Touring the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby

One of my trip planning notes included information about a military museum at the Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center near Hattiesburg Mississippi.  Since we were exploring around the area, we decided that this would make a great stop on a hot day…air conditioned comfort, except for the military hardware on exhibit next to the museum…

Bonnie and Laurie paused on the museum’s walkway and Bill was already up by the doors when I took this photo.  We were impressed with the size and appearance of the building that houses the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum. 

The museum is designed to honor the servicemen and women from all branches of the military who either were from Mississippi or were trained here in times of war.  The goal is for the exhibits to tell the personal stories of American heroes while serving to educate future generations about the price that is paid for our freedom and prosperity.

The ceiling of this hall just inside the entrance to the museum displayed a colorful array of flags.  I’m guessing that the flags are from the many units and/or states from across the USA as this camp is where many, many of our soldiers have trained during wartime.  I noted a flag from Illinois among those close to where I was standing.

During World War II members of the 45^th Women’s Army Corp (WAC) Detachment trained at Camp Shelby.  Other WAC’s served as nurses at the camp’s hospital.

I noted a special display for WAC Geraldine Horne from Lucedale Mississippi.  She was assigned to Lt. General Mark Clark, commanding General of the 5^th Army.  She served the duration of the War in Italy and reached the rank of Sergeant.  Sgt. Horne was awarded a Bronze Star for her service.

Although Camp Shelby wasn’t established until World War I, the museum has exhibits showing Mississippian’s involvement in earlier conflicts.  As you can see above, these included the American Civil War and the Spanish-American War.  The museum’s exhibits follow a time line from the earliest days on through current conflicts.

The state’s actual military history began in June of 1799 when it was still a territory.  That is when the 155^th Infantry, aka “Mississippi Rifles” was formed.  It is the state’s oldest National Guard Unit.  A squadron of light dragoons (cavalrymen) was formed in 1814.  Both the Mississippi Rifles and the Mississippi Dragoons served under General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans.

The Camp Shelby military post was established in 1917 to support the mobilization and training of US forces during World War I.  Today the Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center occupies over 134,000 acres just a few miles south of Hattiesburg.

The size of Camp Shelby allows for battalion-level maneuver training as well as field artillery practice and Abrams M1 tank operations.  As the normal annual training location for National Guard and Reserve units from Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, the camp hosts about 100,000 personnel each year.  It was very quiet when we were there.  The base is the largest state-0wned military training facility in the USA. 

The Camp is named after Issac Shelby (1750 – 1826), a hero of both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.  He later became the first governor of Kentucky.  To be honest I’d never heard of Issac Shelby before but given his personal history, I should have!  To learn more about this American patriot, go to Isaac Shelby - Wikipedia.

On to a sampling of just a few of the displays in the museum… If you are into weapons as well as history, the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum satisfies both interests. 

The revolver to the left is a Colt 1860 model.  This single action revolver fired a 44 caliber bullet with an effective range of about 50 yards.  These revolvers were issued as a pair with a single stock that could be attached or detached in a few seconds.  The stock was either attached to the soldiers mount or to his person and it greatly improved the revolver’s accuracy.  About 200,000 of these weapons were manufactured.

The revolver at the lower right is a Whitney 6-shot single action pistol.  Introduced in 1857, it was the first successful solid frame revolver that was adapted to military use.  33,000 of these revolvers were built.  Consider this…both the Colt and the Whitney revolver weigh 2.68 pounds.  Try holding something that heavy and pointing it, hoping to hit your target…

Throughout the various conflicts exhibited in the museum, artifacts, including weapons, uniforms and other period equipment is shown.  Parts of the WWI or “Great War” gallery provides the feeling that you are walking across a battlefield into the trenches of the Western Front. 

Details of the conditions experienced as well as the people who served in WWI are part of this gallery.  They include animal warfare, ‘trench foot, and the stories of black Mississippians who served under French and Canadian commands.  Early in the conflict, black Americans weren’t permitted to serve in combat units and later, they were assigned to fight with French forces.

By way of example, one soldier who is honored in the WWI exhibit is James Howell Grantham.  He was a hospital apprentice first class and he was awarded the Navy Cross for his bravery.  Grantham was killed in action in the Battle of Argonne Forest on November 1, 1918, just 10 days before the war ended.

This is a WWI German muzzle-loading trench mortar that was built in 1917.  It had several advantages over many mortars of its time.  It could fire a variety of ammunition, it could be converted from indirect to direct fire, it could be fired from its base or when it was mounted on its wheels.  It could even be used as an anti-tank weapon in an emergency. 

In 1977, this light tank was found abandoned and decrepit in Mississippi at a former training facility.  As you can see it’s been meticulously restored.  It is the only M2A2 Light Tank known to exist.  Only 134 of these tanks were built at the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois.  With its crew of 4 and its weight of 19,100 lbs., this tank was severely ‘under gunned’ and too lightly armored.  When it was built, the thought was that tanks would only be used as mobile infantry support units and its armament consisted of 2 machine guns… Because of these deficiencies, they were relegated to training facilities.

On to World War II… In addition to German weapons, the museum has an interesting display of German military uniforms and other related items.  I found that ornate dagger and the Hitler youth knife in the first photo and the carved wooden shoe as well as the tropical field cap of particular interest.

During the WWII Camp Shelby, was expanded to cover 310,000 acres with an additional 400,000 acres leased to allow for more space for military maneuvers.  It also served as a prisoner of war camp.

When the famous or infamous “Afrika Korps”, which fought under the command of German General Erwin Rommel, was forced to surrender, British and American forces found themselves with 275,000 German and Italian POW’s to take care of.  It was determined that it would less burdensome and less costly to house and feed these prisoners in the USA than in North Africa.  Plus we could put them to work…

In the last 4 months of 1943, prisoners began arriving in the USA from teirh compounds in North Africa.  Four major POW base camps were established in Mississippi.  Camp Shelby itself housed 5,300 prisoners.  Many prisoners were sent to one of the 15 branch camps and were assigned jobs such as working in cotton fields or in the forestry industry. 

Note:

         ·         At its peak, there were over 425,000 mostly German POW’s being held in camps across the USA.

There was a section of the museum that paid homage to the famous Tuskegee Airmen from Mississippi.  Imagine being black and discriminated against at every turn, but still wanting to fight for the USA despite the obstacles encountered… In total there were 992 Tuskegee Airmen who graduated from this famous flight school.  Here is a little information on just 4 of them.

·       Captain Edward L. Toppins flew 144 missions in his P-51D Mustang during WWII.  He shot down 4 enemy aircraft.  Sadly, he died in a training exercise after the war when a B-52 bomber crashed for reasons unknown…

·       Lt. Colonel Alva N. Temple flew 120 missions during the war and continued to serve in the Air Force when the war ended.  Colonel Temple died in 2004 at the age of 86.

·       Lt. Colonel Herbert E. Carter was one of the 33 original Tuskegee Airmen and after WWII he stayed in the Air Force.  He flew 77 missions during the war.  He was the last surviving Tuskegee Airman who was from Mississippi when he died in 2012 at the age of 93.

·       Lt. Quitman Walker was assigned to the 99^th Fighter Squadron in the 332^nd Fighter Group.  He was flying his 29^th mission when he was shot down.

Almost every Japanese soldier received a flag like this one.  Made of silk, family, friends and comrades in arms would autograph the flag, sometimes just with their names but often including messages encouraging loyalty to the Emperor.  Since most Japanese were expected to fight to the death, most of these flags were taken from them after being killed in action.  Note my image in the reflection...poor photography!

There are displays of Japanese uniforms, weapons and other items which give visitors a sense of what the US forces were dealing with.  Japanese swords are always interesting.  The most unusual piece of equipment in this case is the trench periscope at the right center.  The rifle shown is a sniper’s rifle.  The Sergeant’s jacket was a standard issue garment for that rank in the Imperial Japanese Army. 

The light machine gun at the bottom left could fire 850 rounds per minute…but each magazine only held 30 rounds of ammunition.  Just above the machine gun is a so-called ‘knee mortar’.  It got this nickname due to the erroneous belief that these grenade launchers could be fired by propping its plate against a soldier’s leg.  In reality, the recoil could break the user’s leg if they tried to fire the weapon in this manner. 

A large display memorializes Mississippi’s Medal of Honor recepients.  These men went on and above expectations to save others or to accomplish their objective.  These first 3 examples include:

Master Sergeant Hubert L. Lee (1915 – 1982).  In the Korean War, Lee’s unit led an attack to retake a vital position.  His commanding officer was wounded and Lee took command.  Despite being seriously wounded 3 times, he led his group forward taking the objective.  In the last assault he was so badly wounded he actually crawled forward firing as he went.

Major Ed W. Freeman (1927 – 2008) Ed “too tall” Freeman was a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War.  In the midst of a major conflict, and in an effort to assist a trapped American battalion, “too tall” flew numerous missions bringing in supplies while taking out the wounded…this despite taking a hail of gunfire from the Viet Cong surrounding the trapped ground unit.

Pvt. 1^st Class Milton L. Olive III (1946 – 1965) Pvt. Olive selflessly threw himself on a Viet Cong grenade, covering it with his body and saving the other troops who were with him.  He was only 18 years old…

Here are 3 more examples of Mississippi’s Medal of Honor Recepients:

·       Air Force Captain Hillard A. Wilbanks (1933 – 1967) Captain Wilbanks was serving as a forward air controller in Viet Nam when he flew over some advancing US Rangers.  He could see from the air that they were walking into a Viet Cong ambush.  He used his phosphorus rockets to mark the enemy’s position and to slow their advance.  When he determined that air support would not arrive in time and despite heavy ground fire directed at his Cessna O-1E Bird Dog, he used his M-15 to strafe the Viet Cong and slow them down.  In the process, he was shot down just as the F-4 Phantoms arrived on the scene…

·       Marine Corporal William Kyle Carpenter (1989 - ) is the youngest living Medal of Honor recipient.  Under attack by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, he threw himself on a grenade saving the life of his fellow Marine.  He was medically retired and has undergone many surgeries to repair the damage done to his body.  He lost one eye as well…

·       Marine Lance Corporal Roy M. Wheat (1947 – 1967) He and 2 other Marines were providing security for a construction unit and he was about 10 feet from the other Marine’s position when he heard the hiss of a Viet Cong Mine.  He called out and threw himself on the mine to protect his unit.

As with all of our other wars, there was a representative sampling of material and weapons that were used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. 

One of the Viet Cong’s ubiquitous ‘black pajama’ uniforms is shown in the upper right portion of the display.  In normal times, this was what was commonly worn by South Vietnamese who lived in rural areas. 

The rifle is a Chicom 7.62 caliber SKS weapon with an attached bayonet.  Right under it is a Chicom AK-47 assault rifle.  That long narrow tube is an RP62, a single shot reloadable rocket launcher.  It was both popular and effective in combat.

There are a few full scale vignettes here and there throughout the museum.  In this case, there is a scene from Vietnam showing a Huey helicopter with its medivac team arriving to evacuate a wounded American soldier.  One of his army comrades in arms is helping him to the aircraft.

Now…on to the outdoor exhibit.

There is a large and impressive display of armor and support aircraft lined up just outside the museum’s entrance. 

That big helicopter in the first photo is a CH-54 Tarhe…nicknamed the “Sky Crane”, these choppers recovered more than 380 downed American aircraft during the Vietnam War.  In addition, a transport pod could be attached underneath the CH-54, and it could carry 87 combat loaded soldiers.  Other Army helicopters as well as a fixed wing forward observation airplane were also on display.

That line of Armor in the second photo includes a wide variety of historical military equipment, ranging from light to heavy tanks, troop transports, mobile artillery and anti-aircraft vehicles.   Yet another line includes a series of field artillery pieces…

What follows are a few samples of the armored vehicles on display.

In addition to the American hardware on display, there were a number of Soviet armored vehicles, something I hadn’t seen before.  This is a ZSU 23-4 “Shilka” anti-aircraft gun.  It was the first mass produced self-contained anti-aircraft gun system with its own onboard target acquisition radar and it could fire while in motion.  About 6,500 of these vehicles were built…

This is an M-7 “Priest” self-propelled gun.  In WWII the US Army realized that they needed mobile artillery to support our troops in battle.  The “Priest” is equipped with a 105 mm howitzer.  Its nickname came from the British Army due to the M-7’s pulpit-like machine gun ring.  I was surprised to learn that one of the M-7’s builders was the American Locomotive Company.  About 3,500 “Priests” were built and they’ve been in service with 15 countries in addition to the USA.  This is one of the few examples of this armored support vehicles that remains…

 

This is an M-60 ‘Patton’ Medium Tank.  This tank was never officially named after the earlier M-48 Patton Medium Tank but informally the designation stuck.  With its rifled 105 mm gun, this was our ‘Main Battle Tank’ throughout the Cold War.  It last saw action in the 1991 Gulf War and the last of the M-60’s were retired from the US National Guard in 1997. 

Several different versions of the M-60 were built as technology changed but over 15,000 of these tanks were built.  As of 2015, over 3,200 M-60s were still in service in Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Several other early American tanks are on display at the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum.  They include the M-4 Sherman, the M-5 Stuart Light Tank and the M-48 Patton Medium Tank.

The top photo is of an M1 Abrams main battle tank on exhibit.  The second photo is of an M1 Abrams in desert camouflage near what looked like a barracks at Camp Shelby. 

This third generation main battle tank was designed by Chrysler Defense…now General Dynamics Land Systems.  It was named for General Creighton Abrams.  This is one of the heaviest tanks in service, weighing about 68 tons, and it introduced several innovative features.  These include a multi-fuel turbine engine, Chobham composite armor, a computer fire control system and separate ammunition storage in a ‘blow-out’ compartment.  The early versions of the M1 were equipped with 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 guns but later variants feature a Rheinmetall 120 mm L/44 gun. 

Many countries have developed their own comparable versions of a Main Battle Tank.  However there are 7 countries that use the M1 Abrams.  Production of the M1 began in 1979 and variants of this tank are still being built today.  Over 10,000 of them have been built.

To learn more about the Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center, just go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Shelby.  To find out more about the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum, go to https://armedforcesmuseum.us/.  This fine museum is open Tuesday through Saturday and admission is free although they do accept donations.

I hope that all Americans enjoy their Fourth of July Holiday...and remember what its taken to gain and to keep our freedoms!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave