Celebrate Veterans at Walkway of Heroes and Take a Tour

Please join me and members of the the Raymond W. DeMeola V.F.W. Memorial Post 1615 of Blauvelt for a short ceremony at the Walkway of Heroes at 10 AM on Sunday, November 10. Following the ceremony, we’ll take a tour of the fascinating historical artifacts at the Walkway, and the Shanks Museum will be open at 11 AM. I will also lead a tour of the Nike Missile Base and Camp Bluefields. Wear sturdy shoes for our walk down a woodsy path to see the “gun tunnels” at Camp Bluefields. No RSVP required, but please let me know if you are coming as a courtesy by joining the Facebook page for this event.

Walkway of Heroes Park, Tappan – The Park founders will lead a guided tour of this memorial park which is dedicated to veterans of all armed forces who served in World War II and previous wars.  It includes a bronze sculpture of a soldier, an anchor, canons and other armaments. Dedicated in 1967, it was constructed by local volunteers largely through the sale of commemorative bricks.  This memorial is a true work in progress and continues to be developed through the addition of new artifacts. It is located at the intersection of Independence Avenue and Lester Drive, Tappan.  

Nike Missile Base – The remains of the former Nike Missile Base, one of 265 bases around the country, can be found near the Town highway department and on top of Mount Nebo in Orangeburg. Built in 1955, it was a combat-ready, launch facility for the New York Defense Area which was one of the largest nets in the country.  It originally held 60 nonnuclear Ajax missiles which were replaced by 18 nuclear-armed Hercules models.  When it was decommissioned in 1974, all missiles and equipment were removed.  Some of the structures remain.

Camp Bluefields Tunnels – This site, located on top of Clausland Mountain in what is now the Blauvelt State Park, has a long and storied history.  In 1910, the New York National Guard built a rifle range for practice in this relatively remote and wooded area.  Tunnels were built to allow soldiers to traverse the site without being in harm’s way.  Nevertheless, errant shots fired there often managed to hit homes located in adjacent Grandview, leading to the site’s closure in 1912.  The New York City YWCA used the site as a summer camp for children, and the name, Camp Bluefields, has stuck ever since.  Thereafter, it served as an ROTC training center for a short while.  During World War II, it was used by soldiers from nearby Camp Shanks.  The site is now a maze of abandoned tunnels and a few deteriorating structures surrounded by forest.

Camp Shanks Museum - This museum includes a model barracks as well as photos and artifacts depicting daily life in the Army for the 40,000 plus soldiers who came through Camp Shanks every month during World War II.  Memorabilia from the soldiers and photographs of the many entertainers who performed there, notably Frank Sinatra, Myrna Loy, Joe Louis, can be seen. It is housed in the Quonset hut adjacent to the Orangeburg Library at 20 Greenbush road, Orangeburg.

More info about the Camp Shanks 70th Anniversary events (1943-2013), click here.

See you Sunday at the Walkway of Heroes!!