CDSGThe Newsletter The Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. — May 2017 Chairman’s Message CDSG Meeting and Tour Calendar Alex Hall Please advise Terry McGovern of any additions Chairman, Board of Directors or changes at [email protected] This past spring CDSG held its annual conference in the Harbor 2018 CDSG Conference Defenses of NYC, one of the largest harbor defenses to be toured. April 25-27, 2018 It was a large investment in time and money to see what we did. Columbia River, OR/WA A full write up of the conference and sites visits will appear in the Mark Berhow, [email protected] Newsletter. Please join me in thanking our conference co-chairs Norm 2018 CDSG Special Tour Scarpulla and Shawn Welch for taking on this great effort. With a August 11-19, 2018 large number of sites, various owners, and offices to work through, Switzerland our conference co-chairs worked hard to get us access to many sites Terry McGovern, [email protected] not open to the general public, as is a hallmark of our conferences on both seaboards. Along with the official conference, I hope you 2019 CDSG Conference will also join me in thanking Terry McGovern for organizing ad- Chesapeake Bay, VA ditional site visits both before and after the official conference, some Terry McGovern, [email protected] of which had never been visited by CDSG before. I would also like to highlight how nice it was for me to finally 2019 CDSG Special Tour see the Army Ground Forces group in action and see firsthand the Manila Bay, the Philippines ongoing great work being done by them at Battery Gunnison, Fort Andy Grant, [email protected] Hancock, with the National Park Service. Unfortunately, it took a conference to get me there for a visit, but I look forward to visiting Other Meetings and Tours again and seeing more of Fort Hancock in particular. A further shout out to all the rangers we met along the way. I tip my flat hat June 10-11, 2017 to you all. Combined, I believe we saw properties and owners in Assn Saint-Maurice d'Etudes Militaries Tour all categories: private, municipal, county, state, and federal! Thanks Besancon, France to all our hosts for welcoming us. Pascal Bruchez, [email protected] Whether making new friends, reconnecting with out of touch ones, or picking up where you left off, the annual conferences are September 1-3, 2017 a perfect time to share our knowledge and observations and further Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Festung Annual Conference educate ourselves and site owners. All are part of the equation. Ingolstadt - Germany Enjoy the summer and get out and see a fort or two or three.... Andrea Theissen, [email protected] * * * * * September 1-4, 2017 Preservation Committee Report Fortress Study Group Annual Conference Gordon Bliss, Chair Portsmouth Alistar Graham Kerr, [email protected] Last month was the annual conference in the New York City area. This gave us an opportunity to see the current situation at September 4-7, 2017 the NYC area forts which some of us had not visited since the last Fortress Study Group Overseas Tour conference there in 1997. Conditions vary widely with some areas, Alderney, Channel Islands such as some parts of Fort Wadsworth, being in better condition Alistar Graham Kerr, [email protected] than before and others, such as many of the buildings at Fort Han- cock, being in worse condition. Some of this can be attributed to September 4-7, 2017 Superstorm Sandy which had a major impact on the area, and Fort ICOFORT Annual Conference Hancock and Fort Tilden in particular. With limited National Park Northern Norway Service resources and a large number of structures, particularly at Milagros Flores, [email protected] Fort Hancock, there are going to be severe constraints on which buildings/structures effort is spent on. The private leasing program The CDSG Newsletter - May 2017 Page 2 September 14-18, 2017 September 2018 Assn Saint-Maurice d'Etudes Militaries Tour Fortress Study Group Annual Conference Soisson, France Northwest England Pascal Bruchez, [email protected] Alistar Graham Kerr, [email protected] September, 2017 October 2018 Association Vauban Tour International Fortress Council Annual Meeting Rhine River, Germany Czech Republic Marc Gayda, [email protected] Kees Neisingh, [email protected] October 2017 May 2019 International Fortress Council Annual Meeting Fortress Study Group Overseas Tour Julich, Germany The Low Countries Kees Neisingh, [email protected] Alistar Graham Kerr, [email protected] October 7 & 14, 2017 September 2019 Menno van Coehoorn Excursion Fortress Study Group Annual Conference Nijmegen, Netherlands Dover Frits van Horn, [email protected] Alistar Graham Kerr, [email protected] November 14, 2017 October 2019 Menno van Coehoorn Meeting International Fortress Council