Dahlgren Foundation Digest Summer 2014 by Gary Wagner

DAHLGREN HERITAGE FOUNDATION Summer 2014

Dahlgren Heritage Museum  P. O. Box 816, Dahlgren, Virginia 22448  www.dahlgrenmuseum.org

Dahlgren History Project

Ensuring the Past Illuminates the Future Center Dahlgren Division or left forgotten in offices and closets across the ahlgren’s 95 years of achievebase. ment have provided invaluaIn the early 2000s, Wayne Harble, hard-won lessons for the man, a longtime NSWCDD employee, Navy, shedding light on its past and chaired the Dahlgren Science and Technology Council and helped docuilluminating its future. Some aspects of Dahlgren’s histoment Dahlgren’s contributions to the national defense in preparation for ry—the massive naval guns still found across the installation what would become the Base come to mind—are figuratively Realignment and Closure Act and literally colossal. But those of 2005. unmistakable relics of a bygone “[NSWCDD leaders] wantera do not explain the real reaed us to find out what we’d son for Dahlgren's continued done and where did it go,” said Harman. excellence. That distinction belongs to the military and scienHarman was joined in the effort by another longtime tific minds at Dahlgren, who for generations have collaboratNSWCDD employee, Robin ed to provide the Navy with Staton. “I discovered that Robin the tools it needs to win wars. had been stashing stuff away The process of aligning milfor years in CONEX boxes,” itary goals with scientific realisaid Harman. “[The effort] kind ty is always changing, always of got us started doing this. It gave us a cause.” challenging and almost always imperfect. But military and ciAround the same time, the Fredericksburg Area Museum vilian leaders at Dahlgren have found a way to consistently and Cultural Center sought achieve success by giving rankhelp from the base to create an and-file scientists creative exhibit about Dahlgren. “They space to solve military probwanted us to reconstruct stories lems. about the base’s accomplishPreserving the lessons ments and projects,” said Staton. “It turns out, that was learned from Dahlgren’s more than nine decades of naval not easy.” Harman and Staton reproblem-solving has, regrettaLESSONS FROM THE PAST ... bly, been less successful than ceived support from NSWCDD the programs themselves. leadership and began the proRobin Staton inspects an item at the Dahlgren History Project with a tragic history: the 16-inch shell that was For years, scientists, engineers cess of collecting historical jammed into a barrel of the number two gun turret on the and managers simply saved items. A broken 8,300 pound USS Iowa when an explosion occurred in 1989, killing 47 Sailors. Preserving lessons learned is one of the primary whatever historic material they See HISTORY PROECT tasks of the Dahlgren History Project. U.S. Navy photo by deemed important. Andrew Revelos By Andrew Revelos

A small museum was established by Dahlgren employee Robert Zink in Building 183 in the 1960s, but its displays were later boxed in 1983 to accommodate the arrival of Naval Space Command to the installation. Historic documents, photos and scientific devices were sent back to the departments at the Naval Surface Warfare

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Dahlgren Heritage Foundation Digest - Summer 2014

PRESIDENT’S MEMO

DAHLGREN HERITAGE FOUNDATION

Exploring the Dahlgren Legacy

Board of Directors President Edward W. Jones

By Ed Jones

Vice President Robert V. Gates Treasurer Dennis Quick Secretary Jeron Hayes Board of Directors Charles Armstrong John B. Ashton Ruby Brabo Tim Carsola Gregory Chambers James Eaton Joseph McGettigan Debbie McInnis Stan Palivoda Lisa A. Rossbacher Ed Watson Our Mission The Dahlgren Heritage Foundation preserves and promotes the history, traditions, heritage and culture of the United States Navy at Dahlgren, Va., and the surrounding community. The Foundation will purposefully and aggressively seek financial support to establish the Dahlgren Heritage Museum and to provide the long-term preservation efforts and educational activities associated with sharing the stories and interpreting the U.S. Navy’s physical, technical, intellectual and social contributions to King George County, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the nation.

he secretary to the Northern Virginia judge sounded a bit perplexed. I was calling to leave a message for her boss about a reunion coming up for Dahlgren School. When I mentioned the word “reunion,” she immediately assumed I meant for law school or college, or maybe even for high school. The fact that it was for a grades 1-through-8 school, a tiny elementary/middle school on a Navy base in King George County, seemed to throw her. But she took the message anyway. It didn’t take long for the judge to call back. His message was short and emphatic: “I’ll be there!” Such is the pull of Dahlgren School. With its roots extending back to the 1920s, the school continues to offer small classes, superb teaching and innovative opportunities – precisely the combination that attracted the judge and over 100 other alumni of Dahlgren School to a reunion a few years ago. The Dahlgren Heritage Museum hopes to explore that ongoing legacy with a forum or forums beginning this year with former teachers from the school. (Check our website, www.dahlgrenmuseum.org, for updated details.) Through these conversations, we will be living into our mission of telling the story, not only of the base itself, but also of the communities it has spawned and impacted. Beyond all the technological achievements and intellectual resources produced by the Navy’s presence at Dahlgren, the base also has created a lasting legacy of community-building. Back in the 1950s, when I was beginning my nine-year journey through Dahlgren School (kindergarten through eighth grade), we were known as “the Dahlgren kids” – the proud members of a school community that mixed military with civilians, captains’ children with sailors’ kids. Today, with an all-military student body, the tradition of excellence continues. Department of Defense schools, like the one at Dahlgren, are undergoing a review this summer that will help determine their future roles. That’s all the more reason for the Dahlgren Heritage Museum to shine a spotlight on this important part of the Dahlgren story. Check our website for upcoming forums, and then make plans to join us at the museum. In the former Welcome Center at the foot of the Nice Bridge, we’re telling the remarkable story of Dahlgren.

Our Vision To generate a public understanding of the impact the community and U.S. Navy base at Dahlgren, Virginia, have had in using science and technology to strengthen national defense, particularly through support for warfighters.

The Dahlgren Heritage Foundation is a member of the American Association for State and Local History.

The current Dahlgren School building has been in use since the early 1940s.

Dahlgren Heritage Foundation Digest - Summer 2014

Ed Jones, president of the Dahlgren Heritage Foundation, addresses members during the group’s annual meeting on June 17.

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING REPORT

It’s ‘Full Speed Ahead’ Looking Forward to Dahlgren Centennial in 2018 By Gary Wagner

Toward that end, Jones said, the foundation will concentrate on developing a number of special events over the next few years, as well as recruiting additional volunteers to enable the Dahlgren museum to expand its operating hours.

n his assessment of the current status of the Dahlgren Heritage Foundation at the organization’s annual membership meeting on June 17, foundation president Ed Jones emphasized, “We’re halfway through our critical startup period leading to the centennial anniversary of Dahlgren.” Since the foundation was organized in 2010, the group has made good progress in garnering financial support, and in being able to open the Dahlgren Heritage Museum with the support of the Virginia Tourism Corporation, recounted Jones. But looking toward 2018 and the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the naval base at Dahlgren—now known as Naval Support Facility (NSF) Dahlgren—he added, “That’s when we want to be going full speed ahead with our outreach efforts and community proCapt. Peter Nette was a featured guest speaker grams.” during the annual business meeting, conducted at the Dahlgren Heritage Museum.

Dahlgren Heritage Foundation Digest - Summer 2014

Fundraising will also be a priority, said Jones. “We need to ignite our fundraising efforts again so our next four years can be as productive as the first four years.” A review of the foundation’s finances, presented by treasurer Dennis Quick during the annual meeting, highlighted the fact that the organization’s current equity had decreased from over $165,000 in 2013 to just over $118,000 this year, a difference of $47,502. “But this reduction in total assets is primarily accounted for by the cost for design and installation of the exhibits in the Dahlgren museum for its opening last year,” Quick reported. Dr. Robert Gates, foundation vice president, was also on the agenda to report on the latest exhibit recently loaned to the museum by the Navy. A number of artifacts related to computational analysis—dating to the 1940s and later—were provided by the Dahlgren History Project office of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. Business conducted during the annual meeting included the election of officers, which is required annually. All four currently serving officers were re-elected: president Ed Jones, vice president Dr. Robert Gates, secretary Jeron Hayes, and treasurer Dennis Quick. A handful of foundation board members—which are elected on a rotating basis—were affirmed. Returning for a second three-year term are Jim Eaton, Dr. Greg Chambers and Debbie McGinnis. Dennis Quick was elected as a new board candidate for his first three-year term to fill a recently vacated board position. The annual meeting concluded with a conversation with Capt. Peter Nette, commanding officer for Naval See ANNUAL MEETING on page 5 3

