News from California State Military Museum

Front and Center

The Monthly E-Newsletter of the California State Military Museums
Part of the United States Army Museum System

Issue 18, 1 March 2011

Welcome to our latest issue of Front and Center.

Well, it has been a busy couple of weeks since our last issue.

Over the next few months, look for major positive changes happening here at the museum.

One of these changes is the election of the California State Military Museum Foundation Board of Directors for 2011 - 1012. Here are our new and returning board members:

Lt. Col. (CA) Roger D. McGrath, PhD, President Commander, Naval History Unit, California Center for Military History, State Military Reserve
Col. (CA) Kenneth Nielsen, First Vice President, Commander, California Center for Military History, State Military Reserve
Col. (CA Ret) Lucie Marx Titus, Second Vice President, President, William Dean Chapter, Association of the United States Army
Brig. Gen. (CA Ret) William G. Hamilton, Secretary, Former Commander, 115th Area Support Group and California Center for Military History, State Military Reserve
Brig. Gen. Lawerence Haskins, Ex Officio Member representing The Adjutant General; Assistant Adjutant General, California National Guard and Assistant Division Commander, 40th Infantry Division.
Maj. Gen. John Harrell, Commander, California Army National Guard and former Commanding General, 40th Infantry Division
Col. (CA Ret) Thomas Jones, PhD, Former Chief of Staff, California Center for Military History, State Military Reserve and Captain, Los Angeles County Sherrif's Department Reserve
Col. Kelly Fisher, Commander, 223d Regiment (Combat Arms), California Army National Guard
Col. Keith Tresh, Deputy Chief of Staff J6, The Joint Staff, Joint Forces Headquarters, California National Guard
CWO 2 (CA) Sandra Peralta-Dobbins, Curator, Camp San Luis Obispo Museum
Cmd. Sgt. Maj. (USA Ret) Roland Alexander, Former Command Sergeant Major. 40th Infantry Division

Dan Sebby
Sergeant Major (CA), Curator

Tuskegee Airmen Honored at Museum

The California State Military Museum honored the Tuskegee Airmen and their legacy on Wednesday, 23 February 2011, when our new Air Historian, Dr. David Styles, presented a comprehensive combat history of those fighter squadrons made up from graduates of the Army Air Corps's flight training at the Tuskegee Institute. Dr. Styles took that history one step further to show the doors opened to African-Americans and focused on those Californians who went through that door to excel in our nation's armed forces.

Museum Takes Delivery of New Display Cases

Staff Sergeants Ruiz and Roth, California Center for Military History of the California State Military Reserve inspect one of four new display cases delivered to the museum's support center located at the Sacramento Okinawa Street Armory. The blue area is a protective coating that covers the case's plexiglass..

On 3 March, the California State Military Museum took delivery of four new custom made display cases. This initial buy was funded by California National Guard Youth Programs for the California Cadet Corps Centennial to be held at the Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, 4-8 April 2011.

These cases are crafted to be secure, portable, and allow for the installation of state of the art electronics. Designed to fit easily through a standard 36-inch door, these cases were built by the Military Department's master carpenter, Mr.Richard Crumley.

When the Cadet Corps Centennial concludes, these display cases will be distributed to our museums at Los Alamitos, Camp San Luis Obispo, Camp Roberts, and the main museum in Sacramento.

The descision has been made to acquire at least four more of these cases to replace those worn out in Sacramento. Eventually, all of the display cases in Sacramento will be replaced using the new design.

Major Artifact Acquisitions to the Museum

The museum has received the following major donations since last month's issue:

A German Mauser Gewer 1871/84, 11mm Rifle donated by Mr. Charles Phillips of Elk Grove.
A collection of several hundred distinctive unit insignia (commonly called "unit crests") donated by Mr. Harold Koehncke of Sacramento.
A Vietnam era RT-10 rescue transmitter-receiver donated by Mr. Jerry Haynes of Freeport.

ARTIFACT OF THE MONTH: A section of fuselage from the Japanese aircraft that crashed on the USS California during a Kamakazi attack while she was providing shore bombardment in support of American landings at Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines on 6 January 1945. Donated by Mr. Tim Shea of Reno, NV

If you are considering making an artifact donation to the museum, please contact the museum curator prior bringing items in. As the World War II and Korean War II generations are passing on, the museum is being flooded with common uniform items such as "Ike Jackets", service caps, etc.

The museum does not mean to diminish any veterans service, but the museum has a limited amount of storage and display space. So, please contact us first before making the trip to the museum. The curator's telephone number is (916) 854-1904 or email daniel.sebby@us.army.mil

Image Library Update

IMAGE OF THE MONTH Members of the 184th Infantry Regiment, some still in their civilian clothes, assemble M1917 Machine Guns at the gates of Folsom State Prison. This was in response to the 24-25 November 1927 riot at the prison. When the riot ended, two correctional officers and nine inmates were dead. Four of the ring leaders were later tried and convicted of murder and executed in 1930

Thanks to our Image Archivist, Ms. Pam Hergal, several thousand images have been scanned to compact disks. The next step will be to upload these images to our snap fish account for public access. As we upload collections to our website, we will notify you via this forum, the image library finding aid, and the museum's Facebook page and Twitter account.

