Coastal Defense Weekend at Fort Hancock - May 19 - 21, 2017

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Coastal Defense Weekend at Fort Hancock
Friday, May 19 - Sunday, May 21, 2017

Three events this weekend at Sandy Hook, part of Gateway National Recreation Area in Monmouth County, New Jersey. This weekend is held in conjunction with NJ SeaGrant’s Ocean Fun Days.

Friday, May 19, 2017
Harbor Defense Lantern Tour – “Turn the Clock Back to May 1943 and You Are There”
6:30 - 9:30 pm
Join members of the Army Ground Forces Association as they return to May 1943 and take you on a 2 mile lantern tour that will take you to the Battery Potter, Mortar Battery (Harbor Defense Command Post), the Sandy Hook Proving Ground and Battery Gunnison/New Peck – all part of Fort Hancock’s storied past! Your guides will be the volunteers who restore, preserve and interpret Battery Gunnison/New Peck for the National Park Service. Walking is mostly on roads and on the asphalt Multi-Use Path (MUP). Meet at 6:30 pm at Bldg. 28, the Fort Hancock Museum (former Post Guardhouse) located in the Fort Hancock Historic Post. The tour will end at Battery Gunnison/New Peck and then return to the Museum. This tour is free and all are welcome!


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Saturday, May 20, 2017
5 mile Historic Hike of Fort Hancock – “Turn the Clock Back to May 1943 and You Are There"
12:00 noon - 5:00 pm
Want to see fortifications normally closed to the public? Want to learn more about the history of Fort Hancock during the World War II era? Combine both on a moderate-paced 5 mile hike. Join members of the Army Ground Forces Association as they return to May 1943 and take you on a five mile historic hike walking tour of selected fortifications and forgotten locations of Fort Hancock’s storied past! Your guides will be the volunteers who restore, preserve and interpret Battery Gunnison/New Peck for the National Park Service. Walking is off-road, in sand and near beaches, and on the asphalt Multi-Use Path (MUP). Meet at 12:00 noon at Battery Gunnison/New Peck in the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. Park in Parking Lot G (for Gunnison Beach, off Atlantic Drive in the Park). The Fort Hancock and Sandy Hook Proving Ground National Historic Landmark District encompasses the entire Sandy Hook Peninsula.

Register online at http://www.armygroundforces.org/HistoricHike.html. Attendees must register and pay at this website.

The fee is $15 and covers the cost of a 1940’s-theme light picnic and raises funds to support restoration and preservation work by the Army Ground Forces Association at Fort Hancock. Tour attendance is limited, so be sure to register soon! The registration page also contains historic documents for you to download and learn about global happenings and activities specifically at Fort Hancock in May 1943.


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Sunday, May 21, 2017
Coast Defense Day Battery Gunnison/New Peck in World War II
11:00 am - 4:30 pm
Volunteers from AGFA in WWII uniform bring Battery Gunnison/New Peck and its 6-inch guns to life, as if they were in final modernization and activation in May 1943. Learn about Army Harbor Defense Operations, the interior battery vintage electric system, and Fort Hancock Army medical support in May 1943. Visitors can participate in loading the guns, tracking ships, learn artillery math and experience soldier life. Either take the Ocean Fun Days bus (for schedule visit http://njseagrant.org/education/special-events/oceanfun-days) or park in the Gunnison Beach parking lot and walk over to Battery Gunnison/New Peck.
This event is free and all are welcome!


For information and questions, e-mail info@armygroundforces.org or visit www.armygroundforces.org.


These events are a fundraiser for a Park volunteer historical association, the Army Ground Forces Association (AGFA), which is preserving, restoring and interpreting Fort Hancock’s history during World War II. AGFA is a non-profit, 501 (c) (3) organization and an official park partner organization. See details of AGFA’s work at Battery Gunnison/New Peck at www.armygroundforces.org.

About Gateway National Recreation Area: www.nps.gov/gate

About Sandy Hook, the Fort Hancock and Sandy Hook Proving Ground National Historic Landmark District: www.nps.gov/gate/learn/historyculture/sandy-hook-places.htm


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Location: Sandy Hook, Middletown, NJ, USA

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