LEWES – DNREC’s Division of Parks and Recreation, in partnership with the Fort Miles Historical Association (FMHA), will begin construction on a new outdoor event and programming venue at the Fort Miles Museum and historical area beginning Sept. 4.
The overlook at the top of the park’s bike trail will be closed during the two-month construction period. However, the main bike trail, the cantonment area, Tower 3, and the artillery park will remain open. The timing of the construction was determined by the Division of Parks & Recreation to have the least impact on visitors’ experiences, events and programming.

The construction is the result of fundraising by FMHA, which includes foundation grants totaling more than $600,000 from the Longwood Foundation and the Crystal Trust. The venue work will be followed by a new entrance and parking lot for the Fort Miles Museum, along with accessibility upgrades. That work will begin in the fall.

The work is a continuation of a series of projects spearheaded by FMHA, totaling more than $1 million in public and private investment over the last eight years, to enhance the experience of visitors to historic Fort Miles.

For more information, contact the Division of Parks & Recreation’s Operations Section at 302-739-9200.

Contact: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 48, No. 238

LEWES – On Saturday, Sept. 2, DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin will join with the Fort Miles Historical Association for a commemorative ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of V-J Day, when the Japanese surrendered on board the U.S.S. Missouri, which ended World War II. The ceremony will be held at the Fort Miles Museum, which is located in DNREC’s Cape Henlopen State Park, beginning at 11 a.m. The Fort Miles Historical Association and DNREC’s Delaware State Parks have partnered in the effort to restore Fort Miles since 2003. The ceremony will be held in the shadow of one of the big guns that was mounted on the “Mighty Mo” when the surrender took place, and which was put in place at the museum in 2016.

“We are proud to serve as host to this commemoration of V-J Day, as we honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to secure our freedom during WWII,” said DNREC Secretary Garvin. “The dedication of the volunteers of the Fort Miles Historical Association reminds us of the country’s ‘Greatest Generation’ that manned Fort Miles and protected Delaware’s coast during WWII. We have been pleased to partner with the Fort Miles Historical Association for more than a decade to make the Fort Miles Museum the best of its kind in the nation, and will continue this successful partnership in the future to further restore this historic treasure.”

DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation and the Fort Miles Historical Association worked together in 2012 to secure one of the three remaining 16″ gun barrels from the battleship Missouri that were aboard on Sept. 2, 1945 when the Japanese surrendered. The gun was refurbished and placed in the FMHA’s Artillery Park in 2016.

“On Sept. 2, 1945, the 11-member Japanese delegation boarded the U.S.S. Missouri, walked past our big gun and then stood in front of the Allied delegation to surrender and end WWII,” said Dr. Gary Wray, president of the FMHA. “As this barrel was witness to the surrender that ended the war, the FMHA holds a ceremonial event to honor that day and the ultimate sacrifice made by hundreds of thousands of American soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen to secure the nation’s freedom. The ceremony also honors the nearly 900 Delaware men and women who were killed in the war.”

Honored during the ceremony will be the FMHA members who have passed away during 2017. The ceremony will take place underneath the shadow of the Missouri barrel that was actually at one of the most famous end of the war ceremonies in history overlooking the beautiful Delaware coast in Cape Henlopen State Park. The FMHA honors both the gun barrel and its service in WWII, the country’s men and women who made the maximum sacrifice in WWII, and the fallen FMHA members over the last year in this ceremony each year.

Media contact: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 47, No. 197

-30-

DOVER – A World War II model M2 90 mm anti-aircraft gun is scheduled to be delivered to the Fort Miles Artillery Park in Cape Henlopen State Park on Thursday, March 30, through a partnership between DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation and the Fort Miles Historical Association.

The gun came from the collection at the National Electronics Museum in Linthicum, Md., which determined the Fort Miles Artillery Park was the best-suited location for permanent placement because of its reputation for interpretation.

“The Fort Miles Historical Association is dedicated to bringing in important World War II artifacts to the artillery park which benefits Delawareans and visitors alike,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “We salute the association’s commitment to remembering ‘The Greatest Generation’ that served at the Fort, who kept our country safe during WWII. This latest acquisition also contributes to Delaware’s tourism industry and helps boost our economy by adding to the artillery park’s historic appeal.”

This type of 32,000-pound anti-aircraft gun was used on ships in both the European and Pacific theaters during WWII. It could fire either high explosive or armor-piercing shells weighting 24 pounds at a rate of about 25 rounds per minute. These projectiles would leave the muzzle at a velocity of 2,700 feet per second and were capable of hitting land or water-based targets up to 11 miles away, or aircraft flying up to 34,000 feet in the air.

Unlike the other guns in the collection on display in the park, the M2 is the only type that was actually used at Fort Miles. “This was a model that was actually used at Fort Miles towards the end of the war,” said Jim Hall, chief of cultural resources for the Division of Parks & Recreation. “We know they were being used here for top-secret research starting in early 1944 that involved the ‘Proximity Fuze’ – the development of which none other than Gen. George S. Patton believed was second only in importance to the atomic bomb in bringing victory to the Allied Forces.”

Hall said a radio transmitter inside the “fuze” of an artillery shell sent out and received radio signals, constantly calculating distance – proximity – so that the shell would detonate when it was near a plane or tank instead of making direct contact with the target. Fort Miles served as the proving ground for this highly-classified technology prior to its being deployed during WWII.

Prior to installation in the Artillery Park, onsite restoration of the gun by Fort Miles volunteers should be completed this fall.

Vol. 47, No. 70

-30-