Fort DeRussy
DeRussy was an Army reservation built in 1915 in order to protect Honolulu and Pearl
Harbor in the US territory of Hawaii. Initially large cannons
were
located in two battery locations within this fort. Later on, the canons
were replaced with antiaircraft guns.
Coastal Artillery was officially
disbanded
by the US Army on June 28, 1950. The guns of Fort DeRussy were cut
up for scrap and the Fort designated as an Armed Forces Recreation
Area. Today
this large, park located in Waikiki pays tribute to all branches of
the United States Armed Services. On the premises is the
US Army Museum of Hawaii, at Battery Randolph.
Battery
Randolph (US Army Museum)
Located
behind Waikki beach, the US Army Museum is located inside this
defensive battery, constructed in 1911 at Fort DeRussy. After
the war, the guns were removed. In
the mid-1970's historian Warren Sessler worked to have the
battery turned into a museum, and aquired two guns from
a WWI memorial
in Honolulu for installation at the former battery. The
museum is dedicated to
the roll Hawaii played in military actions from WWI through
Vietnam.
75mm Howitzer
US Army
Type
95 Ha Go
Recovered from Makin, transported to Hawaii for technical evaluation
Japanese
75mm Gun
This gun was taken from the
battlefield on Okinawa, and displayed at the
Buckner Museum there, until it disbanded. It
was then taken to the
US Army Museum of Hawaii for display. Thanks
to Warren Sessler for this information.
Japanese
127mm Gun
This gun was recovered to Hawaii
after the war. In the middle 1970's it
was then taken to the
US Army Museum of Hawaii for display. Thanks
to Warren Sessler for this information.
