Hawthorne Army Depot: A Brief History

“The evening of March 18th, 2013, will forever be remembered as a moment of profound tragedy in Mineral County,” District Attorney Sean Rowe told those gathered for a memorial service. “You have given meaning to the phrase, ‘America’s Patriotic Home.’“

Hawthorne has held an important place in American military history since World War II when it became the staging area for ammunition, bombs and rockets for the war. It opened in September 1930 as the Naval Ammunition Depot Hawthorne, was re-designated Hawthorne Army Ammunition Plant in 1977 when it moved under the control of the Army.

In 1994, the site ended its production mission and became Hawthorne Army Depot.  The site now serves several purposes for the military, including storing ammunition and explosives and providing what the military calls an ideal training facility for special forces preparing for deployments to similar desert terrain in places like Afghanistan.

The 147,000-acre location in Nevada’s isolated high desert is also considered an ideal training environment for Special Operations forces preparing for deployments to Southwest Asia.  Nevada was chosen for the location because of its remoteness in the wake of a devastating explosion at the government’s main depot in New Jersey in 1926.

Hawthorne opened four after a lightning-sparked explosion almost destroyed the Lake Denmark Naval Ammunition depot, about 40 miles west of New York City. The blast and fire heavily damaged the adjacent Picatinny Army Arsenal, killing 21 people and seriously injuring more than 50 others.

Following Monday nights explosion, hundreds of residents in the rural community turned out to mourn the loss of the seven Marines. Families with children clutching small American flags were among the nearly 300 people who attended the brief memorial service Tuesday, where a trumpeter played taps at a city park as a giant American flag flew at half-staff across the street from the base at dusk.

Even though the Marines were from the other side of the country, locals still feel a strong sense of pride in the military because the town’s history is so deeply tied to the armed forces. The town calls itself “America’s Patriotic Home” and is home to the Hawthorne Ordnance Museum, which displays hundreds of shells, munitions, battery guns and weapons dating to World War II.

Red, white and blue sculptures made of former shells and bombs are on display in town and Storefronts carry names like Patriot’s Plaza. The sign on the Convention Center  Thursday carried the message, “Please Pray For Our Marines.”

There have been at least three other fatal explosions at Hawthorne over the years. An October 5th, 1951, blast killed five people, another on September 3rd, 1966, killed two men and a rocket explosion on May 26th, 1971, killed three.