Photo 1
The first time I got my car serviced at Del Mar Car Care, I was struck by this photo that they had on the wall. It's obviously their shop with army troops marching past, and what looks to be an old model T bringing up the rear.
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| 40th Division marching past Torrey Pines Garage |
I wondered what year it was, and as I looked closer the uniforms appear to be of WWI "doughboy" vintage.
Photo 2
Then a few years ago I ran into this photograph of the same troops marching the other way. Coming down the old Torrey Pines road towards the garage overlooking Los Peñasquitos Lagoon. I found the photo on a great site dedicated to Edward N. Jackson, and learned from Jackson's wikipedia entry that he was an American photographer and photojournalist for the New York Daily News. Jackson was President Woodrow Wilson's European photographer during the close of World War I and photographed The Big Four world leaders at the Paris Peace Conference.
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| Marching to the Beach from Camp Kearny, by Edward N Jackson, 1918 |
This photo cleared up the story a bit. From the first photo, I thought perhaps the troops were from Camp Pendleton to the North and they were marching South past Del Mar. The full story was now coming into focus. The troops were from Camp Kearny, about 16 miles inland near where MCAS Miramar is today.
America Enters WWI
On April 6, 1917 the United States declared war on Germany. Almost immediately, the US Army purchased 2,130 acres at Mirimar Ranch to create an infantry training center. Camp Kearny, named after former Military Governor of California, Brigadier General Stephen Watts Kearny, opened on July 18, 1917 to train 32,000 soldiers for WWI. Camp Kearny was the home of the 40th and 16th divisions, and the 157th, 158th, 159th and 160th Infantry Regiments.
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| Camp Kearny in 1918 |
Edward Norman Jackson at Camp Kearny
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| Eddie at Camp Kearny, 1918 |
At the age of 32, Edward "Eddie" Jackson joined up and reported for training in October of 1917. He was a photographer, and he was assigned to go out at take pictures at various Army Camps for the Committee of Public Information. In February 1918, Eddie Jackson was sent to California to take government archive photographs at Camp Kearny and nearby Rockwell Field in San Diego.
Jackson was paired up with the newly formed 40th Division, aka the Sunshine Division commanded by General Frederick S. Strong, where Eddie proceeded to take many photos of their training, daily routines, and their efforts to get ready to go over to Europe to fight.
The Sunshine Division
Stockton Independent, 7 February 1918
“SUNSHINE DIVISION” IS NAME SELECTED
San Diego, Feb, 6. — Reversing his decision of two days ago, when it was announced that the Fortieth division, national guard, at Camp Kearny, would be known as the "excel division,” Major General Frederick S. Strong, commander of the division, this afternoon announced that the Fortieth would be known as the "Sunshine division.” The new name of the division was conceived by General Strong, and was selected, he said, because it is typical of the climatic conditions prevailing at Camp Kearny and in the states of the west from which the troops came.
Major General Frederick S. Strong also wrote the History of the Fortieth (Sunshine) Division for your great reading enjoyment.
The March to the Sea
So, let's get back to those two photos that started this story.
I imagine that one fine morning in February 1918, a drill sergeant for the Sunshine Division kindly asked his trainees if they wanted to take the day off and go to the beach.
"Frank here was just telling me about the white sand beaches and heated salt water spa in Olde Del Mar..." he said with a grin. "Anyone want to take the day off and go to the beach today?"
"Yes Sir!" they all agreed in unison.
Well, you can hear his loud displeasure and name-calling as he promptly suited them all up and marched them the 17 miles to beach. Let them eat lunch and get their feet wet, then marched them the 17 miles right back to Camp Kearny.
In this 1953 aerial photo, you can better see the complex where Camp Kearny stood (the green star) just south east of the runways of Miramar. Del Mar is the red star at the top right of the photo.
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| Camp Kearny to Del Mar, 1953 aerial photo |
Using Google Maps, the route is a little shorter today because of the "new" North Torrey Pines Bridge that was built in 1933 bypasses the auto garage where photo #1 was taken (yellow star). And today you also take the improved grade at Torrey Pines Road and skip the old Torrey Pines Lodge and photo spot #2 (blue star). In either case, it's still 16.4 miles with 407 ft in elevation gain and 883 ft down to sea level. Then right back again the opposite way. So, at least a 34 mile hike that would absolutely be a brutal all-day affair in full uniform.
The Sunshine Division Goes to War
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| 40th Infantry Division CSIB |
The Sunshine Division was fully trained at Camp Kearny, and August 3, 1918 they left San Diego and headed to Europe. Upon arriving in France on August 20, 1918 they were redesignated as the 6th Depot Division of the American Expeditionary Force. It was decided that the 40th and other newly arriving Divisions would be split up and fill out the more experienced combat divisions with fresh troops. More than 27,000 replacements from the 40th went to the 26th, 28th, 32nd, 77th, 80th, 81st, 82nd and 89th Divisions.
By the end of World War I, 2,587 members of the 40th Division had been killed in action and 11,596 wounded. Another 103 died of their wounds at the Camp Kearney post hospital. On April 20, 1919, the division stood down.
Camp Kearny consisted of mostly temporary structures built at the cost of $4.5 million, and served as a demobilization center after the war and was abandoned on October 31, 1920.
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