Camp Cooke Memorial

<br><i>First Marker:</i> <b><center>5th Armored Division<br> "Victory"</b></center> Activated Ft. Knox, KY - 1 October 1941 • VAFB (then Camp Cooke) February 1942 - March 1943 • Desert & Tennessee Maneuvers - 1942 & 1943 • Deployed to E.T.O. February 1944 • Landed Utah Beach, Normandy 25 July 1944<br> Normandy * Northern France * Rhineland * Ardennes-Alsace * Central Europe<br> First Allied Division to enter Germany 11 September 1944. At War's end was closest unit to Berlin on the Elbe River<br> Dedicated to all the brave men of the 5th A.D. in World War II</center><br><br> <i>Second Marker:</i> <center><b>6th Armored Division<br> "The Super Sixth"</b></center> Activated Ft. Knox, KY - 15 February 1942 • Camp Chaffee, Ark. - Louisiana Maneuvers • Camp Young - California Desert • Camp Cooke (VAFB), Calif. • Landed Utah Beach 18 July 1944<br> Normandy * Northern France * Rhineland * Ardennes-Alsace * Central Europe<br> Last Combat Death 24 April 1945<br> Dedicated to the 1,274 men of the 6th Armored Division who gave their lives in World War II, the 4,378 wounded and 52 missing in action.<br><br> <i>Third Marker:</i><br> <center><b>11th Armored Division<br> "Thunderbolts"</b></center> Activated Camp Polk, LA - 15 August 1942 • Louisiana Manuevers • Camp Barkley, Abilene, TX • Camp Ibis - California Desert • Camp Cooke (VAFB), CA • Landed France December 10, 1944<br> Ardennes-Alsace * Rhineland * Central Europe<br> Dedicated to the men of the 11th Armored Division who died or were wounded during World War II.<br><br> <i>Fourth Marker:</i><br> <center>In deep appreciation for the untiring efforts of<br> <b>Colonel James A. McDonough, USAR Ret</b><br> 5th Armored Division Association<br> and<br> <b>Colonel William A. Hamberg, USA Ret</b><br> 5th Armored Division Association</center> in making this memorial a reality on Vandenberg Air Force Base<br> <center>October 1991</center>