World War II history of NSD Clearfield, Utah

Navy Supply Corps Newsletter, March-April, 2003 by Greg R. Johnson

On April 10, 2003, a significant chapter of Utah Navy Supply Corps history will be celebrated.

Naval Supply Depot Clearfield was commissioned on April 10, 1943. When commissioned it was the second largest Naval Supply Depot in the world, by the end of World War II it had become the largest. What follows is a short history of World War II operations at NSD Clearfield. It is interesting that the logistical lessons learned during that conflict are still of value today as we battle the War on Terror.

Early in 1942 following the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor it became evident to the Navy that it would need to vastly expand its logistical support network in order to successfully prosecute its wartime campaign against Japan. To do this the Navy would require substantial new warehouse space to be created somewhere in the American West where it would be accessible to major transportation nodes and be out of the reach of enemy air attack.

The Navy evaluated several sites before settling on a location in Clearfield, Utah. On receipt of presidential authorization the Navy Department moved swiftly to obtain title to the desired real estate. On June 13, 1942, the Navy was granted immediate possession to the desired property. Construction activity followed shortly, but no formal ground breaking ceremonies were held due to wartime security.

Construction commenced under a contract that planned for the building of 48 200- by 600-foot storehouses. These warehouse facilities were intended for general storage of naval parts, stores and equipment to support naval ships, airplanes and personnel. Construction efforts moved ahead swiftly despite shortages of manpower and construction material. With the nation on a war footing, the construction of NSD Clearfield had to compete with other urgent wartime requirements and activities.

This construction effort would last 10 months, 22 days. When completed in April 1943 the following feats of construction had been accomplished:

* 159,000,000 cubic feet of building construction

* 30 miles of railroad

* 13.5 miles of road

* 18 miles of water line

* ground level and overhead water tanks totaling 2.4 million gallons of water

* 7 miles of sanitary sewers

* 18 miles of storm drains

* 6.8 million square feet of automatic sprinkler protection, which required 218 miles of pipe, and 63,450 sprinkler heads

* 5.2 miles of illuminated fence

* 8 miles of overhead electrical distribution system

* 11.4 miles of telephone wiring

* 1.7 miles of overhead-air-raid alarm system

* 11.7 miles of fire alarm systems

During 1942 concurrent with the efforts to build the physical facility at NSD Clearfield, a training program was underway at NSD Oakland to train a nucleus of Navy Supply Corps officers and other military staff for the purpose of manning up NSD Clearfield. This training effort would teach them the essentials of how to operate a Navy supply depot. This challenge would be especially daunting in that NSD Clearfield would be stood up from scratch.

On Sept. 4, 1942, CDR Harry Hines arrived at Clearfield as supply officer in command. Accompanying Hines were a chief clerk and one civilian employee. One of their chief objectives on their arrival would be the recruitment of available labor. This objective would be difficult to achieve.

Utah along with the rest of the nation responded quickly to the call to arms. This call to arms took many forms. Many men volunteered or were drafted for active military service. Those men who were not able to serve in the armed forces were highly desired for employment as civilian employees for wartime civil service or for local defense contractors. This rapid mobilization of available manpower created a paucity of manpower assets, which heralded a need for creative solutions. World War II introduced female employment to the private sector and to government service on a scale never before seen in American society.

While final construction efforts would not be completed until April 1943, on Nov. 22, 1942, the administration building was made available for use of the supply officer in command and his staff of 15 Navy Supply Corps officers, one Medical Corps officer, and three Navy Line officers. Like the little engine that could, the NSD Clearfield staff quickly began to ramp up to meet the demand for wartime operations. In December 1942 NSD Clearfield recorded its first stock receipts and its first issues. From this small beginning NSD Clearfield quickly manned up to meet the challenges of supporting the furious battles that were then raging in the Pacific.

At the time of formal commissioning in April, the NSD Clearfield staff had grown to 29 Navy Supply Corps officers and eight Navy Line officers. Total staffing for the depot was approximately 1,700 people. This included a Marine Barracks that was assigned to the depot by the Navy Department for physical security.

Considering the gargantuan challenge of supporting a wartime fleet engaged in fighting the enemy, NSD Clearfield simply needed more people to effectively fulfill her mission. So serious was this challenge that the Navy actively recruited many employees from out of state to fill its employment needs. Female labor was the norm. NSD Clearfield also pleaded with the Navy Department to increase its military manning to cope with the challenge. In August 1943, 37 Navy officers had been authorized for NSD Clearfield. By the end of the war authorized manning would continue to grow to a level of approximately 7,000 personnel, including 2,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel.