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This base was named for Major General William George Haan, a prominent World War I commander. Originally, Camp Haan's land was carved out of the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC), March Air Base in 1940. (March had been created in 1918.) Construction on Camp Haan began in 11/1940 and was completed by 01/1941. In 10/1941, when it served as an artillery antiaircraft base, Haan "... had 353 buildings, 2,459 floor tents, 6 exchanges, 5 chapels, a hospital, 18 miles of sewers, and 28 miles of streets." (See "Historic California Posts: Camp Haan,"Accessed 07/20/2010.) At its busiest, Camp Haan housed about 80,000 people. It served as a Coast Artillery Antiaircraft Replacement Training Center until 03/1942, when it became a Army Service Depot. Portions also functioned as a POW camp for 1,200 Italians and a similar number of Germans. Toward the end of the war, Camp Haan was used as a "separation camp" for returning GIs, and a temporary, 800-bed hospital was erected to serve wounded from the Pacific. A disciplinary barracks was also established late in the war. The Army decommissioned the camp on 08/31/1946, and its land reverted to March Air Base. In 1976, 749 acres (including portions of the former Camp Haan) were reallocated to the Department of Veterans Affairs and used as a cemetery, known thereafter as "Riverside National Cemetery," a facility that covered 921 acres.

Camp Hahn's perimeter formed a 4-mile-long by 3-mile-wide trapezoid containing 8,058 acres.

PCAD id: 15363