ASTORIA, Ore. — The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners will allow a group of history-minded volunteers to remove and restore the historic cannon in front of the courthouse.
The Japanese-made cannon is a war trophy from World War II and has been in place since the 1940s. But time, the elements and vandals have tarnished the landmark. Rust has set in where the paint flaked off, fixtures have been cracked, bent or broken off, and several spokes from one of the wooden wheels are gone.
“There was just growing embarrassment about it,” said Jerry Ostermiller, a project organizer.
Commissioners decided that the dilapidated landmark reflected poorly on Clatsop County but recognized that restoring old cannons is low on the list of the county’s spending priorities, Ostermiller said. They decided to take on the task of organizing a restoration campaign themselves, relying on volunteers and donations.
Ostermiller, the former executive director of the Columbia River Maritime Museum, researched the gun’s history and determined that the piece is most likely a Japanese Type 91 105-mm field howitzer. Designed in the early 1930s, it equipped Imperial Japanese forces in China and at most of the major battles of the Pacific Theatre.
The project will also include proper labeling for the gun. A bronze plaque affixed to the concrete bench in front of the cannon states that the piece was presented to the county in 1934.
But the plaque actually refers to a bronze Civil War cannon that formerly occupied the site.
According to local lore, the original cannon was removed and melted down for its metal during World War II, Ostermiller said. The U.S. military gave the current one to the county as a replacement following the war.
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