This is the story behind the song, “A Place Without A Name,” written and recorded both on Friday, November 3, 2023. At some point in the spring of this year, I began venturing out on CA 94 east from San Diego with the simple intent of exploring more of the vast east county outdoors- possibly in hopes of finding some good hikes or, best case scenario, maybe a swimming hole or hot spring. Instead, what I found were some inexplicable remains of large, cement structures scattered across the roadsides and in fields of Campo, Jacumba, and other nearby locations. A few of the obscure clues that could be found in or around some of the sites, indicated that these locations served a very specific and very unsettling purpose. They were prison camps/torture sites and they began appearing around June of 1935 (based on an actual dated record at one of the sites). What’s left of them now is difficult to interpret and fully grasp. There are large iron hooks mounted around some sites and on nearby trees. Most (but not all) of them are little more than a concrete slab that a previously standing, multi-level structure existed on. They vary in size but on average are approximately 1000 square feet in diameter. Many of them have at their location a circular container, also made of cement. These also vary in size but a few of the sites’ circular containers are massive and deep, while most are smaller and shallow. The smaller ones average approximately 5’ in diameter and only 2’ deep. One of the larger ones is approximately 20’ across and 12’ deep and another is even larger still. While most of them have been reduced to little more than a concrete slab, there is more. Some sites still have scattered fragments of what look very much like chicken coops- only these aren’t at all farms and those coops weren’t holding chicken. Some of the sites have large, tall metal bins- approximately 15’ across and 15’ tall. They look like they may have been used for water or grain storage, but with no access to the inside other than the opening at the top. There are at least 3 sites whose remnant consists of more than scattered coops and a single, flat cement slab. These sites still have walls around them and are multi-level. It’s clear that these were not homes and based on the material, grade of the professional build, and consistent thickness of the cement, it can easily be determined that these were government/military sites. Who else would have built them? Ironically, two of these three happen to be located right on the side of a state highway (CA94 and CA80, to be exact) and the third sits on the side of a public road, right off of CA 94E. This site in particular has been left enough intact that at close inspection, its purpose is difficult to refute. There remain metal hooks inside the lower level on the ceiling. While the majority of free space in this level has been filled with abandoned furniture, there’s a hole in the middle which has been covered over with something. What it leads to underground, remains to be seen. There’s a staircase that leads to an open, second level deck. The deck has a cement tub built into it and what looks like a gas line or two in the same vicinity. There’s a hole in the middle of it that is directly over the covered opening on the first level. But what’s most compelling about this location is the gigantic four-story incinerator that propels upward from the lowest level along, what is now, the outside wall. The height of which, along with clear marks around each side of it, indicate that the building was once five levels and not just two. It also indicates that what appears to be the outside wall that the incinerator rests on, is actually the very middle of what was once a much larger structure. While these sites may seem peculiar to some, their implication is rather significant. My mind began to pursue the truth behind the mystery of what I had most unexpectedly stumbled upon. In the process, the questions became very conscientious and direct. I started asking them out loud- out loud to the wind and to the trees, like the big oak tree off the side of the first walled site I encountered on 94E. The sites, as it turns out, have their own story to tell and I personally believe the story can be heard by anyone who cares to seek it out. The tree spoke to me about the cruel nature of what had been done there. In sorrow, it divulged a story of children who had been tied to the giant iron hook that had been embedded directly into the trunk. It told me of a boy who cried and cried alone for days before he was finally beaten brutally to death against the tree and died in agony. At every site, I began to hear the stories of the ungodly, savage brutality that had taken place and who was responsible for it. People were being taken from their homes, right here in the United States, both shortly before, during, and after World War II began- entire families getting kidnapped in the middle of the night. This all of course being very much on par with the tactics of and the rise of Nazi nationalism in Germany that brought about the war. I was shocked by the unbelievable accounts that I was hearing, the notion of US citizens being taken from their homes to torture camps in exact Nazi Gestapo style, was absolutely flooring. The story is real and remains untold for a very specific reason and the sites are sadly, not just limited to east San Diego County. I found two more located in Kern County and it’s my belief that the entire state of California is littered with them. It could be and probably is, farther reaching than just California. How many people were ruthlessly taken hostage, publicly humiliated and disgraced, beaten to death, and brutally tortured in the most inhumane ways such as being cast into a giant human blender? The answer seems significant because the next question that comes to my mind anyway is, how in the hell could this have all been happening domestically and publicly on the soil of an Allied Nation- on the soil of