Camp Granite was established at this site in the spring of 1942 as one of fifteen camps built in the southwestern deserts to harden and train United States troops for service on the battlefields of World War II. The Desert Training Center was a simulated theater of operations that included portions of California, Arizona and Nevada, and the other camps were Young, Coxcomb, Iron Mountain, Ibis, Clipper, Pilot Knob, Laguna, Horn, Hyder, Bouse, Desert Center and Needles. A total of 13 infantry divisions and 7 armored divisions, plus numerous smaller units, trained in this harsh environment. The Training Center operated for almost 2 years and closed early in 1944 when the last units were shipped overseas. During its brief operation, over one million American soldiers were trained for combat, serving in the war that ended the holocaust and defeated the armed forces of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan.