Shaver's Summit Army Airfield
One of several landing strips, that at Shaver's Summit
consisted of a single runway measuring 5,500 by
300 feet. Patton purchased 28 acres from Chiriaco for
five dollars per acre and used the land as an airstrip. The strip was located a few miles east of
Camp Young and was reportedly constructed by and
for the army in 1942. The runway was paved, and
several buildings existed at the strip. It is not known if these buildings
were constructed on-site or moved
from somewhere else. Today, the area is known as
Chiriaco Summit and is no longer called Shaver's
Summit.
Today, the mile-long strip is operated by Riverside
County.
A few buildings from Desert Center Airport
were relocated to Chiriaco Summit after the war, all
of which were converted for other uses. A building
reportedly dating to the DTC/C-AMA period exists
immediately adjacent to the runway, behind the Patton
Museum. The building was obviously moved
and has been altered almost beyond recognition.
There were four main army airfields in the DTC/C-AMA: Rice, Shaver's Summit, Desert Center, and Thermal. In many other locations, the army used existing civilian facilities, such as the airport in Boulder City, Nevada. In other cases, the army established facilities that were subsequently taken over for civilian use after the end of the war. For example, an airfield built in Palm Springs by the army became the city's municipal airport after the war (Weight 1977).[1]
In 1945, Joe and Ruth Chiriaco established a rugged memorial to General Patton at Chiriaco Summit. Today there is a marvelous museum which honors the great American Hero, General George S. Patton and the Desert Training Center thanks to Margit Chiriaco Rusche and the Bureau of Land Management.[2]
Shaver Summit Army Airfield
LOCATION: The site is located in Chiriaco summit, Riverside county,
California Approximately 29 miles east of Indio, California and
approximately 65 miles west of Blythe, California. The former site currently
houses the
Chiriaco Summit Airport (L77) and is accessed from Chiriaco Road off
Interstate 10 at Chiriaco Summit exit ramp. The site is located
adjacent to the Chiriaco Summit Chevron gasoline station.
SITE HISTORY: The Shavers Summit Airfield was used by the Army Air Force as
an emergency auxiliary landing field in connection with the activities at
the Blythe Army Air Field. The airfield was located adjacent to Camp Young,
the Administration Headquarters for the General Patton California-Arizona
Maneuver Area Desert Training Center. The former airfield consisted of an
east-west runway approximately 200-foot wide by 6,000-foot long, constructed
of hard blacktop, a parking apron approximately 100-foot wide by 300-foot
long, constructed of hard black top located adjacent to the runway, a
12-foot by 18-foot frame house used as a guard house, nine or ten tent
frames, a small latrine and shower room, a 50,000-gallon above-ground water
tank, and a beacon. The airfield contained no housing or gasoline storage
facilities. According to Mr. Gordon Chiriaco, operator of the Chevron
gasoline station and son of
Mr. Joseph L. Chiriaco, all fuel for Army Air
Force airplanes was obtained from the Chevron gasoline station. All
structures were dismantled shortly after occupation by the military.
The former Shavers Summit Airfield is currently owned and operated by
Riverside County as the
Chiriaco Summit Airport. The original runway and
wind sock still exist. A majority of the former parking apron has been
converted with a new concrete apron, with only a small portion of the
original blacktop exposed on the easternmost end. No buildings are
located on the current airport grounds, and the airport still does not have
airplane refueling capacities. (Army Corps of Engineers)