General George Patton established Camp Bouse in 1943 in the Butler Valley to train over 5,500 carefully screened and qualified volunteers to use the highly secret Canal Defense Light. Dubbed the "Gizmo" by the soldiers who operated it, the CDL was a 13-million candlepower searchlight mounted on specialized tanks to illuminate the area at night and dazzle the enemy with its flickering light. Troop trains brought the highly trained soldiers and their equipment from Fort Knox under heavy guard on October 14, 1943.