By Phil Roberts, 8-19-23
In late 1971, I was a “short-timer” in the US Marine Corps while the last units of the Corps had been brought home from Vietnam that previous July. Being the luckiest person in the world all my life, I had not been sent to Vietnam, but spent much of my service time as the sports editor for the base newspaper in San Diego. (Hey, tough duty, but somebody had to do it—giving assessments of golf courses such as Torrey Pines and Coronado–after playing them, of course–, reporting interviews with San Diego Chargers and Padres players, assessing the Gulls hockey team and, of course, the San Diego Rockets of the NBA, and covering all base sports teams and activities). Someone noticed that I was having an inordinately fun time, as the aspiring “lifers” were being discharged and the “mustangers” were getting busted back to the enlisted ranks as the Corps downsized..
I was ordered to turn over my job to the next person (which, oddly enough, was another Wyomingite, the very talented poet and writer Henry Pacheco from Cheyenne).. Knowing that as a draftee, it was unlikely that I would re-enlist (they got that right!), I was told to prepare to spend my last six weeks in “Casual Company,” sweeping floors or “policing” the area of rubbish and stray cigarette butts.
Given such pointless duties ahead, I talked to an officer who told me that USMC official historian Bemis Frank had been seeking someone to research and write the 50th anniversary history of MCRD. When I spoke with him, he said I was the perfect fit.
I set about learning all I could about Gen. Joseph Pendleton’s decision to set up a training base, to be built over a filled-in estuary next to San Diego Bay. Eventually, in a cooperative spirit, the Navy made plans to setup their West Coast training center right next door. Soon, the City of San Diego became interested in building an airfield on the reclaimed, filled-in former estuary. The result became Lindbergh Field, still the city’s airport.
With each war, the two training bases grew. By the time of the ramping up for the Vietnam War, the Marine Base could train elements of three regiments and support a cadre of drill instructors and permanent support personnel, all told counting the recruits, about 15,000 people.
The average elevation of all three installations was less than 13 feet above sea level. But, no worries. Who ever heard of a tropical storm or hurricane hitting San Diego? (The place was barely hit with one in 1939–85 years ago this September, but it was a glancing blow).
I’m sure mitigation has been made in the half century since my history of the base was published, but here comes another chance for a serious test of using a filled-in estuary for construction of major military significance without being flooded.
For those interested, I’m transcribing my history of the base and, once it is done, I’ll re-publish it on this website.