Camp Parks
| Parks Reserve Forces Training Area Camp Parks Parks Air Force Base   
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| Located in Dublin, California | |
Parks AFB, CA – 5 October 1954
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| Coordinates | 37°43′25.66″N 121°54′03.50″W / 37.7237944°N 121.9009722°WCoordinates: 37°43′25.66″N 121°54′03.50″W / 37.7237944°N 121.9009722°W |
| Type | Reserve Forces Training Area |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | United States Army |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1943 |
| In use | 1943 – present |
Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (PRFTA), commonly known as Camp Parks, is a United States Army facility located in Dublin, California that is currently a semi-active mobilization and training center for U.S. Army Reserve personnel to be used in case of war or natural disaster.
Soon after the creation of the Seabees at the beginning of World War II, the U.S. Navy built a West Coast replacement and recuperation center for Naval Construction Battalions returning from overseas. Camp Parks was established on November 26, 1942, having been named in honor of Rear Admiral Charles W. Parks, Civil Engineer Corps (CEC), the World War I chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks. Adjacent to Camp Parks to the east, was Camp Shoemaker and the U.S. Naval Hospital Shoemaker, also built during the war. The three Navy bases laying side by side were called "Fleet City."
In 1945, on its huge paved parade ground, Camp Parks could muster more than 20,000 men and hundreds of officers. It was the home for Seabee battalions returning from the Pacific Theater of Operations after a year or more of construction duty. They came to Camp Parks for medical treatment, military training and reorganization. The base housed up to 20 battalions at a time. Most battalions prepared for a second tour in the Pacific. Many Seabees were hospitalized, and those no longer fit for duty received their discharge. After their initial leaves, personnel were given training and battalions were returned to fighting strength.
In 1946, at the end of World War II, the United States Secretary of the Navy disestablished the three facilities, and from 1946 to 1951, the Navy leased the land to the County of Alameda for use as Santa Rita Jail. The sea of Quonset huts and two-story wooden barracks were subsequently dismantled.
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Wikipedia