Sixteen months. That's how long Camp Abbot existed — 5,500 acres carved out of the high desert along the Deschutes River south of Bend, active from late 1942 until June 1944. In that window, over 90,000 soldiers cycled through 17-week courses in rifle marksmanship, demolition, and bridge construction under simulated combat conditions. North of the camp, the Army Air Forces ran bombers out of Roberts Field in Redmond — a base the federal government later sold to the city for one dollar. Almost nothing remains of either installation in the form it held then. The officers' mess at Camp Abbot, built from native logs and stones, still stands as the Great Hall at what is now Sunriver Resort. Roberts Field became the region's commercial airport, rebuilt into a passenger terminal by 1950. The war passed through Central Oregon fast, and left its infrastructure behind.