Preserving Dahlgren’s History:

‘Every Day

HISTORY PROJECT Dahlgren cannon that served onboard the USS Merrimack and CSS Virginia during the Civil War was loaned to the museum for five years, but the effort fizzled when the project ran low on funding and the gun was returned to the Navy. Harman retired in 2007 but returned to Dahlgren the following year on a part-time basis with the task of organizing and preserving Dahlgren’s history. Harman was hired by Kratos and contracted to support NSWCDD’s history mission. Harman and Pete Kolakowski, operations department head for NSWCDD, met with Rear Adm. Jay Deloach, director of Naval History and Heritage Command, in 2009 with the goal of re-establishing a Dahlgren museum. Deloach informed them that the Navy was changing the way it managed its museums; from that point on, museums would be privately funded and operated, but follow Navy protocol and policy. The following year, Naval Support Activity South Potomac organized a meeting of local government, business and educational leaders with representatives from the military commands at Dahlgren and staff from Naval History and Heritage Command. The purpose of the meeting was to determine whether there was support from the community for developing a museum to highlight the history and work at Dahlgren in support of the nation’s defense. Deloach sent Dr. Jay Thomas, assistant director for collections management, to Dahlgren to evaluate the situation. “[Thomas] was very encouraging,” said Harman. “He said the Navy was developing a new museum structure and maybe you all could be the prototype for this new idea.” The Dahlgren History Project would function to preserve the les4

U.S. Navy photos by Andrew Revelos

Continued from page 1

Sara Krechel, historian at the Dahlgren History Project, is reflected by the mirror of a device used to inspect the inside of naval guns barrels.

sons of the past for the current workforce while supporting a Dahlgren museum if a private, organized effort to establish one arose. “The purpose of the history project is knowledge preservation, management and transfer,” said Staton, who became a Dahlgren History Project employee after he retired from NSWCDD in 2012. “We serve as a repository for the historical information, to keep it organized and be able to respond to data calls. A major part of our role is to respond internal and public inquiries. Another part of what we do is preserving corporate knowledge and lessons learned.” In the meantime, strong consensus in the community continued to build in support of a museum following the organizational meeting hosted by the base in 2010. A group of organizers quickly identified a

Wayne Harman, historian at the Dahlgren History Project, examines a pristine example of Thatcher's Calculating Instrument, an “ultimate slide rule” patented in 1881.

Dahlgren Heritage Foundation Digest - Summer 2014

is a Day of Discovery’ board of directors, and the private Dahlgren Heritage Foundation was incorporated in 2011 to develop and operate the Dahlgren Heritage Museum. Soon after, the foundation received non-profit designation and a temporary site for the museum was secured at the former Virginia Welcome Center. Now, the long-neglected job of collecting and organizing Dahlgren’s history began in earnest. Karen Farley joined the Dahlgren History Project as its first full-time employee even as Harman’s own hours grew to a full work week. When Farley departed, a series of interns from the University of Mary Washington’s prestigious historic preservation degree program lent their talents to the monumental task at hand. One of those interns, Sara Krechel, returned to the Dahlgren History Project as a full-time employee after graduation. Krechel estimates that the project has thus far cataloged and inventoried more than 1,000 historic objects and 2,000 documents, a tiny fraction of the historic items in the Dahlgren History Project’s possession.

he project’s mission only became more challenging after floods in 2011 forced the team to hastily relocate thousands of items from their shop in Building 492, throwing a wrench into the painstaking organization. Newspapers were strung along clotheslines in the facility in the flood’s aftermath in an effort literally to save history. Throughout it all, the list of items that need to be cataloged grew. But the study of history is not for the impatient. “We spent literally years [investigating] some things,” said Staton. One of Dahlgren’s lesser-known items is a statue of a warrior Buddha, now located behind Public Works. A Navy officer received the statue from an Army command in Korea in the 1940s, according to the plaque.

