara County, CA (branch camp under Cooke)
Essex, San Bernardino County, CA (ISU, part of CAMA, see Clipper)
Figueroa, Los Angeles County, CA (ISU, part of Los Angles Port of Embarcation, see Ross)
Firebaugh, Fresno County, CA (branch camp under Ord)
Five Points #1, Fresno County, CA (branch camp under Ord)
Five Points #2, Fresno County, CA (branch camp under Ord)
Flint (Camp), Auburn, Placer County, California (former Civilian Conversation Corps camp) (branch camp under DeWitt (Calvin) General Hospital), now part of the fairgrounds
Garden Grove, Orange County, CA (branch camp under Pomona)
Goffs, San Bernardino County, CA (part of CAMA)
Goleta, Santa Barbara County, CA (branch camp under Cooke)
Granite, Riverside County, CA (ISU, part of CAMA)
Griffith Park, Los Angeles County, CA (processing center for German, Italian and Japanese POWs from July 1942-Aug 1943)
Haan (Camp William G.), Riverside, Riverside County, CA (initially under Florence, AZ, later a base camp), separation center for POWs at the end of the war, now the Riverside National Cemetery, March Joint Reserve Air Base, Headquarters 15th AF, golf, and housing. The camp itself opened in 1941 and closed August 31, 1946.
Hammond (William A.) General Hospital, Modesto, Stanislaus County, CA, now Yosemite Junior College and Stanislaus County Juvenile Justice Center
Hobbs, CA (branch camp under Pomona)
Ibis (Camp), San Bernardino County, CA (part of CAMA)
Indio, Riverside County, CA (ISU) (part of CAMA, see Young)
Iron Mountain, San Bernardino County, CA (part of CAMA)
Irwin (Camp George), San Bernardino County, CA (initially under Florence, AZ, later a base camp, ISU), now Fort Irwin, an active military installation
King Island, San Joaquin County, CA (branch camp under Stockton)
Knight (Camp John Thornton), Oakland, Alameda County, CA, part of San Francisco Port of Embarkation, now Oakland Army Base, an active military installation
Kohler (Camp Fredrick L.), Sacramento, Sacramento County, CA (branch camp under Stockton)
Lakeland, Kings County, CA (branch camp under Cooke) (see Corcoran)
Lamont, Kern County, CA (branch camp under Cooke)
Lathrop Engineering Depot, Lathrop, San Joaquin County, CA (branch camp under Stockton, later a base camp)
Lemoore, Kings County, CA (branch camp under Cooke), now Lemoore Naval Air Station, an active military installation.
Letterman (Jonathan) General Hospital, San Francisco city and county, CA (base camp)
Letterman (Jonathan) General Hospital, San Francisco city and county, CA (base camp)
Lockett #1 (Camp), San Diego County, CA (initially under Florence, AZ, branch camp under Haan)
Lockett #2 (Camp), San Diego County, CA (initially under Florence, AZ, branch camp under Haan)
Los Angeles Port of Embarkation, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA (base camp) (see Anza, Ross)
Madera, Madera County, CA (branch camp under Ord)
McArthur (Fort Arthur), San Pedro, Los Angeles County, CA (base camp), now Los Angeles Air Force Base, an active military installation.
McClellan Field, Sacramento, Sacramento County, CA (branch camp under Stockton)
McDowell (Fort), Marin County, CA (base camp, previously branch camp under San Francisco Port of Embarkation), a California State Park since 1958
Mendota, Fresno County, CA (branch camp under Ord)
Mira Loma Quartermaster Supply Depot, Riverside County, CA (base camp, sometimes branch under San Bernardino)
Mitchell Convalescent Hospital, Campo, San Diego County, CA (base camp), at Camp Lockett
Napa, Napa County, CA (branch camp under Beale)
Needles Station Hospital, Needles, San Bernardino County, CA (ISU, part of CAMA)
Old River, Kern County, CA (branch camp under Cooke)
Ono (Camp), San Bernardino County, CA (ISU) (see Mira Loma Quartermaster Supply Depot)
Ord (Fort), Monterey County, CA (base camp), now used by the new California State University at Monterey, a research center for UC Santa Cruz, the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and the US Army
Palm Springs, Riverside County, CA (branch camp under Haan)
Pilot Knob, Felicity, Imperial County, CA (part of CAMA)
Pomona Ordnance Depot, Pomona, Los Angeles County, CA (base camp)
Pomona Quartermaster Depot, Pomona, Los Angeles County, California (ISU)
Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA (base camp) (part of Francisco Port of Embarkation)
Rankin Field, Tulare County, CA (branch camp under Cooke)
Rice, Riverside County, CA (part of CAMA)
Rindge Tract, San Joaquin County, CA (branch camp under Stockton)
Roberts (Camp), San Miguel, Monterey County, CA (initially under Hill Field, UT, sometimes a base camp), now a National Guard facility
Roberts Island, San Joaquin County, CA (branch camp under Stockton)
Ross (Camp), San Pedro, Los Angeles County, CA (base camp, part of Los Angeles Port of Embarkation, ISU) (see Figueroa)
Sacramento Signal Depot, Sacramento County, CA (branch camp under Stockton)
