BROOKVILLE — In April 1994, VFW Post 3288 received a 155 mm Howitzer cannon where it was placed on a concrete platform on their front lawn at 210 Carr Dr. in Brookville. The local VFW had put in a request to the U.S. Army for the artillery piece nearly five years prior.

When the post received word in March 1994 that they could have one, arrangements were made to pick up the big gun.

Post Commander, Bud Drexler and his grandson, Aaron Miller, rode along with Jon Weist, who provided a truck and trailer to haul the eight-ton gun from the Letter Kenny Defense Distribution Depot in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania (near Gettysburg).

It was a 430 mile trip. During the trip the Howitzer drew a lot of attention and guys on their CB radios were asking how they got the cannon.

Once they got the cannon to Brookville, Bo Fortner used a fork lift and other equipment provided by H.R. Holp & Sons Machinery Movers to pull the cannon off the trailer and up to the concrete platform at the Post on Carr Drive.

Commander Drexler was able to get some history on the gun. It was built in 1944 by the Oliver Company, the same one that made tractors. It was used for training Army artillery battalions in Little Creek, Virginia and was fired 663 times.

Although this one never saw any real battlefields, 155 mm Howitzers were used extensively in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Five different kinds of shells could be fired from the cannon which could shoot a six-inch, 40 pound shell 12 to 15 miles. A good crew could get off six rounds a minute. The Post was required to pay for the demilitarization of the gun so it could no longer be operated. That and loading fees amounted to only $521.90.

All information and the photo for this Look at Brookville article were supplied by the Brookville Historical Society. Do you have a photo or historical information to share or add? Please contact the Brookville Historical Society at 937-833-0285 or email to [email protected].