Camp Clipper
Camp Clipper was apparently a temporary camp, occupied by infantry divisions
only. The 33rd infantry Division occupied it after its construction in
1942, followed by the 93rd Infantry Division. The temporary facility was
used as a transition camp for the more permanent Camp Essex to the west. When Camp Essex was completed, Camp Clipper was closed. Camp Clipper was
used when one division was moving out and another was moving in, so that
both units could be accommodated (as was the case with the 33rd and 93rd
Divisions) (Meller 1946 :41 ; Figure 50). [1]
Camp Clipper was located east of Camp Essex, north of the Essex Airfield.
While Camp Essex was built predominantly on a north-south axis, Camp Clipper had a northeast-southwest orientation.
Camp Essex used the nearby Camp Clipper as a temporary staging area for
divisions when one was moving in and another was moving out.
Current Condition
Little remains of Camp Clipper today, primarily because of the short life
span of the camp and the fact that it was never a heavily used facility. Interstate 40 bisects the northern portion of the camp. Roads leading to
the camp are barely discernible today, as most have eroded substantially and
been overgrown with vegetation. Because it was more ephemeral than the other
divisional camps, it is believed that little remains to mark the camp today.
Camp Clipper, a temporary camp, was located adjacent to and west of the
encampment area on the site formally acquired for Camp Essex. Camp Clipper
was occupied by the 33rd Infantry Division before Camp Essex was prepared.
On 13 December 1943, the U.S. Department of the Interior transferred, by
means of a use permit, 21,537.78 acres to the War Department in lieu of a
formal real estate directive. An additional 8,998.72 acres was granted by
eight other permits. No documentation pertaining to these permits could be
found. Therefore, the dates and parties associated with these permit
acquisitions cannot be determined. However, they were most likely secured
from the State of California, the Southern Pacific Company and other private
landowners between 1942 and 1943. Thus, a total of 30,536.50 acres was
acquired for Camp Essex. Previous to the formal acquisition of Camp Essex, a
portion of the total area was known as Camp Clipper, J09CA701000. No formal
records could be found regarding the acquisition or relinquishment of Camp
Clipper, thus Camp Clipper is a duplicate and is covered under Camp Essex.
14 firing ranges were located on the site, to the west of
the Camp Essex encampment area, on the abandoned Camp Clipper encampment
area. [US Army Corps of Engineers]