books - Desert Magazine of the Southwest

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DESERT MAGAZINE
P. O. Box 1318
Palm Desert, Calif. 92260
in the
^Publisher's
yoke
W HE DESERT holds many mysteries
9 in her quiet canyons and valleys. One
• unusual find was brought to our office
by Martin Grunnett, of Indio, California.
It seems that about two years
ago, Martin and his son, Walter, took a
drive out on Interstate 10 east of Indio
and turned off the freeway onto the Hayfield
pump station service road. They
parked the car and decided to do a little
exploring, with nothing particular in
mind.
A short distance from the car, Walter
found a wire ring containing 51 dog tags,
relics of the war-time training era of General George Patton and his desert manuevers.
There are 11 duplicate sets and 29 single tags. The majority belonged to
servicemen from the Southeast, with the state of Tennessee most represented.
The mystery is: How did the tags defy discovery for 30 years and just how were
they gathered? Some of the
tags are in mint condition
and appear to be an aluminum
alloy, and others are obviously
weathered and are
copper-colored.
Was the desert heat so intense
it led to 40 boys going
over the hill?
Perhaps new tags were
issued and these were
thrown away to be found
later by some relic hunter?
Oh, Perry Mason, where
are you?
The tags have been left at
our office by Walter and he'd
be delighted if some reader
could come by and solve this
"mystery."
And, by the way, this is a
good time to remind everyone
that our Book Shop and
office will be on summer
hours as of May 28th. We
will be open from 10 to 3
during the week, but closed on weekends. Be sure to stop by and sign our guest
book if you are in the area. It has been a tremendous pleasure to meet so many of
our readers this past season who have dropped by to say hello. Almost every state in
the Union has been represented, as well as Canada, Mexico, South America,
Germany and Sweden. It is most rewarding for us to share Desert with so many fine
people. Even though "home" may be elsewhere, they still love the beauty, quiet
and fascination of the desert.
Included in this issue is an excerpt from an upcoming publication by the University
of California Press entitled Desert Journal, by Raymond B. Cowles in collaboration
with Elna S. Bakker. Although the book is primarily the story of one man's
affair with the deserts of southern California, it serves beautifully as an introduction
to a whole range of biological and environmental principles. Desert Journal is the
culminating work of a great teacher, naturalist and scholar.
Dkert/Ma
rt/May 1977