“The question is, why is this here?” said Staton. “What’s the story behind it?” For two years, the team searched for the facts. “We figured out that it was given to the commander of the 7th Fleet, an admiral, and apparently his buddy was Admiral Turner Joy, who we are pretty sure brought it here when he became Dahlgren’s [commanding officer] in 1947,” said Staton. “There is a story like that for almost everything that's here.” Office moves are the kind of events that gets the team excited since they often produce surprise finds. “We’re trying to minimize the amount of information that’s lost,” said Staton. “Most of the time it’s lost forever.” Boxed items from the old museum in Building 183, for example, were recently re-discovered at Public Works. “You never know what’s historical until you know what’s historical,” said Harman, who cringes at the idea of losing potentially historic items. The team strongly encourages any employee or service member at Dahlgren to contact them if they find any document, photo or item that could be historic. While the work continues, uncovering history is a rewarding task. “This is great fun,” said Harman. “Every day is a day of discovery.” What are some of the lessons those discoveries can offer today’s workforce? “The knowledge that this base learned about how to develop computer programs for ships, these weapons systems that are so critical, they have to work,” said Harman. “To me, that is a big contribution this base has made.” “I think this base has done a pretty good job to not only discover, but to document and tell the story of how you run a successful science, technology and engineering organization,” added Staton.

ANNUAL MEETING Continued from page 3

Support Activity South Potomac, moderated by Ed Jones. Nette, who has managed NSF Dahlgren since August 2011, departs for his next Navy assignment in Norfolk in July. “I’ve enjoyed by time here, especially the working relationships with many in the community—a lot of great people,” Nette replied. Jones, in commenting on Nette’s on-going support of the foundation, asked, “Why have you cared so much about the history of Dahlgren?” “It was important for me when I came here to immerse myself in understanding the missions and history of all the tenant commands, and to get to know the community,” Nette replied. “I think before you starting establishing or changing policy, it’s important to know the history and how things were ‘back in the day’.” Nette added that he quickly came to appreciate the sense of pride and ownership of the base held by many in the community.

Dahlgren Heritage Foundation Digest - Summer 2014

"The past reminds us of timeless human truths and allows for the perpetuation of cultural traditions that can be nourishing; it contains examples of mistakes to avoid, preserves the memory of alternative ways of doing things, and is the basis for self-understanding ..." — Bettina Drew 5

Dahlgren Heritage Foundation Digest - Summer 2014

Down Range

Dahlgren Heritage Foundation News & Upcoming Events

DHF Registered With AmazonSmile

The Dahlgren Heritage Foundation is now a participating charity in the AmazonSmile program, which offers Amazon customers a simple and automatic way to support their favorite charity every time they shop, at no cost to customers. Amazon customers shopping at smile.amazon.com will find the same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to a customer’s favorite charitable organization. To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to smile.amazon.com. Tens of millions of products on AmazonSmile are eligible for donations. Shoppers will see eligible products marked “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on their product detail pages.

Shoppers can use their existing account on Amazon.com and AmazonSmile. A customer’s shopping cart, Wish List and other account settings are also the same. On their first visit to AmazonSmile, customers will need to select a charitable organization to receive donations from eligible purchases before they begin shopping. Customers’ selections are remembered, and then every eligible purchase made on AmazonSmile will result in a donation. Museum Hours Growing

The Dahlgren Heritage Museum is now open to the public on the first and third Saturday of each month. Operating hours are 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first Saturday, and 12 noon to 4 p.m. on the third Saturday. Group visits to the museum can be arranged at times that are outside the regular monthly hours. To arrange for a group tour, send an email to info@dahlgrenmuseum.org.

Dahlgren Heritage Foundation P. O. Box 816 Dahlgren, VA 22448

Dahlgren Heritage Foundation Digest - Summer 2014

July 16 Dahlgren Heritage Foundation Board Meeting Dahlgren Heritage Museum

September 6 Art Auction University of Mary Washington Dahlgren Campus

November 15 German Christmas Market Dahlgren Heritage Museum

Dahlgren Heritage Foundation is an approved charity for this year’s Potomac Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), organization #80381