Good sleuth work, Rick! My Father served in the 33rd Division and endured desert training at the DTC. He used to tell the story that you could sit on the can and watch trains go by. There is a great book called the Golden Cross that gives the whole story of the 33rd Division activities in WWII. It can be found online with a web search. In Chapter 2, it describes that the whole division moved by rail from Ft. Lewis, WA to Camp Clipper, and that everything was in place by the end of the first week of April, 1943. On May 12, 1943 it was announced by General Millikin, to the 13,000+ troops of the Division, that they were moving overseas. Packing began immediately and troops began to move by early June. According to the book, by June 27, Camp Clipper was deserted. The group departed by ship out of San Francisco, and it wasn't until after two days sailing that they were told where they were going: Hawaii. The 33rd only occupied Camp Clipper for about three months. From Hawaii, the 33rd served in New Guinea, Morotai and the Philippines, until the war's end. My Mother (who lived in Detroit, at the time) spent the last week of April, all of May and the first week of June at her brother's home in Pasadena, CA. When my Father would get a pass to leave the post, they would meet in Barstow. At that time they had been married all but five months, so any opportunity to see one another was taken. I have his leave passes.
Good sleuth work, Rick!
My Father served in the 33rd Division and endured desert training at the DTC. He used to tell the story that you could sit on the can and watch trains go by. There is a great book called the Golden Cross that gives the whole story of the 33rd Division activities in WWII. It can be found online with a web search.
In Chapter 2, it describes that the whole division moved by rail from Ft. Lewis, WA to Camp Clipper, and that everything was in place by the end of the first week of April, 1943. On May 12, 1943 it was announced by General Millikin, to the 13,000+ troops of the Division, that they were moving overseas. Packing began immediately and troops began to move by early June. According to the book, by June 27, Camp Clipper was deserted. The group departed by ship out of San Francisco, and it wasn't until after two days sailing that they were told where they were going: Hawaii. The 33rd only occupied Camp Clipper for about three months. From Hawaii, the 33rd served in New Guinea, Morotai and the Philippines, until the war's end.
My Mother (who lived in Detroit, at the time) spent the last week of April, all of May and the first week of June at her brother's home in Pasadena, CA. When my Father would get a pass to leave the post, they would meet in Barstow. At that time they had been married all but five months, so any opportunity to see one another was taken. I have his leave passes.
That's an interesting bit of research, and it certainly makes sense.