Photos by Patrick Olivero
SANDY HOOK – It may have been Oct. 13, 2019 to the rest of the world, but visitors to Battery Gunnison/New Peck were transported back to October 1943 by members of the volunteer Army Ground Forces Association who played a part in Sandy Hook’s Fort Hancock Days weekend-long event.
The living historians painstakingly recreated the life of a U.S. Army Coast Artillery soldier manning the big 6-inch guns that were ever-vigilant and ready to defend New York Harbor. Attendees were shown how a hostile ship could be spotted, tracked and targeted up to approximately 10 miles away, how ammunition was stored and the machine shop where replacement parts could be made to quickly repair vital equipment.
