World War II Kiosk & MonumentWhen war broke out in Europe and Asia in 1939, the War Department suggested to the National Guard that their 111th Cavalry be converted to another branch of service. The age of the horse as a combatant had passed. Thus the officers and non-commissioned officers of the command jointly selected coast artillery.
In 1940, the 111th was re-designated the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment (AA) and the 158th was reorganized as the 104th Anti-Tank Battalion. On Jan. 6, 1940, these units, along with the 120th Engineer Regiment were called to active duty for a one year training period that became the prelude to some of the earliest combat experienced by American troops in WWII. This included the defense of the Philippines with its infamous Bataan Death March in the Pacific and the invasions of North Africa, Sicily and Italy in the Mediterranean. Development of the radio proximity-fused artillery shells, crucial to protecting the Navy’s ships from Kamikazes and to the Army’s defense of Bastogne, Belgium in 1944, together with the subsequent development of the atomic bomb, established New Mexico as a critical partner in the emerging relationship between science and the military that would grow in the decades to follow. |
1. Bell Tower
2. Visitor / Event Center 3. Courtyard 4. Colonial War Kiosk 5. Territorial War Kiosk 6. World War I Kiosk 7. Buffalo Soldier Monument 8. Pearl Harbor Survivors Monument 9. World War II Kiosk & Monument 10. 8th Air Force Monument 11. Merchant Marines Monument 12. U.S. Submarine Veterans Monument 13. Welcome Home Memorial 14. U.S. Navy Veterans Monument 15. Korean War Monument & Kiosk 16. Vietnam War Monument & Kiosk 17. Expeditionary Missions Kiosk 18. Gulf War Kiosk 19. War On Terror Kiosk 20. The Call 21. The Preparation 22. The Battle 23. The Homecoming 24. The Conversation 25. The Word From Home 26. The Fallen Friend 27. Parade Ground 28. Amphitheater 29. Paratrooper Monument 30. Combat Infantry Badge Monument 31. Boulevard Of Flags & Blue Star Memorial 32. American Ex-Prisoner Of War Monument 33. Medal Of Honor Plaza 34. Purple Heart Monument 35. Holes In Our Hearts 36. American Veterans For Equal Rights 37. Tuskegee Airmen Monument 38. Gold Star Mothers Monument 39. Navajo Code Talkers Monument 40. Combined Action Program Monument |