The next time you feel like grumbling about that road project that seems to go on forever, remember Farragut State Park. More appropriately, remember the Farragut Naval Training Station that was built on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille to train Navy recruits for World War II.
Building an all new naval training station was a tremendous effort. It had to be done fast, because the war was suddenly on. This photograph shows construction at Camp Waldron barracks in 1942. Construction at Farragut Naval Training Station began in March, and recruits started training in September of THE SAME YEAR. The final construction budget was $57 million. Recruits, called “boots,” would train there for only 26 months. Even so, 293,380 men received their basic training at Farragut.
Today, Farragut State Park remembers those naval training station days with a series of exhibits in the original Navy brig.
Building an all new naval training station was a tremendous effort. It had to be done fast, because the war was suddenly on. This photograph shows construction at Camp Waldron barracks in 1942. Construction at Farragut Naval Training Station began in March, and recruits started training in September of THE SAME YEAR. The final construction budget was $57 million. Recruits, called “boots,” would train there for only 26 months. Even so, 293,380 men received their basic training at Farragut.
Today, Farragut State Park remembers those naval training station days with a series of exhibits in the original Navy brig.
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