The Fighting Spirit

The 14-inch guns mounted in the concrete bunkers at Ft. MacArthur could pick off an enemy ship in L.A. Harbor from 14 miles away. The fort, now the centerpiece of Angels Gate Park, was the coast’s first line of defense from 1916 through the Vietnam War.

Still situated in their original stronghold above the majestic coastal cliffs in San Pedro, the remaining bunkers and batteries are part of the Ft. MacArthur Museum grounds.

This weekend the museum, which is housed in powder and shell magazines and surrounding underground corridors, will be the backdrop for Old Ft. MacArthur Days’ 14th annual Artillery Show.

Military units from wars since the days of the Roman Empire will be depicted doing battle on the grassy areas of Ft. MacArthur, named for Gen. Arthur MacArthur, a Civil War hero and father of Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

The fort overlooks the Pacific Ocean and offers a spectacular view of the rugged shoreline, a view that was essential for soldiers scanning the horizon for enemy vessels.

Costumed reenactors will staff living history camps throughout the grounds, and weapons, uniforms and field and cooking equipment will be exhibited during the two-day event.

When Old Ft. MacArthur Days began 14 years ago, “it was a couple of guys and their tents,” says Steve Nelson, museum curator. “Now there are about 250 reenactors.”

Louis Lopez, a Huntington Park teacher and a fort volunteer, says that most groups strive to make their interpretations as authentic as possible.

“The Roman uniforms you’ll see [at the artillery show] are more authentic than what you see in “Gladiator,’ ” Lopez says. “Each group has its own weapons: the Romans their swords and spears, the Medieval period will have their knights in shining armor, and we hope to get both sides from the American Revolution.”

Lopez belongs to a group called the Rough Riders, who will reenact Teddy Roosevelt’s charge up San Juan Hill.

Ten groups will represent the various wars, including Civil War reenactors, German soldiers from the Great War Historical Society and, representing World War II, the California Historical Group.

The Roman gladiators will stage battles in the gun pit of the ominous concrete Osgood-Farley Battery, not a bad stand-in for a Colosseum arena in miniature. (The battery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.)

The Fort’s Big Guns Were Reduced to Scrap

Though numerous weapons will be on exhibit, the big guns of Ft. MacArthur are long gone, turned to scrap when airplanes and missiles rendered them obsolete. The fort remains intact because the grounds were deeded to the city of Los Angeles under the Federal Lands to Parks program in 1975.

During their heyday, the big guns were never fired for anything but practice, says Nelson, and he considers that “a sign of their success.”

Today, although the batteries, command posts and gun parapets are clearly visible, they don’t begin to hint at the vast facility that exists underground. At the start of World War II, the threat of an attack on the Southern California coast was deemed imminent, and the ranks at Ft. MacArthur grew from 2,000 in December 1941 to 30,000 soldiers by March 1942.

“The Pacific Fleet was gone after Pearl Harbor,” Nelson says. “They were on pins and needles here, convinced we were going to be attacked. They moved the soldiers out of the barracks and they slept in the tunnels.”

Nelson is always on the lookout for a more complete history and often looks for veterans who return to see the museum. On this day, Nelson questioned a man who happened to be snapping pictures of a wartime display. Sure enough, Ed Helwick spent time at the camp during World War II. Not all his memories were fond ones: “They lost all my papers and I was on K.P. for weeks,” he said with a laugh.

During the war, Nelson says, Ft. MacArthur was routinely referred to as Ft. Hollywood because of the many celebrities and industry people who served there or were processed through it. Helwick, it turns out, was a writer for Bing Crosby’s show.

In the 1950s, Ft. MacArthur was the headquarters for the Nike surface-to-air missile launch sites. By the 1970s, the Nike system was inactivated and the base was closed.

Today the batteries are almost unchanged since their construction in 1916. The original steel doors and window bars are still solid and functional, and even the electrical boards are working.

The fort is operated by the Department of Recreation and Parks and the Ft. MacArthur Museum Assn., and most of the work to preserve the camp and enhance its collections is done by volunteers.

Exhibits don’t shy away from telling the whole story, says Nelson, pointing out the old news accounts of the role that Ft. MacArthur’s soldiers played in rounding up residents of Japanese descent during World War II.

The money from this weekend’s event will go to the Ft. MacArthur preservation fund.

The goal, Nelson said, is to represent a 1940s-era post. With that in mind, he’s been collecting--even stockpiling--supplies and equipment from other closing bases, from surplus stores and even swap meets. He’s traveled as far as Panama, from which he returned with an Army generator.

In just 2 1/2 years, his accumulated treasures range from light fixtures to bunks to the entire contents of a mess hall. He wants the schoolkids who tour the fort to see what it was like for the soldiers who lived there.

Another ongoing project is to interview as many people as possible who had some part in Ft. MacArthur’s history.

“We want people to know what happened here,” said Nelson, “and why it happened here and what it means to people today.”

BE THERE

Old Ft. MacArthur Days: 14th annual Artillery Show, Ft. MacArthur, 3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro. Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. $5; ages 12 and younger, $3. (310) 548-2631.