8-22-2025 Hawthorne, NV

Since we’ve stopped here many times before, I thought I could get away with no more t-logs.  However, we keep discovering and learning new things about which to tell stories.

 

In the beginning, the main ammunition manufacturing facility in the US was in New Jersey, the Lake Denmark Ammunition Depot.  In 1926, it exploded and it was necessary to find a new site.  By 1928, that site was established and ground-breaking took place in Hawthorne, NV.  By 1930, ammunitions were being shipped and stored and the area was protected by the Marines.  Over time the facility was expanded and it is considered the largest ammo depot in the world with 2,000 buildings, 2 million square feet of ammo storage, 200 miles of railroad tracks and a boundary of 250 square miles.  At its peak during WWII, employment was nearly 6,000 military and civilian personnel.  They built bombs, torpedoes, guided missile warheads, depth charges, mines and cartridges.

 

Now we get to the next part of the story.  Like Hanford (north of Richland), there was a, “reservation,” for civilians outside the military base.  The town was called Babbitt.  It was occupied by thousands of patriots from all over the USA during and after WWII who were employed at the ammunition factories on the base.  It was a regular city with thousands of duplexes, movie theaters, saloons, a bowling alley, medical facilities and so on.  The young women who lived in Babbitt were invited and transported by Jeeps to the base for big dances and parties with the sailors.  Yes, it was a naval base at the time.  Nearby Walker Lake was used to train pilots to drop bombs and torpedoes.  A portion of Walker Lake is still cordoned off and protected from people who might want to dive and explore because some of the explosives that were dropped did not detonate so there are potentially live explosives in the water.

Babbitt babes at a USO party.
Note the TIME Magazine in the
back with FDR's picture on the cover.

 

Babbitt was active until the late 1980s.  At that time, it was abandoned, decommissioned, razed and plowed under, like Hanford.  Not a molecule of Babbitt exists today.  And here’s where we come in.  Our favorite RV park, Whiskey Flats, sits on what used to be Babbitt acreage.  In fact, the park sits right on top of the Strategic Air Command radar station!  Here we thought Hawthorne was just a waypoint with a cool RV park, a good pizza parlor and an ordnance museum and not much else.  Instead, we learned all this new stuff! 

Best pizza on earth for Rob

Lovelock Pizza's work of art
for Lindy

 

Whiskey Flats RV Park and
surrounds

Entrance to Whiskey Flats

The base is still active but it is now Army.  The function of its factories is to, “demil,” explosives, meaning to render them inert.  It is still, however, the world’s largest and heavily-guarded ammo dump facility.

 

Two years ago, Rob and I spent time documenting, printing and framing Dad DeLaMare’s pictures and list of assignments during his military career.  We had all of his military duds dry cleaned;  his fatigues, dress blues, whites and tan linens.  Then we drove everything to Hawthorne and donated it to the Hawthorne Ordnance Museum.  We also donated a sum of money (with Boeing company-match) to the museum to build a display cabinet for Dad’s memorabilia.  We stopped in at the museum now, 2 years later, to see what progress they had made along those lines.  Sadly, Dad’s duds are still hanging in plastic bags.  However we found his framed pictures and dress hats on display and are somewhat happy about that.  We did give them a little grief and a nudge to get off of top-dead-center and build a proper display cabinet.  We’ll spin the plates on this and check on it the next time we blow through Hawthorne.  Dad retired as a Lt. Colonel USA, 4^th Armored Division.   He served in WWII, Korea and Viet Nam and we are profoundly proud and grateful for his service.

Dad's framed pictures and info and dress hats.

Dad's unis.  Bottom row, 
the three bags on the right.

 

This is a picture in the museum
of a replica of Bin Laden's compound. 
It is on the Army base and the
Special Forces guys use it
to practice invasions.  We are not allowed
on the base but they said you can
see it from the road.  We didn't.

Camel saddle used in
Afghanistan.

This tank was purchased
from Canada by the museum
for $135,000.

Photo of a B52 dropping
cluster bombs, Viet Nam
War era.

Cluster bomb.
Each one of those
blue balls is a grenade.

Gestapo helmet, WWII era

These two shadow boxes were
found at Goodwill.  The soldier
had won 2 Congressional
Medals of Honor.

Napalm bomb, Viet Nam War era

Today, Aug. 23rd, we are on the final leg of the summer trip, heading for the homestead at 1640.  We say, “thank you,” to all of you for traveling along and sharing our stories.  Till next time, love to all.