Date: Fri 04-Aug-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

military-museum-Thompson-tanks

Full Text:

Tanks For The Memories: A Military Museum In Danbury

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

DANBURY -- A varied collection of heavy armaments is coalescing into a private

military museum on Park Avenue highlighting the weaponry of 20th-Century land

warfare.

Known as the Military Museum of Southern New England, the enterprise is

dedicated to collecting, preserving, restoring and displaying the heavy

machines of warfare: tanks, artillery, wheeled transport vehicles and

amphibious vehicles. The facility at 125 Park Avenue is expected to open to

the public in October.

The core of the nascent museum's collection focuses on World War II armor and

anti-armor weapons. Pieces in collection range in time from World War I to the

Persian Gulf War.

The Military Museum of Southern New England was organized as a tax-exempt,

non-profit organization, according to Philip A. Cocchiola, the museum's

executive director. From 1985 to about 1990, the group focused its efforts on

collecting unique, rare and illustrative pieces of military hardware. But

because the organization has had no building to display the items, the

military gear was shown in parades and at military field days, Mr Cocchiola

said. Mr Cocchiola is a retired US Army colonel.

Many of the pieces owned by the museum are in working condition, he said. All

the weaponry displayed by the museum has been "demilitarized" or mechanically

deactivated so it doesn't pose any safety hazards to museumgoers, Mr Cocchiola

noted.

Workmen were busy at the site recently renovating the interior of the building

to prepare it for use as a museum. The building formerly served as a machine

shop and warehouse.

When completed, a formal display of heavy weapons will be mounted in the front

yard. Other pieces will be housed within the building and set in dioramas.

Initially, the first story will house exhibits and the second story will be

used for storage. The museum will be developing the second story for future

use.

Besides donations of military hardware from private sources, the museum has

obtained some items released by the US military, he said. The Military Museum

of Southern New England is one of only about 12 privately-run military museums

in the United States, Mr Cocchiola said.

Most of the organization's items are from the US military, but some pieces are

from the French, German and British armies, he said.

The organization, which is volunteer-based, accepts donations of military

items from the public, he said. But certain types of donations are now more

valuable to it than others, Mr Cocchiola noted. The museum has enough

footlockers for its diorama displays, he said. But items such as military

medals, decorations and battle ribbons are valuable to it for display

purposes.

The museum plans to use its collection of about a dozen tanks as instructional

tools, Mr Cocchiola said. The tank is a central weapon of land warfare. It

brings together aspects of business, industry, manufacturing, technology,

invention and the entrepreneurial spirit, he said. Though tank designs have

been refined through the years, the basic configuration of the weapon has

remained constant since 1917, he said.

An Educational Mission

David Thompson, Newtown's environmental official, is vice president of the

museum. Mr Thompson is in charge of the museum's library. He said he is

interested in the educational features posed by a military museum including

the development of technology, art, and culture.

Mr Thompson buys books for the museum. It has approximately 450 factual titles

on World War II, he said. The planned library may eventually become a lending

library, he noted.

Mr Thompson said the ingenuity involved in the manufacture of heavy weapons

strongly appeals to him. He pointed to the United States' ability to quickly

manufacture large numbers of high quality tanks during World War II as a

notable feat.

"The magnitude of production of this country was unbelievable," he said.

Mr Thompson, who is also Newtown's conservation official, said he is

interested in preservation. He termed the museum's holdings probably the best

private collection of military armor in the US.

"It's (museum) going to be quite a thing because of the magnitude and the

quality of the stuff we have," he said. The front yard display will be

impressive, he added.

The museum's holdings are so extensive that they must be stored in scattered

locations, he said. Some pieces are kept at Danbury Airport and others at the

old Gilbert and Bennett mill in Georgetown.

The museum hopes to have a section of the Berlin Wall and accompanying guard

tower shipped here from Europe for display, Mr Thompson said.

Model

In deciding how to set up the museum, the organization used a privately-run

aircraft museum as a model, Mr Cocchiola said.

"We looked to the New England Air Museum as a model," he said. The museum in

Windsor Locks near Bradley International Airport brings together a sizable

collection of various aircraft in a large hangar.

"They've (air museum) developed really into a first-rate operation," he said.

The Military Museum of Southern New England would like to evolve into a museum

of that quality, he added. The military museum would someday like to have a

tract of land suitable to demonstrate its military vehicles in motion, he

said.

The organization expects it will cost more than $500,000 to get its museum

operation underway, Mr Cocchiola said.

The museum has been selected by a Providence-based foundation for a challenge

grant. Under the arrangement, for each dollar up to $100,000 that the museum

raises privately, the foundation will grant it an additional dollar.

The museum's land and building have been given to it as conditional gifts, Mr

Cocchiola said.

Because the organization is volunteer-based, it's always in need of volunteers

willing to work to advance its projects, he said. The group also seeks private

donations.