We would also like to thank the Museum of the City of San Francisco who provided us with Brig Gen Henry G. Mathewson's personal photo album that shows the 1st and 5th Infantry Regiments of the California National Guard in action during the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and the 1908 War Games between the Regular Army and the California National Guard at Camp Atascadero in 1908.

Camp Roberts Museum Update

A letter to a woman at Camp Roberts was delivered last month--66 years after it was postmarked.

The World War II-era letter has a postmark from Montgomery, Alabama and was sent on August 9, 1944 at 6:30p.m.

That much is known--but whom it's for, who wrote it and what's happened to them is a mystery.

The letter is addressed to Miss R.T. Fletcher at the American Red Cross Hospital at Camp Roberts. The building was torn down at least twenty or thirty years ago, according to Gary McMaster, the curator of the Camp Roberts Historical Museum.

Camp Roberts was closed in 1970 and is used for National Guard training now.

The envelope is torn where the return address is normally located, but the letter is otherwise sealed.

McMaster says someone at the San Miguel Post Office contacted him Febuary 16th and said the letter came through the mail.

He also says they aren't opening it yet because they want to respect the privacy of both the sender and the intended recipient.

From the tear, however, the letter looks to be about three or four pages long and handwritten, front and back.

McMaster contacted an Alabama newspaper to write an article on the letter in the hopes of finding some information; the article was published today.

He says if he hasn't heard anything by the end of next week, he will open the letter in the hopes of tracking down just who sent it and who it's for.

Meet the Staff: Staff Sergeant Ron Crouch

Ron is our highly skilled Armorer. He is able to bring a pile of steel and wool and restore it to a beautiful museum quality display weapon. Some of his projects, such as our World War I German MG08 and MG08/15 Machine Guns are currently on display at the museum.

Staff Sergeant Ron Crouch inspects a newly arrived World War II Japanese Type 99 Light Machine Gun.

Museum Launches Mannequin Sponsorship Program

As we stated in last month's issue, the museum is in need of updating its mannequins. We have therefore launched a Mannequin Sponsorship Program for the purchase and set up of displayed uniforms.

If you choose to sponsor a mannequin, your name will be placed on that display as a sponsor for the life of that specific mannequin.

Thanks to research conducted by our board secretary, Bill Hamilton, we were able to find a vendor that supplies mannequins that will reflect the military's ethnic and gender diversity and reflect the correct average size of soldiers for a given historic period. No more trying to fit Civil War uniforms onto 20 year old 6-foot mannequins with 1980's hair styles. They can also be enhanced with the dirt and grime of combat.

Half and full mannequins are available. The half mannequin is shown above. This program is also supporting the museums at Camp San Luis Obispo and Camp Roberts and later Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos.

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

California State Military Museum, Sacramento:

Half Mannequin, $300
Full Mannequin, $500

Camp San Luis Obispo Museum:

Half Mannequin, $300
Full Mannequin, $500

Camp Roberts Museum:

Half Mannequin, $300
Full Mannequin, $500

Sponsors who are not members of the museum will also receive a life membership in the museum. This is an excellent vehicle for veterans organizations, military units and private citizens to partner with the museum.

Library and Archives Update

RETIRED LIBRARIAN HONORED: Museum Foundation President, Dr, Tom Jones (left) presents Mr.Bill Davies (right) a plaque honoring his 20 years of service as our chief librarian and archivist.at the 26 April 2011 Board meeting.

The library would like to acknowledge major donations made by the following:

NO MAJOR DONATIONS

It has been decided that a separately managed archives of records, correspondence, and primary source material is to be established. So starting in September, donations will be divided into Artifacts, Archives, Images (i.e, photographs and digital images), and Library

Currently the library is actively looking for new books to fill its shelves. Current hardcover, non-fiction military history and national security volumes are, of course, the most desired titles.

Books can be sent to:

The MG Walter P. Story Memorial Library

1119 2nd Street

Sacramento, CA 95814-3202

Any duplicates received will be given free to other libraries and or museums or sold in our used book store to raise funds for the library.

This is a great time to clean out some of your old military history, intelligence and national security studies books.

The Museum is also accepting gift cards from major book sellers such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Borders so that we can choose those books that fill holes in our catalog.

If you're interested in adding to you personal library, please come down and shop in our new and used military history book shop!

Upcoming Events

March 19: Lecture and Book Signing: Expendable Warriors: The Battle of Khe Sanh and the Vietnam War
March 29: Centennial of the M1911 Colt 45, 3:30 pm. Sgt Maj Drennen Multi-Purpose Room
April 4-8: California Cadet Corps Centennial: Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos.
April 7-10: California Center for Military History's Annual Military History Conference, Camp San Luis Obispo
April 10: Meet the Author: Final Flight: The Mystery of a WW II Plane Crash and the Frozen Airmen in the High Sierra
April 20: Association of the US Army Luncheon.

