Mary Snead and neighbor Melody visiting the museum and the Great War display.
The Friends of Fort Caswell Rifle Range introduced our book, Brunswick County in the Great War, with an exhibit at the World War I and Life-Saving Service Living History Weekend in the NC Maritime Museum.
President Norma Eckard, one of the three authors, presented the book at the exhibit. The 584 page book contains 7 significant parts; each was shown in 7 separate notebooks to make it easier for the public to review.
Tri-folds showed the story of the last 10 years and how the mission of saving the rifle range grew to include the writing of Brunswick County in the Great War.
“The book is a valuable resource for all history buffs”, said Eckard. “College and high school students can also benefit by using the book to enhance their World and US History courses by reading the profiles of local men who left their farms to support France in the war.
“Professors and high school history teachers may provide a number of activities, using the book to embellish their students’ studies and emphasize the patriotism within their communities of 102 years ago. The Cape Fear Region is rich in military history as well as a population who responds to resources like this book. I can envision students interviewing descendants of many of the veterans.”
Brunswick County in the Great War includes more than some of the stories of local men and one woman who served. The 14 nurses from Fort Caswell who served during WWI are also presented in the book. In addition, there is a WWI Wall of Honor that includes brief biographies of men from outside of Brunswick County who served, submitted by the many supporters of the Friends of Fort Caswell Rifle Range.
Spreadsheets (see the webpage on this website) are included in the book with all of the men and one woman who served from Brunswick County and nearby counties, listing their residence, date of birth, death, unit, age, rank, cemetery, and when they were discharged. The 718 men and one woman who served were honored by donations to support the purchase of a monument placed beside the rifle range in 2018, the Centennial year of the entrance of the United States in the Great War.
The State Port Pilot included a photo display in the September 23, 2021, edition, seen here.
Norma enjoyed learning more about WWI from the presenters near her exhibit. The photos at right and below include USMC officer Peter Meyer displaying the guns used during the Great War. The machine gun shown was too heavy to carry into battle. The bottom rifle is a “Springfield” that was used the most by the infantry in WWI. Peter had many military experiences to share with the public.
Also pictured, Daniel Jutson served in the Signal Corps for 28 years and retired as a captain. Daniel had many artifacts to share with the public. It was quite an extraordinary display.
Nearly two years ago, in December 2019, Betty McGaha stepped up and offered her time to shovel the heavy debris. Betty spent five days of hard work inside the rifle pit. The west end of the pit was completely cleared, as shown here. She also worked at the entrance, which had accumulated a lot of heavy debris.
You must be logged in to post a comment.