Com-Central.net

Interesting to see that there is now a Ordnance Training and Heritage Center Foundation

www.ftleetraveller.com...963f4.html

Important Ordnance artifacts receive much-needed facelift

FORT LEE, Va. (Oct. 24, 2013) -- Restoration work has begun on two prominent pieces of Ordnance Corps history that are now on display at Fort Lee.

The M1895 12-inch gun tube on the M1918 rail car located on the Ordnance Campus is being stabilized and refurbished. The project started Oct. 1 and is expected to be completed Oct. 31. The German 28cm Kanone 5(E), also known as “Anzio Annie,” will go through a similar process from Nov. 1 - Dec. 15.

Both projects were funded by fiscal 2012 end-of-year funds from the U.S. Army Center of Military History.

“Rust removal is essential to preserving this equipment,” noted Claire Samuelson, director of the U.S. Army Ordnance Training and Heritage Center. “The guns also will be cleaned, primed with a preservative coat and painted.

“The Heritage Center has a duty to preserve the important historical artifacts of the Ordnance Corps,” she added. “This refurbishment will guarantee the integrity of these Army artifacts for years to come. The contractor is applying a urethane coating that will ensure long-term outdoor preservation.”

Passersby may have noticed the temporary shelters that have been placed over both of the rail guns. Samuelson said they have been erected by the contractors in compliance with federal, state and local environmental standards.

The Heritage Center director also emphasized that “Anzio Annie” is a one-of-a-kind weapon. The railway battery that fired on the Anzio Beach head was evacuated north of Rome. The equipment, two complete gun trains with all the support accessories were trapped and abandoned in a rail yard when U.S. air forces destroyed the bridges of the escape route. The train was attacked by aircraft in the rail yard and some of the material was damaged or destroyed.

A few weeks later, in late 1944, the area was overrun by U.S. infantry troops who discovered the two gun trains. The material was examined on the spot by Army intelligence. It was decided that the “Leopold” gun would be sent to Naples for transport to the U.S. It arrived at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., a few months later. The other gun, “Robert,” was sent to Rome and scraped. The “Anzio Annie” has become a symbol of the sacrifices of the Allied forces who assaulted the beach at Anzio. The gun was relocated to Fort Lee in December 2011 and is located on Railroad Avenue.

“It’s the only one in the United States,” Samuelson noted. “That distinction and its significance to the Ordnance Corps underscore the importance of ensuring it is stabilized and refurbished.”

Only six ordnance artifacts are on outdoor display at Fort Lee. They include the two railroad guns, a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, a Pershing Missile and an armored recovery vehicle on the Ordnance Circle, and a T-12 (Earthquake) bomb in the roundabout at Shop Road and 11th Street. A small selection of ordnance artifacts can be seen in a temporary exhibit, “Subject to Recall,” located at the Quartermaster Museum.

Samuelson also made note of the Ordnance Training and Heritage Center Foundation, a newly formed nonprofit organization created by concerned members of the Ordnance Corps. Among its primary goals is raising funds to build a new Ordnance Museum. Those who would like to know more about the foundation are encouraged to contact Leslie A. Martin, president, at lmartin1965 @ hughes.net or David R. Cassity, treasurer, at david.cassity69 @ gmail.com. News and updates on the Heritage Center also can be found at www.goordnance.army.mil/OTHC or its Facebook page.

Well, it's a beginning.

I should, but cannot, resist the suggestion that potential donors ask for a signed statement that facilities established with their donations are refundable should said facilities be whimsically moved at some future date.

Sorry, but I'm getting cynical in my autumn years. More cynical than I already was, which is saying something.

You took the words out of my mouth.