Making History

Learn how your California National Guard is making history around the world every day. CLICK HERE to read the latest issue of the Grizzly magazine.

Lectures and Book Signings

The following are lectures and "meet the author" events scheduled for the next three months. Prices shown are for amazon.com purchases only and may not reflect the cost at the event.

Saturday, March 19, 1:00 pm

Expendable Warriors: The Battle of Khe Sanh and the Vietnam War (Stackpole Military History Series)
by Bruce B. G. Clarke by Stackpole Books

Paperback

List Price: $18.95

Our Price: $10.13
Buy Now

Sunday, April 10, 1:00 pm

Final Flight: The Mystery of a WW II Plane Crash and the Frozen Airmen in the High Sierra

by Peter Stekel by Wilderness Press

To Learn More about California Military History

Want to learn more about the Golden State's military heritage, check out the following book. Pricing is provided by amazon.com.:

Killing for Land in Early California: Indian Blood at Round Valley: Founding the Nome Cult Indian Farm

by Frank H. Baumgardner by Algora Publishing

Hardcover

Buy Now

Attention Gun Collectors and Law Enforcement Agencies

The museum is looking to expand its weapons collection for future planned exhibits in Sacramento and other locations including a new 40th Infantry Division museum at the Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos. We are seeking specific weapons listed below:

American

M1833 Hall Carbine
M1837 Hall North flintlock Horse Pistol
M1847 Springfield Musketoon
M1842 Aston Pistol
Colt Dragoon Revolver
Colt Navy Model 1851 Revolver
Remington Model 1858 Revolver
Colt Army Model 1860 Revolver
Burnside Carbine
M1855 Sharps Carbine
Smith and Wesson Model 3 "Schofield" .44 S&W with US Ordnance Corps markings.
Colt M1873 Single Action Army Pistol (7-1/2 inch barrel) .45 Long Colt with US Ordnance Corps Markings
Colt M1895/1914 "Potato Digger" Machine Gun: Tripod only
Browning M1917 Machine Gun: Water can and Hose only
Browning M1919A4 with Tripod
Browning M1919A6 with bipod
Johnson M1944 Light Machine Gun
M60 Machine Gun
M60D Aircraft Machine Gun
M240D Machine Gun
M249 Squad Automatic Weapon
M16A1, A2, and A4 Rifles
M9 Pistol (Beretta 92F)
M4 Carbine
M79 Grenade Launcher
M16A1 with M203 Grenade Launcher
Stoner M63 or XM22
M40 Sniper Rifle with Scope
M1D Sniper Rifle with Scope
Winchester Model 70 with Scope. Military Issue only.
XM177E2 Carbine
Armalite AR10

British and British Commonwealth Nations

Number 3 (India Pattern) Flintlock Musket (Brown Bess) Original or reproduction. With or without Mexican Army markings.
Vickers Mark I Heavy Machine Gun (.30-06 or .303)
British, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand issue Browning Hi-Power (P35, Mark 1, No. 2 Mark 1 or L9A1)
Enfield No. 2 Mark 1 Revolver
Webley No. 4 Revolver
Rifle No. 4 Mark 1 (T): Scope and mount only.
Rifle 7.62 L1A1 Self Loading Rifle . Lithgow Small Arms Factory, Australia or New Zealand issue preferred
Australian F1 Submachine Gun

German

Mauser C96 Pistol
MG 08/15 Light Machine Gun: Magazine and Water Can with Hose only
MP18 Submachine Gun
MG42 Machine Gun with Bipod or Tripod
Fallschirmj�gergewehr 42 Assault Rifle
Gewehr 43 Assault Rifle
Walther PP pistol with military markings
Occupation made weapons with Wehrmacht proof marks

Japanese

Type 44 Carbine
Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun with Tripod
Type 96 Light Machine Gun: Magazines only.
Type 99 Light Machine Gun: Magazines only.

Russian or Warsaw Pact/Chinese copies

DShK 1938 Heavy Machine Gun: Wheeled carriage or tripod only
DP Light Machine Gun
Mosin Nagant Model 1891/30
Nagant M1895 Revolver
Maxim PM M1910 Heavy Machine Gun on Wheeled Carriage

California law enforcement agencies can transfer weapons to the museum under the provisions of Section 12030, California Penal Code and Section 179, California Military and Veterans Code. Weapons governed under the National Firearms Act (NFA) may also be transferred to the museum. The donating agency or individual is required to initiate the BATFE Form 5. NFA weapons may be accessed to the collection of the United States Army and may become property of the United States of America.

Weapons must be military issue, not civilian copies or reproductions.

Weapons should not be demilitarized per Army Regulation 870-20. However demilitarized weapons may be accepted for "hands on" educational programs.

Need a Place for an Event?