Question for ex-army folks

[disney4dan]

The campground we stayed at in Narragansett, RI is part of a former US Army center (currently a US Army Reserve Post - Fort Nathaniel Green) and has a really cool former bunker like structure that you can get into. The truck entrances had been boarded up, and the entire structure is covered in brush, grapevines, cedar trees, etc. with a circular structure at the top. The circular structure has a great view of the coastline and has some more modern concrete added on it to make benches.

My guess is that the circular structure would have been a gun emplacement and the fortified tunnels below would have been barracks and ammo storage? The tunnel truck entrance is on the inland side away from the coast. I have also heard that many of these installations used to be Nike Missile batteries to protect nearby cities. Any thoughts?

It sure made for a cool place to go exploring with the kids, especially in October with the whole Halloween feel in the air. Kind of creepy, but you could almost feel like what it would be like to do battle from there. The tunnel must have been about two football fields long.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Nike bases were a pretty common site throughout the US in the 60's. They were small bases, usually a couple of concrete block, one story buildings and the missile silo and were operated by the Air Force. Your guess about a gun emplacement would be pretty accurate. The coast was riddled with them. If you are ever near Rehoboth Beach, there are some weird, tall circular concrete structures on the beach which were WW2 gun emplacements. If that is a reserve post, my guess is there is someone there who knows the history of the place. When I was stationed in Niagara Falls, there was an old WW2 ammunitions storage facility full of underground concrete bunkers. We used the area as a rifle range. Unfortunately, it was directly across the street from a large toxic waste dump.

 

[mamaloya]

If you ever go to Hawaii, I highly suggest going to Diamond Head Crater. It It really cool, with tunnels, cells, gun turrets, etc. and an awesome view of Waikiki beach at the top. It takes about an hour to get to the top, but well worth it.

 

[mamaloya]

If you ever go to Hawaii, I highly suggest going to Diamond Head Crater. It It really cool, with tunnels, cells, gun turrets, etc. and an awesome view of Waikiki beach at the top. It takes about an hour to get to the top, but well worth it.

 

[des1954]

When I was stationed in Niagara Falls, there was an old WW2 ammunitions storage facility full of underground concrete bunkers. We used the area as a rifle range. Unfortunately, it was directly across the street from a large toxic waste dump.

Yet another toxic waste dump by Dupont Chemical. At least they didn't build a neighborhood of over 500 homes on that one like they did Love Canal.

There was also a Nike base in Amherst, NY. That, coupled with the air raid siren test every Wednesday at noon, and the air raid drills at school scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. Tell me....what good would it have done to stand in a hallway with my arm on a locker, my face buried in the crook of my arm, with my other arm protecting the back of my neck.... in the event of a nuclear attack? Or, what good would it have done to flip my desk on its side with the top of the desk facing the windows with me crouched behind the desk....in the event of a nuclear attack???

The more practical approach would have been to teach us kids how to bend over far enough to stick our heads thru our legs and kiss our arses goodbye....in the event of a nuclear attack!!

 

[disney4dan]

Nike bases were a pretty common site throughout the US in the 60's. They were small bases, usually a couple of concrete block, one story buildings and the missile silo and were operated by the Air Force. Your guess about a gun emplacement would be pretty accurate. The coast was riddled with them. If you are ever near Rehoboth Beach, there are some weird, tall circular concrete structures on the beach which were WW2 gun emplacements. If that is a reserve post, my guess is there is someone there who knows the history of the place. When I was stationed in Niagara Falls, there was an old WW2 ammunitions storage facility full of underground concrete bunkers. We used the area as a rifle range. Unfortunately, it was directly across the street from a large toxic waste dump.

As a kid growing up in the 70's I remember a lot of those toxic waste dumps making the news, and used to watch the rivers in our area change color every week depending on what color the paper mills were using that week. The story about Woburn, MA, a small community outside of Boston, sealed it for me when I chose to switch my major from engineering to science to do what I could to clean up sites that were contributing to cancer in children. How prophetic was that, spend my entire career doing battle with the beast that got my oldest son sick. I was able to meet the mother of one little girl, Jennifer Creed, who lived in the Woburn area and became sick at passed away at 3 years old. Many of these sites will never be restored completely, but much is being done to minimize the risks. It really is amazing what is out there, very overwhelming at times.

I wrote to a co-worker who has worked on a lot of the USARC properties in the region (mostly former 94th USARC - now 99th USARC) and I am pretty sure he had the old plans for this base as scans.

