Army Heritage Day

[Don Boose]

Last Saturday was Army Heritage Day at the Army Heritage and Education Center, located adjacent to the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

AHEC (http://www.carlisle.army.mil/ahec/) is worth a visit if you are in or visiting south-central Pennsylvania. The Army Heritage Trail has some permanent exhibits that include an M-18 Hellcat tank destroyer, an M4A3 75 Sherman tank, a German PaK 43 88mm anti-tank gun, an M5/M6 3-inch anti-tank gun, several 18th and 19th century artillery pieces, and exhibits that reproduce a redoubt at Yorktown in 1783, a French and Indian War fort, a Civil War winter cabin encampment, a WWI trench line and bunker system, and a WWII cantonment area with barracks and motor pool.

AHEC's Ridgway Hall also houses the U.S. Army War College Military History Institute, with its extensive library (including field and technical manuals for just about every piece of military equipment used by the U.S. Army) and archives. The Heritage Trail is always open and Ridgway Hall is open to the public during duty hours daily and on weekends (with limited staff support). It's a great place to do research on that paper model tank you are working on or to find out about your military ancestor's service.

For Army Heritage Day, we had the 101st Airborne parachute team start the activities. Soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division (my old outfit) came up from Fort Hood with a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, an AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter, and some heavy transport equipment. And there were a large number of re-enactors covering the period from the 1620s to DESERT STORM.

Forum member (and genius modeler of armored fighting vehicles in paper) Kevin Stephens brought his son up for the day (although we failed to make contact this time).

Here are some photos of a General Motors CCKW-353 2 1/2-ton truck. The famous Deuce and a Half, or Jimmy, of WWII and Korea. This is the early model with metal cab top. Later versions had a folding windshield and canvas top to make shipping easier.

I can't put my hand on it just now, but Leif Ohlsson provided a couple of excellent websites on the GMC CCKW in another thread.

Don

[Don Boose]

Here, in the WWII cantonment area, are some WWII Willys MB 1/4-ton trucks, more commonly referred to as the "Jeep" (which may or may not have derived from the term "General Purpose: G.P." or from the name of a cartoon character). The Ford-builit version was the GPW.

The third photo is a reproduction of a WWII-era poster that is mounted inside the motor pool building.

[Don Boose]

Here is a GMC 2 1/2-ton Shop Van Truck inside the motor pool building. The third photo is of some of the WWII reenactors.

[Don Boose]

The first two pictures are of the M5/M6 3-inch anti-tank gun that replaced the old 37mm and 57mm ATGs. The M5 gun was produced by kluging an M3 3-inch anti-aircraft gun barrel with the breech of an M2A1 105mm howitzer. An M5 gun mounted on an M6 carriage (also used for the 105mm howitzer) made the entire contraption an M5/M6.

The jeep ambulance is an M170 owned by one of my Army War College instructor colleagues. The M170 was one of a family of vehicles introduced in 1952 that included the M38 and M38A1 jeep, the M37 3/4-ton truck (one of which I currently have under construction in 1/48 scale), and the M211 and M35 2 1/2-ton trucks. By the end of the Korean War, these had largely replaced the WWII family of vehicles.

[Don Boose]

Due to a warp in the space-time continuum, a WWII German paratrooper is able to chat with a 1620s Virginia Militaman and Trader of the time of the Third Powhatan War, who is displaying his armament and trade goods.

The second photo shows Colonial Militiamen of the French and Indian War period.

Then Civil War Zouaves talk with some fallschirmjaeger.

[Don Boose]

A couple of WWI German soldiers relaxing in a quiet sector of the Western Front. One of you should be able to identify the machine gun.

Sue, a WWII Women's Air Service Pilot (WASP), and Linda, a WWII Navy supply officer. The Civil War encampment is in the background.

The Navy WAVE goes back in time to talk with a WWI German soldat by a 19th century Pennsylvania snake rail fence.

[Don Boose]

The first photo is of the Yorktown redoubt.

The second photo is of reenactors representing a soldier of the 5th Regimental Combat Team and a Quartermaster specialist in the Korean War. There is an M38A1 in the background.

A personal note: part of the brick walkway under construction. It commemorates Army veterans. These are in honor of my grandfather, my father, and myself.

[Don Boose]

Here is a Bradley Fighting Vehicle of the 1st Cavalry Division and (for Rick) an AH-64D Apache Longbow.

[bclemens]

Don, thanks for the great pics- looked like a fine day and fine event.
Congratulations on the pavers...that's really something to be proud of.
Cheers!
Bruce

[Phil]

Your own pavers! that's pretty nice!
Nice pics too.