About the Museum

The General Patton Memorial Museum is a military history museum with exhibits ranging from World War I through the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Established in 1988 to honor the memory of General George Patton, the museum is located at the heart of the Desert Training Center from World War II. Established by General Patton in 1942 to train American troops in desert warfare in preparation for the invasion of North Africa, it became the largest army training facility in the United States. During the course of the war the Desert Training Center trained 60 divisions and more than one million soldiers.

The museum is located at Chiriaco Summit, close to Camp Young, which was General Patton’s headquarters. Joe Chiriaco, the son of an Italian immigrant, established the store and gas station there with his small family in the 1930s. Having surveyed the entire area for the aqueduct system a few years earlier, Patton called upon Joe to show him the area, which led Patton to finalize his decision to base the training center there.

The Chiriaco family initially established the museum in 1988, which became a non-profit entity dedicated to honoring America’s veterans. The large majority of the artifacts on display and in storage have been donated by veterans or the family of veterans over the years. The museum also includes a large tank yard with tanks ranging from World War II through the Vietnam War.

The museum also has a large gift shop specializing in military themed toy, apparel, souvenirs, t-shirts and books.