Garry Redmon, a volunteer at the Patton Museum of Armor at Fort Knox, and host of the
unnofficial Patton Museum website (at: http://www.armorfortheages.com/ ), has
mentioned that there is a unique opportunity this weekend for those who can find their
way to the fort:
This Saturday, June 16 starting at 0900, the Patton Museum will have an open house.
The historic LST building and the workshop and storage areas at Richardson Motor Pool
will be open. You must first check in at the museum and get a map. Museum volunteers
will be on hand to guide visitors and answer questions. Enjoy.
The Patton Museum has many wonderful displays. This is a fully restored late-war
Panther (on the Tiger-2 style running gear), with a Panzerwaffe crewman on display in
full gear.
But it is the chance to enter the LST building that is the remarkable event. A tank history
buff will not soon forget it. This is a building built at Fort Knox during WW2 to train
crews in loading and unloading LSTs. The interior is exactly matched to the dimensions
of the wartime LSTs, up to and including all cross beams, the front ramp, etc. No longer
used by the Army for training, it is now the location of the Patton Museums not-yet-
restored vehicle inventory.
That's me, five years back, on a foray into the LST building. I am hanging out in a
Sherman Jumbo. In the background shadows you can see an MBT-70.
So if you are in the area, or can get to the area, y'all ought to drop on by. Wish I could.
