Oscar Gomez when he was on active duty
Peggy McGee and Monica Christiansen
Have you ever heard the rumor that land that is now Quail Creek used to be home for Japanese prisoners of war during World War II? It is not a rumor, but a fact. You can learn all about this piece of history and much more at the Green Valley Chapter, Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), luncheon on Jan. 16. MOAA will host the Santa Cruz Valley Historical Society’s presentation of the historic World War II sites in our community.
Oscar Gomez, former Sahuarita School District student, teacher, and Vietnam veteran, will relate his personal memories interspersed with images and stories shared by his contemporaries. This event will be held at American Legion Post 66, 1560 W. Duval Mine Road. A social period will start at 11:30 a.m., with a taco bar luncheon being offered at noon. There will be a cash bar available.
In December of 1940, the War Department in Washington announced expansion plans for the Tucson Air Base, with an investment totaling approximately $2,211,212. As part of this National Defense program, focused on the Army Air Corps strategy of sending “heavy bombers of the Flying Fortress type to fields in the interior—hidden from the Pacific Coast by high mountain ranges,” the Sahuarita Gunnery and Bombing Ranges were established.
Longtime Sahuarita residents have many memories associated with these sites that were in use through the early 1970s. Former students remember field trips to the gunnery range, the sounds of weapons firing, and even the excitement of drones falling on their playground. Others recall dust trails and road damage from tanks traveling to the Sahuarita sites; repeated warnings to keep humans and livestock from roaming the property; discoveries of unusual artifacts in the surrounding desert; county-, city-, and state-level battles over property ownership and water rights; and even the outrage of a secret moonlight burial of $300,000 worth of contaminated food and supplies from the TUSD cafeteria.
In 1944 local farmers, in cooperation with the Pima County Agricultural Extension Service and the Prisoner of War Program, established Camp Continental on the James B. Bull Farm. This POW work camp, located along the Nogales Highway between Sahuarita and Continental, played a critical role in the Valley economy while many local farm workers were overseas, enlisted in the war efforts. Stories of this endeavor provide a critical wartime component of area history, as well as observations and interactions with the German captives who also lived there.
For reservations, please contact Quail Creek resident Peggy McGee at [email protected] or 520-207-6188.