Annual Meeting Maastricht Netherlands Switzerland Frits van Horn, [email protected] Kees Neisingh, [email protected] at Fort Hancock has only a few buildings leased. I am still looking If you have a preservation issue or question, or for further to obtain feedback from attendees on what suggestions or help information on any of the items I have mentioned, contact the we can provide. On the positive side, I do wish to single out the Preservation Committee Chair Gordon Bliss at preservation@ restoration of Battery Gunnison at Fort Hancock by the Army cdsg.org. Ground Forces Association which includes returning the guns to * * * * * a working condition. In addition, the work done at Battery Lewis in the Highlands by the Monmouth County Parks which included Walter K. Schroder obtaining a 16-inch barrel from the navy is another highly positive note. These were two preservation highlights of the conference. We regret to announce that Walter K. Schroder, 88, passed At Fort Adams, work continues to clear vegetation on the En- away on December 28, 2016. Born in Pawtucket, RI, he spent dicott batteries. Battery Bankhead, just south of the main fort, his early years in Germany, where he was drafted at age 15 into an is now completely clear and work has moved to Battery Talbot, antiaircraft battery. Captured by the British, he served as a POW the next one going south. All of this is being done by volunteers. interpreter. Following his release, he enlisted in the US Army as I will be putting before and after pictures of Bankhead on the an interpreter. He returned to RI and a 32-year career with the Preservation page of the CDSG website. On that subject, the Department of Defense. Preservation page on the website will be revised soon. I have some Graduating summa cum laude from Roger William University, initial content I will be placing there, but I ask that if you have a Walter was a researcher, author, and lecturer with a special interest preservation success story and ideally pictures of same, that you in Rhode Island military history. He published seven books; his pass it on to me for possible inclusion on the website. I would Defenses of Narragansett Bay in WWII remains a highly respected like to feature different examples over the course of a year so that history of the Rhode Island coast defenses. His autobiography, we have new content on a regular basis. Stars and Swastikas: The Boy Who Wore Two Uniforms, documented Which brings me to my last item for this column: I know this his unique experiences during WWII. In 2007, he was inducted is getting repetitive for those of you who read this regularly, but into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. He was a long-time I still get very few preservation items directly from members and member of the Coast Defense Study Group. He is survived by his often only find out about them second or third hand and well after wife, Lora, his daughter, Leah S. Fox, and her husband, Martin, the fact. Particularly if it is an item the CDSG can get directly in addition to other family members. involved in, hearing about it early is important. Some of this will be coming through the Representative Committee, but I would rather get the information twice than risk missing hearing about it. The CDSG Newsletter - May 2017 Page 3 * * * * * The Air Force’s SAGE system informed the Missile Master CDSG Representative and Outreach (me at the moment) that there were enemy aircraft over Towson, Norm Scarpulla MD, a few dozen miles north of Baltimore. On the S&E screen, I could see symbols for enemy aircraft but no live video. A fighter The Representative and Outreach program is critical for the squadron was scrambled to investigate and soon I was in verbal goals of the CDSG. We arrange for a CDSG member to be communication with the squadron leader and could see not only the liaison to the owner or manager of each site. That member, his live video but his IFF response on my scope. He reported the site representative, is responsible to maintain two-way com- checking from near ground level up to 30+ thousand feet and munication with the site owner or manager. This is to ensure neither he nor any of his squadron mates could see any aircraft that the site owner or manager knows that CDSG is the source there, much less enemy aircraft. I could verify his altitude from of accurate information about the site, is willing to assist with a height-finder radar console next to mine. After a very tense preservation and interpretation, and may be able to provide period, the alert was cancelled, our missile batteries were ordered funding for these purposes. to stand down, and life returned to normal. We encourage a site representative to be involved at the site by A short time later, the Air Force issued a brief explanation.