Here I am at Camp Hero on Long Island, NY, a military base surrounded in mystery. Supposedly there was a secret underground facility where things like the Montauk Project and the Philadelphia Experiment were held here. To this day, there exists no concrete evidence to prove these conspiracy theories.
Fort Hero was named after Major General Andrew Hero, Jr. who died that same year which was 1942. It was established on the point just south of the Montauk Lighthouse as a lookout for invading German U-boats. At that time, Fort Hero was upgraded and its name was changed to Camp Hero. Docks were built along with airplane hangers, barracks, and a torpedo testing facility. The camp was also used as a training facility complete with a target range. Soldiers practiced firing at offshore targets. It was used by the Army, Navy and Coast Guard and was officially known as a US Military Reservation, but it was known as Camp Hero to the locals.Camp Hero was disguised as a small New England fishing village to protect the camp and fool the Nazis. The bunkers were painted to look like houses and the gym was built as a New England style white church with a steeple which is still up today. It was a self contained town with its own power plant. You can't go into any of the buildings; they are closed off to the public.
When the war ended, the Army used the camp as a training facility. Many of the naval facilities were abandoned and the guns dismantled in 1949.
The radar tower that you can see in the background was installed in 1958. Called the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) it was the most up to date radar system of its kind. At this time the Air Force had taken control of Camp Hero and the radar was used to track Soviet planes.
Camp Hero went through many other changes until September, 2002 when it became Camp Hero State Park and was opened to the public. The park offers fishing, hiking, beaches and cross-country skiing. The tower was not torn down as it is a preferred landmark for local boats in the area. We have been there many times and sometimes my cousins, the white tailed deer, come for a visit.
I am including a link to a Wikipedia article which explains in detail about Camp Hero State Park:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Hero_State_Park
Very interesting and great photos!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. I would love to check it out.
ReplyDeleteGreat story! Definitely a place we would love to visit and explore. Clyde, you really get around!! Thanks for sharing. :O)
ReplyDeleteI have been there many times, first with my children when it was first open to the public as a state park and subsequently with my wife. It is a very strange place. I have never been approached by anyone, but there are strange people, cars and heavy equipment there. If you check some of the guard shacks, you will notice some still have electric and phone lines and some do not.
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