At the outset of WWII George Patton had the daunting task of training a million men to endure the harsh conditions of the Sahara Desert in northern Africa, and he had found the right place: 18,000 square miles (47,000 km2) of Mojave and Colorado Desert. More than a million men trained at bases in the surrounding desert. The area’s history is documented at the General Patton Memorial Museum located adjacent to the airport