It's an exciting time to be at Tooele Army Depot (TEAD), Tooele, Utah, as the Army celebrates the depot's 70 years of long selfless history.
This is how it all began…….
The story of World War II Army depots is one of construction, training and dedicated employees who turned a small, peace time depot system into a vital part of the logistic miracle of World War II.
In January of 1942, there was an "authentic" rumor to the effect that one of the Nation's largest ammunition depots would be built at Tooele, Utah. In February, a delegation from the War Department in Washington, D.C. and from the District Engineer Office in Salt Lake City made the initial survey of the site. And what a sight! TEAD was nothing but a dust bowl, thousands of acres of sagebrush.
In March, some twenty-six thousand acres were purchased by the Government as a building site for the Tooele Ordnance Depot (TOD), six miles from the shores of the Great Salt Lake, forty miles from Salt Lake City, about three miles from the town of Tooele, and nine miles from the town of Grantsville.
April timeframe plans and specifications were drawn and Captain Alvin Howarth and his staff moved onto the site.
The soil and climate were very dry; the land was sandy; and an elevation of 4,923 feet above sea level made it just right for storing conventional ammunition and ordnance supplies. It is necessary to guard against both rust and moisture in the storage of ammunition. In May the Intermountain Contractors arrived. A tent town was built with a huge mess hall, and thousands of workers poured into Tooele to help in the hurried construction of the depot.
In June, 24-hour shifts were the rule, and the place began to grow. But troubles arose. When the first ground was broken for the igloos, the soil, which had been on a the rampage with dust storms since 1934, began to blow again. So dense and thick were those dust clouds that entire days were lost. Operations had to be shut down to avoid head-on collisions of vehicles, even when operating with lights burning. It was rough, and even nature seemed to have joined hands with the enemy.
In spite of manpower and material shortages, work went forward what seemed like overwhelming odds. By January of 1943, the depot was completed without a moment to spare; for the first shipments of supplies had arrived in December.
Colonel Edgar R. Lower, the first depot commander, and Orville Mooberry, the first depot civilian selected the staff and sent them to all parts of the country for specialized training. The herculean task of depot operations began. It was composed of 902 igloos, 13 above ground magazines, hundreds of acres for open storage, 31 warehouses, a hospital, a prisoner of war camp, and 29 barracks for troops. Adjacent to the depot for the housing of depot employees, was a 1080 unit housing project under the direction of the Federal Public Housing Authority (FPHA). This was completed with a shopping district, post office, drug store, barber shop, cleaning establishment, and an elementary school. This seemed wonderful to those who had been living in "Trailer Town."
By this time the number of civilians employed was 2300; there were 1500 enlisted men, with 50 officers; 1000 prisoners of war; and an Italian service unit.
Around the same time, Mr. Elton, General Manager of the International Smelting and Refining Company and Mr. Bristol of the W.P.B. in Salt lake City met with depot commander, Col. Minton, to discuss the housing of colored employees. Arrangements were made with FPHA to move trailers from TOD Park to a location in Tooele City where colored employees of this station and the smelter might live. This measure was taken to prevent race riots, and was not believed that segregation in this instance was discrimination. In August, unusually heavy rain caused considerable damage. Railroad tracks in the area were impassable because of the washing out of grade fills. Floors in 42 igloos were completely submerged with water, luckily only two of them contained ammunition at the time. The ammunition was not damaged because the water level did not rise above the flood dunnage. In repairing the railroad track damage a number of culverts was installed to provide drainage for future use. During the storm, Capt. Dirks was struck by lightning as he was using a telephone in the Ammunition Area.
In September 1943, candidates for the title of Miss TOD were selected. The following is the list of candidates, one of which was chosen by judges at the TOD Benefit Club party, Oct. 3, 1943: Joan Allred, Thalia Bonelli, Leila Butler, Maurine Callister, LaVelle James, Anne Kearns, Maxine Lamb, LaRena Petty, Virginia Petty, Marie Rombs, Betty Wright, Virginia Barnes and Eva Christensen. On October 4, 1943, the TOD Benefit Club sponsored a barbecue for all employees at the American Legion Park in Settlement Canyon, Tooele. Judges selected Virginia Barnes from the 12 candidates as Miss TOD. She with Leila Butler, runner-up, participated in the "Work and Win" parade staged in Salt Lake City on Oct. 12.
The first baby was born at the new station hospital on November 30, 1943. The baby, a daughter, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Bryant.
By January 1944, one thousand German prisoners of war were stationed at the TOD Prisoner of War Camp.
The heaviest snowstorm since 1932 hit the morning of March 15, 1944. The snow measured approx. 6 foot drifts.
Material received for WWII support peaked in July of 1945. Approx. 400,000 tons of material was handled, and 2000 troops were assigned to aid in the handling of the increased ammunition load. Most of the personnel were later separated from the Army through the separation point established at the depot during the fall of 1945. The depot had over 5000 vehicles which were only a portion of the 50,000 expected to arrive and be stored after the proper inspection and preventative maintenance was accomplished that year. Nine civilians and one officer were hospitalized at the depot as a result of a bus accident near Wendover, Utah. A medical officer from the station hospital inspected the bodies of two soldiers burned to death in the accident. By Nov. 1947, the construction of the "Tank Farm" was completed. It consisted of 115 round tanks at 1964 square feet, ten at 1134 square feet and four dehumidification shelters at 168 square feet; all used for storage of tanks and vehicles.
By Nov. 1947, the peacetime program was accomplished with the current employees. The mission of the depot did not change but the workforce did. Women were moved out of key positions to make places for the return of the men as they came back from the war.
Although the Tooele facility had originally been designed for temporary service of five years, the Korean War and the realities of the Cold War made it necessary to put the older buildings back into a better state of repair. Warehouses in the combat storage area were made "permanent" by the addition of asbestos shingles and siding. In the second half of 1952, more than $572,000 was expended on depot maintenance and improvements.
With the cutbacks in personnel after 1953, the administration took steps to dismantle the substandard TOD Park housing. In 1954, only 484 of the 675 rentable units were in use; and in 1956, only 165 units were occupied. A 1961 order directed that 162 occupied and rehabilitated apartments in TOD Park be removed and sold as surplus by July 1962. This deadline was extended to 1963 because of the rapid swelling of the workforce for the Korean War.
After the Korean War, TOD assimilated Deseret Depot Activity, taking over the functions of the Ogden Arsenal, and became the major ammunition equipment design center for the nation's Ordnance Corps. An announcement in March 1961, made these functions secondary as the decision was made to close down a number of important Army ordnance and supply depots in the west, and to consolidate their functions at TOD.
During the first half of 1962, TOD took over distribution of ordnance general supplies for the State of Utah formerly handled by Pueblo Ordnance Depot, Colorado; and the general supply distribution mission for the Sixth U.S. Army in the states of California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho. It also assimilated the overseas customers in Alaska and the islands of the Pacific formerly assigned to Mount Rainier Ordnance Depot and Benicia Arsenal. Additional missions transferred from Benicia Arsenal included rebuilding of tires, guided missiles, ordnance test equipment, and calibration of electronic devices.
TOD was firmly established as the strategic hub of the U.S. Army in the west. Beginning in 1962, TOD acquired a new $1.5 million "brain center," largest of six in the nation. Known as the Western Stock Control and Data Processing Center, it processed orders for war materiel and supply requisitions from troops throughout the western states, Alaska, Hawaii, and Army stations scattered over the Pacific Theatre and in the Far East. Named RAMAC, the electronic brains were the nucleus of the large office division, staffed by more than 400 persons, in Jan. 1962. The electrical and electronic data processing equipment included over 50 machines and related equipment.
With the closing of the Naval Supply Depot at Clearfield, Utah, in 1962; TOD's expansion and potential for future growth assumed ever-greater significance. The Defense Department estimated that while the changeover to TOD cost $13 million, it ultimately saved the nation $28 million per year.
In more recent years, the depot's mission has been twofold; first, as a major power projection platform for all services supporting customers' ammunition needs worldwide. On this level, TEAD's capabilities include storage, inspection, maintenance and testing of training stocks as well as war reserve ammunition. The second mission has been to serve as a life-cycle management installation wherein the Ammunition Equipment Directorate provides the design, development, manufacture and fielding of ammunition-related equipment under the Ammunition Peculiar Equipment (APE). This equipment is used in the maintenance and demilitarization of munitions throughout the world. These systems play a vital role in reducing, reusing and recycling (R3) various types of ammunition for future projects.
In June 2010, a wind turbine was constructed, the first ever at an Army installation. The turbine stands 262 feet tall, and will produce 1.5 MW of electricity.
Fast forward to 2012 and through many missions, the facilities, good performance, reliability and high productivity of employees at TEAD have never wavered.
The depot has once again become the "Western Hub" for storage, shipping, receiving, demilitarization and maintenance of conventional ammunition.
"This occasion marks the 70th year of incredible service for the men and women at Tooele Army Depot and for the Department of Defense," said Col. Mohan, TEAD's 34th Commander. "The dedicated employees here have continually answered the call of duty. I am humbled and proud to be a part of this long tradition of service."
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