this nation, no less?! I’m not so naïve as to think that every story of government-produced patriotism is something to put your faith in. But I never would have imagined that something like this could exist on American soil or that with so many lives potentially lost, that it could have ever gone untold. Considering all of this was theoretically taking place during a time that, on the other side of the national mouth, we were engaging the Axis forces both financially and eventually with military backup, it’s more than a little confounding. Why would the same government, during the same time period, be quietly practicing Nazism to the point of creating encampments like these and being responsible for such unreal atrocities? Ironically, it's worth mentioning that Campo itself has the look and feel of a prison camp. The monuments that can be found in the area suggest that it was a US Army base in the first half of the century, but there’s no mention of any type of concentration camp reality in the area, at least not on the public plaques and designated monuments. However, in my continued pursuits I did manage to find one single published source that verified Campo was indeed a prisoner of war camp during World War II and that at least one prisoner in it had been beaten to death. These accounts were based on visits to the camp from local San Diego County catholic priests and diocese members. So for the sake of this account, I’m mentioning this to avoid the unnecessary potential disregarding or disputing of what I’m suggesting. There is public record of some of the Japanese American encampments that existed in a handful of locations, including Mount Whitney, CA. But no online research has led me to any information on the existence of so many of these large concrete structures which were designed and constructed for one sole purpose- to severely and mercilessly torture people in the most brutal and insane ways conceivable. There are enough of them out there that I’m sure the numbers of lives which were lost to these torturous deaths, is staggering. Yet the story behind all of it remains buried- just like so very many bodies in the fields where these encampments were located. The long, very noticeable mounds of dirt still visible across certain sections of the fields outside of Jacumba are a testament to the real lives of US citizens who were brutalized in broad daylight in a nation that promotes itself to all the world as being the beacon for free rights and liberties for all. Their bodies are still out there in large numbers and in shallow graves just under the topsoil, waiting for some sort of acknowledgement and a proper burial. It’s no secret that the US has a history of blood stains throughout its past and Manifest Destiny was a justification to slaughter its native population as a means of expanding its own agenda through direct and clear brutal oppression and genocide. But I try to think of such savage bloodthirsty cruelty as a nasty mar on the past that couldn’t possibly repeat itself in my lifetime. This story reveals a nation that is not only horribly hypocritical, but one that is potentially capable of unreal acts of savage, twisted, cruelty- the likes of which are exceedingly more horrendous and unspeakable than anything that’s ever been conceived of before. It could be said that the crimes, the cover-up, and the nature of the tortures themselves carried out on those who suffered there, are blatantly evil. There’s no other explanation. Is this not on par with what’s been discovered in other Nazi prison and concentration camps? To my knowledge, unfortunately the answer is “yes.” However, the concept of this taking place not on German soil or some other occupied nation, but instead here on our own lands, speaks to an entirely different reality than has ever been revealed. For those who aren’t aware, Nazism was abolished universally and permanently through the Geneva Convention of the early 1950s- and for very good reason! I’m putting all of this out there because, quite frankly, I know that I’m right and that there is no other explanation that exists or purpose for these military-constructed buildings, which have all been mysteriously dismantled to varying degrees. I’m told that their de-construction began taking place in the early 70’s but that many of the sites were revisited throughout the 80s and 90’s. It’s not only possible, but more likely to be probable that some of these locations are still active. Given the sick, demonic, twisted, insane purpose that they exist for, it’s worth shedding light on and delving into the whole story for the sake of any remaining humanity left in the world and the lives of those who would potentially suffer there. Not to mention the presence of a Nazi agenda that was taken to a very real and unbelievable extreme, that needs to be accounted for. If anyone would happen to become aware of my testament and wish to refute or challenge me on it, before you try to do so, I challenge you first to do the following. Go there yourself and try to provide any other logical explanation for what these places are, why there are so many of them, and what purpose they serve other than the ones I’ve revealed. Try to find some sort of public record for their construction or existence at all. I’ve previously referenced one site that I found, which I dubbed the Bloodborne Echo Chamber. It plays a significant role in this story because upon uncovering it as one of the ill-fated torture sites, it also struck me that it had unique sonic qualities to it. I recorded a handful of short, instrumental tracks there and had some success and I was interested in hearing the acoustic guitar and vocals in it. I wanted to write something new and unique that was inspired by the location. So last Friday, I took the time to go back to the site and wrote “A Place Without A Name” and likewise recorded it that afternoon. Nothing I’ve ever written could be more powerful and inspired than this simple live performance.