The Living Flag of the Great War

Naval Station Great Lakes opened in 1911 on 172 acres in Lake County, Illinois just north of Chicago. The first graduating class contained 300 sailors. Over the next five years, 2,000 recruits a year trained at Great Lakes. During the United States’ involvement in World War I, the Navy trained 125,000 sailors at Naval Station Great Lakes. By the end of the war, the station occupied 1,200 acres. Today, all Navy recruits complete boot camp training at Naval Station Great Lakes.