At the start of construction in April 1942, twenty-two thousand men worked on the project. Each of the five camps built was designed to be self-sufficient, housing and training five thousand troops at one time. They had their own mess hall, dispensaries, basketball courts, swimming pool, barracks, and rifle ranges. As one camp was being completed and occupied, construction on the next camp began. By the time of decommissioning on June 15, 1946, almost three hundred thousand sailors had been trained and passed through the gates of Farragut to serve their country.
Robert Graves’ oral history, stationed at Farragut from 1943-44
Robert Graves talks about being stationed near Pend Oreille Lake.
