[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20845-20846]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF CAMP SAN LUIS OBISPO

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I wish to reflect on the 75-year 
history of Camp San Luis Obispo in my home State of California. A 
celebration of this special anniversary will be held on August 22, 
2003. Established in 1928, Camp San Luis Obispo then Camp Merriam has 
served our state and nation well: as a training site for the California 
National Guard, as a training and staging base for the U.S. Army during 
World War II and the Korean War, and now as the home of the Guard's 
California Military Academy.
  Camp San Luis Obispo was established in the years following World War 
I, when it was recognized that a training site for the Guard was 
needed. The federal government began using the camp just before World 
War II. The camp was active throughout the war, and by the end of the 
war in 1944, it had

[[Page 20846]]

expanded to 15,433 acres and had the ability to serve more than 20,000 
troops. During the Korean War, the Army trained soldiers at the 
Southwest Signal School that opened in 1951.
  In July 1965, the State of California regained control of the camp. 
With the closure of California military installations during the past 
ten years, the centrally-located Camp San Luis Obispo has served as a 
resource for Guard and Reserve units.
  During the past 75 years, Camp San Luis Obispo has provided an 
important service to the California National Guard and to our nation. 
This historic camp has served as a training site during some of our 
nation's most difficult national security challenges.
  I congratulate Camp San Luis Obispo on this milestone, and commend 
the California National Guard for their noble service over the 
years.

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