12/1/2003
12/1/2003
Landmark information
- Location:
8 mi W of Needles on I-40, go N on Hwy 95 1.9 mi - Plaque:
Other Plaque - Site:
Nothing Remains - Date First Visited:
1/29/2000 - Date Most Recently Visited:
12/1/2003 - GPS Coordinates:
N 34 58.170, W 114 49.975
About this landmark
Plaque text:
Ibis Divisional Camp
Desert Training Center
California-Nevada Maneuver Area
440th Anti-Aircraft Artillery (Automatic Weapons) Battalion
Camp Ibis was established at this site in the spring of 1942 - one of eleven such camps built in the California-Arizona desert to harden and train United States troops for service on the battlefields of World War II.
The 440th AA AW Battalion was activated per General Order No. 1 at Camp Haan, CA. on July 1, 1942. It trained at Camp M.A.A.R. (Irwin), camps Young, Iron Mountain, Ibis, and then camps Pickett, VA. & Stewart, GA. The battalion shipped out to England in December, 1943 & landed in Normandy on D3. The unit earned 5 Battle Stars & 2 foreign awards while serving with the 1st, 3rd, 7th, 9th U.S. Armies, the 1st French Army & the 2nd British Army, 7 different corps & 5 different divisions. The 440th AAA AW BN was deactivated in December 1945.