CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Artifacts from the first Gulf War will have a permanent home after being in a bin for more than 16 years on Charleston Air Force Base.
Various foreign weapons brought back to the U.S. after Operation Desert Storm were transferred from Charleston AFB to Patriots Points Naval and Maritime Museum Oct. 19.
The weapons brought to the museum included a Browning .30 caliber machine gun; a .40 mm, Russian rocket propelled gun; a .40 mm Chinese RPG; a Soviet Union SG-43 heavy machine gun and a Soviet Union PK general purpose machine gun. All were used against U.S. troops stationed in the Gulf region during ODS.
Staff Sgt. Nicholas Marino, 437th Civil Engineer Squadron Readiness and Emergency Management Flight, readiness and emergency management craftsman, took the lead in getting the weapons to where they needed to be.
Because the weapons were on the base since the early 1990s, there was a question as to how to move them from the base to another location. Sergeant Marino contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to find out what would be the proper procedures.
"[At first] the most likely disposition of the weapons would be the destruction of the weapons either by the Air Force or the ATF," Sergeant Marino said. But having frequented museums over the years, Sergeant Marino had another idea in mind for the weapons.
When visiting these museums, he noticed many had weapons displayed that allowed Americans the opportunity to see first-hand some of the weapons U.S. troops have been confronted with on the battlefield, he said. After explaining to the ATF his plans to display the ODS weapons in a museum, officials agreed, provided the museum was a government entity.
"After speaking with the curators at museums across the country, Patriots Points Naval and Maritime Museum enthusiastically accepted the offer," Sergeant Marino said.
Because the weapons had been in storage for many years, some time would still be needed to prepare them for display.
E.L Wimett, Director of Museum Collections at the museum, said the items will have to be photographed and cataloged in detail. "Once this is accomplished, we will decide if the items need restoration, or just a good cleaning," she said.
After these processes are completed, the weapons will be demilitarized by taking out the firing pins, welding parts of the weapons to disarm the firing mechanism -- basically render them unusable, said Ms. Wemitt.
Once the restoration and demilitarization processes are completed, Ms. Wemitt, along with the exhibit curator, will decide how to best display these items in the museum. The museum plans to display these items in an exhibit to commemorate the 20th anniversary of ODS and to exhibit the one Chinese weapon in a Vietnam exhibit, said Ms. Wemitt.
While these weapons are from past wars the United States was involved in, there is a good reason for holding on to them for future generations.
"These are historical items we can pin back to ODS," said Ms. Wemitt. "We don't have many items from that war. Though these items are coming from an Air Force base, the Navy still had a major part in the war, and we want to commemorate this."
Sergeant Marino agreed.
"By preserving these weapons, we are not only allowing the general public to see first-hand the weapons our troops have encountered in recent years, but we have ensured proper homage can be paid for veterans of ODS through Operation Iraqi Freedom," said Sergeant Marino.