This is a history of White Sands National Monument from its founding until its departure from the Southwestern National Monuments in 1953. This is not a history of White Sands Missile Range even though elements of its history would become interwoven with the national monument's history. This should explain that the emphasis of this history is White Sands as a national monument. A few of the National Park Service's administrative goals and struggles against the military's intrusion into its physical boundary and National Park Service policies as highlighted. The military's arrival and establishment of permanent army and air force reservations in the Tularosa Basin resulted in the inevitable clash of War Department and Department of the Interior mission objectives. The two departments' primary missions were incompatible. Several of the early encounters between the National Park Service and the military are described to illustrate the problems which existed between the War Department and Department of the Interior. The National Park Service's reorganization of Region Three resulted in the removal of White Sands from the Southwestern National Monuments in 1953. Consequently, White Sands entered into another phase of its history as a National Park Service national monument.