On Nov. 9 the last 2 of the 18 signs honoring Oregon WWII Veterans were installed Friday, November 9, 2012, south of Biggs Junction. These signs mark Camp Rufus as the northern entry of the World War II Veterans Historic Highway dedicated to honor veterans and inform the traveling public about the WWII training sites served by two major highways east of the Cascades: US 97 from the Columbia River to the Oregon/California border and State Route 126 from Redmond to Prineville.
Camp Rufus (5 miles east of Biggs Junction) where 2,500 Combat Engineers trained and tested a floating bridge on the Columbia River developed to ensure troops were not dependent on German bridges crossing the Rhine River. Camp Rufus transformed into a tent city in December 1944.