San Bernardino, San Bernardino County, CA (base camp)
San Bernardino Engineer Depot, San Bernardino County, CA (ISU)
San Fernando, Los Angeles County, CA (branch camp under Pomona)
San Francisco Port of Embarkation, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA (see Angel Island, Knight, Fort McDowell, Presidio of San Francisco, Stoneman)
San Joaquin, San Joaquin County, CA (branch camp under Ord)
San Joaquin Fairgrounds, San Joaquin County, CA (branch camp under Stockton)
San Luis Obispo (Camp), San Luis Obispo County, CA (base camp), now a National Guard facility and US Army and CA Military Academy
Santa Ana Air Base, Orange County, CA (branch camp under Haan)
Santa Anita (Camp), Arcadia, Los Angeles County, CA (branch camp under Hill Field, UT, sometimes Rupert, ID)
Saticoy, Ventura County, CA (branch camp under Cooke)
Shafter, Kern County, CA (branch camp under Cooke)
Sharp Park, San Mateo County, CA (Italian POW processing)
Shoemaker Naval Distribution Center, Livermore, Alameda County, CA (base camp), part of "Fleet City"
Sierra Ordinance Depot, Herlong, Lassen County, CA (ISU)
Soledad, Monterey County, CA (branch camp under Ord)
Spadra General Hospital at Spadra, Los Angeles County, CA (see CAMA)
Stockton (Camp) Ordnance Depot, Stockton, San Joaquin County, CA (base camp)
Stoneman (Camp), Pittsburg, Contra Costa County, CA (base camp) (part of San Francisco Port of Embarkation)
Tachi Farms, Corccram Kings County, CA (branch camp under Cooke)
Tagus Ranch, Tulare County, CA (branch camp under Cooke)
Tipton, Tulare County, CA (branch camp under Cooke)
Torney General Hospital, Palm Springs, Riverside County, CA (base camp)
Tracy (Camp), Contra Costa County, CA (restricted listing, interrogation center) (see Byron Hot Springs, CA)
Tracy Quartermaster Sub-Depot, Tracy, San Joaquin County, CA (branch camp under Stockton, sometimes a base camp)
Tranquility, Fresno County, CA (branch camp under Ord)
Treasure Island Naval Training and Distribution Center, San Francisco city and county, CA (base camp)
Tulare, Tulare County, CA (branch camp under Cooke), county fairgrounds
Tule Lake, Siskiyou County, CA (branch camp under White, OR)
Upper Jones Tract, San Joaquin County, CA (branch camp under Stockton)
Vernalis, Stanislaus County, CA (branch camp under Stockton)
Victorville, San Bernardino County, CA (ISU)
Windsor, Sonoma County, CA (branch camp under Beale)
Yermo Holding and Reconsignment Point, San Bernardino County, CA (ISU), now the USMC Logistics Base
Young, Riverside County, CA (ISU) (part of CAMA, see Indio)
Enemy alien internment camps:
Angel Island, Tiburon, Marin County, CA (temporary detention station) (German, Italian, and Japanese)
Cow Creek, Inyo County, CA (Japanese)
Dibble (John) General Hospital, Menlo Park, San Mateo County, CA
Griffith Park, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA (German, Italian, and Japanese)
La Tuna Canyon (Tujunga), Sun Valley, Los Angeles County, CA (temporary dentention station) (Italian and Japanese)
Manzanar, Inyo County, CA (Japanese)
Marysville, Yuba County, CA (assembly center) (Japanese)
Pinedale, Fresno County, CA (assembly center) (Japanese)
Sacramento, Sacramento County, CA (assembly center) (Japanese) (see Camp Kohler)
San Francisco INS Detention Facility, CA (Italian)
San Pedro, Los Angeles County, CA (temporary detention station) (Japanese)
Santa Anita (Camp), Arcadia, Los Angeles County, California (assembly center) (held Japanese civilians from April 1942 to October 1943)
Sharp Park, San Mateo County, CA (Italian and Japanese)
Tanforan, San Mateo County, CA (assembly center) (Japanese)
Tule Lake, Siskiyou County, CA (Japanese)
Cemeteries:
Benicia Arsenal Post Cemetery, Benicia, CA, now under the care of the VA National Cemetery Administration.
Prisoner of War Burial Plot, Camp Beale, CA (transferred to Golden Gate National Cemetery in CA)
Prisoner of War Cemetery, Camp Cooke, CA (transferred to Golden Gate Nationall Cemetery, CA on 26th of November 1947)
Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, San Mateo County, CA (The Golden Gate National Cemetery contains POWs who died in CA and ID.)
Presidio of Monterey Post Cemetery, Presidio of Monterey, Monterey County, CA, under the care of the Office of Army Cemeteries.
There were 35 base camps, 72 branch camps, 7 hospitals, 13 Italian Service Units, 15 internment locations, 4 cemeteries, and 1 interrogation center in CA. More information and source citations in my book titled Prisoner of War Camps Across America and is available in Kindle format at Amazon. The updated version of the book is available at www.gentracer.org/milpublications.html
Also, my books titled American Prisoner of War Camps in Southern California and American Prisoner of War Camps in Northern California are available at Amazon.
For more information about these camps, please see:
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