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New Book - CAMP COOKE AND VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE - $29
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America’s first West Coast armored and infantry training installation was built in California in 1941 and named Camp Cooke. It is currently known as Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County. During WWII, more than 400 military units trained at Cooke, peaking at more than 36,000 soldiers. The largest units that rotated through Cooke were the 5th, 6th, 11th, 13th, and 20th Armored Divisions and the 86th and 97th Infantry Divisions. Having honed their fighting skills at Cooke, they prevailed in fierce battles across France and Germany. The 6th, 11th, and 20th Armored Divisions also took part in the liberation of Nazi concentration camps at Buchenwald, Mauthausen, and Dachau, respectively. Camp Cooke also included a large compound for German prisoners of war.
I am the author of CAMP COOKE AND VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE 1941-1966. It takes the reader through the war years in a series of notable events transpiring at Cooke and on the war front. It follows a similar path in discussing the Korean War. Two National Guard infantry divisions, the 40th from California and the 44th from Illinois were the largest units at Cooke during the war. Dozens of smaller organizations also rotated through Camp Cooke, including the 747th Amphibious Tank and Tractor Battalion from Florida, and one of the last remaining segregated black units in the Army, the 466th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion from Virginia. During both conflicts, visiting USO shows at Cooke featured some of the most popular celebrities and entertainers of the day, including Bob Hope, Bette Davis, the Three Stooges, Susan Hayward, Kay Kaiser, Louie Armstrong, Dorothy Lamour, Orson Welles, Sammy Davis Jr., Joe DiMaggio, world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis, and many more.
In 1957, Cooke was transferred to the Air Force and a year later renamed Vandenberg AFB. In 1959, the first Atlas ICBM missiles, equipped with nuclear warheads, were placed on alert at Vandenberg. That same year, America’s first reconnaissance (spy) satellite was launched from the base. Known as Corona, it used the cover name Discoverer to conceal its true mission. In discussing early launch programs, the book reveals several significant accidents and successes. You will also learn about President Kennedy's visit to the base and the humorous story of Russian Premier Khrushchev's train ride past the base and across America, which almost ended in a diplomatic incident.
The book's military theme encompasses more than eighty years of American history and spotlights California’s inextricable role in world events. Through hot wars and a cold war, it is a story about ordinary people performing extraordinary services for their country and fellow countrymen during those momentous times.
Vandenberg AFB is now Vandenberg Space Force Base and is located in Santa Barbara County.
Softcover 6 x 9
274 pages, 102 rare photos, 5 maps, 7 appendices, notes, bibliography, and index.
Pick up your NEW and UNREAD copy today by contacting me or going to your favorite online bookseller and start reading about this incredible story.
$29.00. FREE SHIPPING!
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YOU MANY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN MY OTHER BOOK - "German Prisoners of War at Camp Cooke, California."
GERMAN PRISONERS OF WAR AT CAMP COOKE CALIFORNIA is the compelling story of fourteen German soldiers captured during the campaigns in North Africa and Europe. The book examines their lives as prisoners, detailing their daily routines and interactions with American guards. It discusses how both the prisoners and their captors navigated the challenges of maintaining order and humanity within the camp and the broader impact of the prisoners' presence on the local communities.
Each former prisoner discusses his pre-war and military service and later as a POW in America – mainly at Camp Cooke and its 16 branch camps – and the indelible impressions these experiences had on him. Told against the backdrop of notable wartime events and the U.S. War Department’s nationwide POW program, this combination of personal experiences with a narrative history gives the reader a complete and authentic account of soldiers who survived the cataclysm of World War II. There are some serious moments in my book as well as funny stories told by the interviewees.
The book is well-illustrated and uses a variety of primary sources, including interviews, personal letters, and official documents to paint a vivid picture of life within the camp.
Softcover 6 x 9
280 pages with more than 50 vintage photos.
Pick up your NEW and UNREAD copy today by contacting me or go to your favorite bookseller and start reading about this incredible story.
$22.00. FREE SHIPPING.