On March 23rd, the Fort Miles Museum received an artifact from the sunken battleship USS Arizona, courtesy of the US Navy. On June 18th, the relic was moved from a storage facility at Cape Henlopen State Park into the Museum and placed on temporary display in the Museum’s Visiting Artist’s Gallery.
The move of the 640 pound relic was conducted by Corrado Construction Company, with locations in New Castle and Millsboro DE. The Corrado Construction effort was generously sponsored by Joey Corrado, with the hands-on movement planned and orchestrated by Corrado employees, Billy Mitchell and Kevin Raines. Both also generously donated their time and expertise. The photos below show how the Arizona relic was moved from the storage facility via a forklift, up through the Fort Miles Museum’s Artillery Park and then rolled via four dollies into the Museum. The entire “work crew” including FMHA Board Members, the Corrado Construction supervisors, an FMHA Bunker Buster, a Delaware State Parks interpreter and a local artist are pictured in the last photo.
The entire “work crew” including FMHA Board Members, the Corrado Construction supervisors, an FMHA Bunker Buster, a Delaware State Parks interpreter and a local artist are pictured in the last photo.
USS Arizona/BB39 was a Pennsylvania class battleship commissioned in 1916. The Pearl Harbor catastrophic explosion sunk the ship. Of its crew, 1177 Navy sailors and Marines perished. Only 337 crewman survived the explosion of nearly one million pounds of gunpowder. The blast was caused by a 1760 pound armor-piercing bomb which struck the forward magazine of the Arizona. The attack on Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the USS Arizona marked the formal entry of the United States into World War II.
The acquisition of this relic completes a nine-year vision of FMHA President Dr Gary Wray to exhibit artifacts representing the beginning of WWII and the end of the war. The initial artifact, acquired in 2016, is a 16-inch gun barrel from the USS Missouri that was shipped from Virginia by barge and then transported by rail to Fort Miles. Subsequently the barrel was refurbished and painted by FMHA Bunker Buster volunteers and mounted on a gun carriage in the Museum’s Artillery Park. It is this barrel from the center gun of the forward turret of the Missouri under which the Japanese Prime Minister surrendered to Allied Forces represented by General Douglas MacArthur. World War II literally ended in the shadow of the barrel now on display at Fort Miles.
Following this success, the Museum and FMHA Board Member Cliff Geisler worked for over two years with the USS Arizona Relics Program to bring a piece of the famed battleship to the mid-Atlantic region. The Relics Program, established in 1995, authorized the Navy to move pieces of the wreckage out to educational institutions and not-for-profit organizations across the county. Relics of the Arizona come from a portion of the vessel that was removed in the 1950’s due to corrosion and safety concerns. Before removal, the section acted as a foundation for a makeshift platform where visitors to the Arizona could stand and ceremonies conducted. In conjunction with the arrival of the relic, FMHA received a certificate of authenticity and a schematic of where the relic was located on the Arizona. The schematic confirms this piece of the aft deck superstructure was located beneath a wooden stand which was erected so a US flag could be raised and lowered daily on what remained of the ship.
The Museum selected the largest available relic in anticipation of an ultimate permanent display near the USS Missouri gun barrel located outside of the Fort Miles Museum entrance. When completed, this combination of artifacts will make the Fort Miles Museum the only location east of the Mississippi to have a display incorporating relics from the beginning and end of WWII. The other two other locations are in Arizona and at Pearl Harbor. Design of the permanent outside exhibit will start this fall and is expected to be completed within an 18-24 month time frame.
