Originally part of the Catholic mission, the Mormon Battalion used the land now known as Camp Pendleton as a stop-over at the end of their journey to liberate California from Mexico. Camp Joseph H. Pendleton was established in 1942 on 126,000 acres which the government acquired for $4.2 million. Then $20 million in upgrades were completed during the Korean War, and the value now sits at more than $1 billion. Camp Pendleton is the largest Marine Corps amphibious training facility in the nation.