If you have not visited the museum in Fort Pierce FL, you’re doing it wrong. Not only is it where NSW was created, it was where we trained for the Normandy landings. It was a 20,000+ acre base, 130k+ men, all services, trained there. Scouts and Raiders, OSS, etc all either created there, or trained there for the big one. It’s hallowed ground to the extreme for anyone who is a WWII history buff, regardless of interest in SEAL info, SOF, etc.
Anyway, the museum is opening a sister location in San Diego in the very near future and details have been added to the main site linked below, and the main museum itself will undergo a major addition, which will almost double the size. One cool addition will be a large 3D shooting simulation room supposedly. I have seen the plans, and it’s gonna take the place to another level.
As we discussed previously, I went there in the early 90s and saw some cool stuff. In the last 2 years, I’ve gone to Ft. Pierce 3 times for business but didn’t have time to go to the museum. Two of those trips were similar to the direct action missions those operators did, in and out in half a day. LOL. Except my direct actions were much quieter.
Very cool, thanks for sharing. I’d love to see both sites, Fla and Cali.
Trivially speaking, the OSS maritime unit also had primary training in the York and Potomac rivers, and had OCONUS facilities in Cuba, the Med, and Burma.
Not NSW related, but great semi-regular visitor is SF OG Art Walker, who was spent extensive time in Laos via Operation White Star. His Sgt was none other than Dick Meadows, a legend in the SF community. Art nickname was “Sparky” by Meadows and is mentioned in book about Meadows. He was interviewed by Veterans History Project some time ago, he’s still going strong. If interested, interview:
Recently, gent who was BUDs #35 came in with his family. Was a UDT → SEAL cross over, Vietnam 65, ST1. We went to the books we have and found his BUDs graduation picture, which was very emotional for his family. He asked if the museum had a Stoner 63, which he said he carried. I said indeed we did, and I showed him the extensive firearms collection of the museum in the Vietnam section. He was not a plank owner of ST1, but he knew a bunch of men on the STI plank owner list. Very cool was, we had a kid who just graduated BUDs, not even assigned to a team yet, high 300s, introduced to the OG SEAL, and I will not lie, that type of thing hits me in the feelz.
For me, it’s that type of event that makes the time there most worth it. Only thing that is even more important is the rare occasion we get someone who trained on that beach as a NCDU or UDT. Not many of those left. We had a man come in on his 100th B Day with his family once, had not seen the area since it was a massive Navy Base 8 decades ago, and I will not forget such experiences.