Jump to content

Treasure island museum


cull canyon
 Share

Recommended Posts

On treasure island by San Francisco there was a museum with a diorama of the assault on Tarawa. Does anyone know what happened to it and the other items? There was also a medal of honor. What happens to these things when museums close?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

A wide variety of things can occur.

A small county or other historical society may have been started by a group of well meaning amateurs, and been managing to keep the doors open for some time.

After a single visit by each local and the school kids history class visits, the funding may simply go away.

Often staffed by motivated volunteers, and paid for by a "tips Jar" at the entrance, is no competition for a lifeline of Federal funding.

When the money is gone, doors close.

I have heard tales of now unemployed staff members simply cartng the collection to the dumpster "out Back", and of Regulations requiring the destruction of artifacts and objects.

 

The government itself is an inflexible, ignorant, and unmotivated destroyer of things in many cases.

People who were employed at the Army Depot in Pueblo Colorado reported the burning in their incinerator of two factory fresh unopened crates of Captured German fallschirmjager gravity knives in 1976.

Obviously with all the waste and debt, the smart move is to pay people to destroy items that could be used to reimburse the public's drained coffers.

One can only wonder what treasures were destroyed by some self important chair jockey flexing his power over the underlings.

 

Such is the massive scandal of wanton BLM destruction, but I cannot discuss that here.

Though American Indian related, it is really nothing to do with military history.

 

Other items are simply gone already. The 45th Division Museum is one case.

When I visited in 1973, there was a display case full of donated original war souvenirs brought back from Italy.

I visited a few years later and many of these items were no longer originals.

They had become replicas somehow, in the time that had passed.

I heard rumors that the janitorial staff had members who collected war souvenirs... apparently nightly.

 

I like the concept of huge facilities which house and care for vast amounts of military items and the heritage they represent.

I love to spend time at Wright-Patterson, The National Air and Space, The Field Museum and others.

Anywhere there will always be enough cash to keep things properly is great.

 

The next best place is with a curator and conservator who makes it his business to be aware, and care for the items.

Collectors are one of the best insurers of survival, for items that some people do not understand or value.

 

Hey, Congress will pay commercial fishermen subsidies in the Billions each year, to empty the oceans of all fish by the middle of this century, and make a nice living doing it.

I say they should financially subsidize our efforts to rescue and maintain the war relics from destruction!

Who is with me!?

On to the Capital!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If mine were the question, then I would contact the California Historical Society, or the San Francisco Public Library reference section.

 

I'm pretty sure you will get a very complete answer, or a lead to someone who will provide it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...