If you ever go to Hawaii, I highly suggest going to Diamond Head Crater. It It really cool, with tunnels, cells, gun turrets, etc. and an awesome view of Waikiki beach at the top. It takes about an hour to get to the top, but well worth it.

I really want to get to Hawaii some day while young and healthy enough to venture out into the off the beaten path locations. Tick, tick, tick, tick - gotta save more $$ quick or buy more lottery tix.

Yet another toxic waste dump by Dupont Chemical. At least they didn't build a neighborhood of over 500 homes on that one like they did Love Canal.

There was also a Nike base in Amherst, NY. That, coupled with the air raid siren test every Wednesday at noon, and the air raid drills at school scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. Tell me....what good would it have done to stand in a hallway with my arm on a locker, my face buried in the crook of my arm, with my other arm protecting the back of my neck.... in the event of a nuclear attack? Or, what good would it have done to flip my desk on its side with the top of the desk facing the windows with me crouched behind the desk....in the event of a nuclear attack???

The more practical approach would have been to teach us kids how to bend over far enough to stick our heads thru our legs and kiss our arses goodbye....in the event of a nuclear attack!!

In college I was fascinated by the whole concept of nuclear war, thinking of how two large nations like the US and USSR would probably never get to that point to actually use them against each other. When in High School, our family spent a summer in Egypt for my father's work. I think it was 1980. Anyway, our only news was the BBC, and we spent a day glued to the radio listening to reports of the US and USSR both at high alert levels because each nation was accusing the other of an ICBM launch. There were reports of all the bombers in the air, saw US Marines in Egypt racing back to the base, very other worldly and made you realize how far away from home we were. None of our friends ever heard the reports back in the states when we were able to call back and question it. From what I've learned, I think it ended up being the launch of a Chinese silk worm capable of carrying a Chinese nuclear weapon.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Actually, Deb, I believe it was across the road from the Love Canal area. I know it was all closed off and had been a residential area. After WW2, they took the old ammo out of the bunkers and dug a big hole in the middle of this complex and buried it. Sometimes when the weather would change, some unstable explosive would go off. I think the police also used the facility's range sometimes - various departments. The bunkers were all empty, but huge underground concrete structures with large doors at the entrances that resembled bank vaults. We used one to store things like targets in. We abandoned use of it after all of us had burned out nasal passages after using the range one dusty, windy day. It took me a good 2 months to heal up. Who knows what we were breathing in. I was nearly shot (accidentally, I hope) by a nurse with a .45 on the pistol range who I was trying to give instructions to.

 

[des1954]

Actually, Deb, I believe it was across the road from the Love Canal area. I know it was all closed off and had been a residential area. After WW2, they took the old ammo out of the bunkers and dug a big hole in the middle of this complex and buried it. Sometimes when the weather would change, some unstable explosive would go off. I think the police also used the facility's range sometimes - various departments. The bunkers were all empty, but huge underground concrete structures with large doors at the entrances that resembled bank vaults. We used one to store things like targets in. We abandoned use of it after all of us had burned out nasal passages after using the range one dusty, windy day. It took me a good 2 months to heal up. Who knows what we were breathing in. I was nearly shot (accidentally, I hope) by a nurse with a .45 on the pistol range who I was trying to give instructions to.

The truly unbelieveable thing is, that in around 1998 or there abouts, the gov't deemed the Love Canal area "safe" and started re-selling the houses to low income families. These people had to sign waivers that if they or their children contracted certain diseases in the future, they could not sue Dupont, their contractors, Niagara County, the state, or the US Gov't. Young families were scarfing these houses up like they were a link to salvation. Even Hugh Downs, Barbara Walters nor any news media person could stop it from happening. I wonder how those people are faring now?

 

[clkelley]

Young families were scarfing these houses up like they were a link to salvation. Even Hugh Downs, Barbara Walters nor any news media person could stop it from happening. I wonder how those people are faring now?

Probably got bad mortgages they couldn't afford and now they all foreclosed

 

[disney4dan]

Update - I got a reply from my co-worker who did work at this facility. Sounds pretty interesting and worth going back for:


"The two properties were originally part of a WWII shore battery with 16-inch gun emplacements in Three large bunkers. Construction started in 1941 - completed in 1943. It was test-fired 18 times then mothballed. US realized 16 gun shore batteries were obsolete by 1943 with the dawn of air power.

I know the two properties very well. The current 100-acre USAR property and the FMSP camping property used to be contiguous.

The Series 109 Bunker on the Army Reserve side is larger and in better shape than the two at FMSP. The reserve center currently has a historical display that -------- had created. It discusses the Shore Battery emplacements and current environmental and natural resource habitat at Ft Greene."