Camp Roberts bought, World War II week by week

Camp Roberts land was about to be purchased according to a story in the October 8, 1942 Telegram-Tribune. The property, 47,500 acres was under lease to the War Department from Wells Fargo Bank and Union Trust Company.
Though the government had the right to lease the property year to year through 1946 it was deemed a military necessity.
According to the story
“The work of building Camp Roberts was begun in late 1940 and the camp mushroomed into the country’s biggest selectee training camp during the wettest and muddiest winter ever known in this section. The camp is now one of the biggest selectee training camps and the only big selectee training camp with both infantry andfield artillery replacement training centers.”
Not all of it was built new, 100 buildings from three abandoned CCC camps were in the process of being moved to the site. One other camp was already on the reservation.
At the end of the 1930s the Army and Air Force combined had barely 20,000 service members.
By 1943 President Franklin Roosevelt wanted an army strength of 7,500,000.
It was a staggeringly large effort.

In other news, 100 tons of scrap metal was scavenged locally for the war effort according to an October 14, 1942 story.
The draft age was slated to be lowered to 18.

Related posts:

1. Hard times at Camp Roberts
2. Amphibious Training Base in Morro Bay, World War II week by week
3. Train wreck, Salinas Dam construction World War II week by week
4. Battan Death March, World War II week by week
5. Salinas Dam water tunnel completed under Cuesta Grade, World War II week by week