Marine Corps Captain visits City

She was greeted by Ken Williams, retired US Navy Lieutenant Commander, and Patsy O’Kane, proprietor of the hotel, who are members of a local historical association which is opening a museum telling the story of the US Naval Operating Base and the US Marines who guarded it from 1942 until 1944.

Captain Moore is currently serving as a pilot in the HMX-1 Presidential Helicopter Squadron, based at Quantico, Virginia.

‘Marine One’ is the call sign used when the President is on board.

Natalie was on vacation in Ireland but, said yesterday: “When I was planning my trip I heard about how Derry had hosted the US Marines during WW2 and I knew that I had to visit, especially on such a significant anniversary.”

Ken Williams is a retired US Naval officer, living in the city and is a keen supporter of the Base One Europe Museum idea.

“I had the good fortune to be stationed at the US Naval Communications Station at Clooney in Derry for two years in the early 1970’s. The role the US military played in Northern Ireland and especially Derry during WWII, was a vital contribution to victory in Europe. The establishment of a museum to preserve and commemorate this period in Derry’s history is long overdue,” he said.

The US Naval Base Londonderry was officially commissioned in February 1942, with sites across the City and its rural hinterland, including the grounds and fields around the Beech Hill. Given the significance of the work being undertaken in the naval base, the First Provisional Marine Battalion was formed in the United States and the first contingent of Marines arrived in Derry on May 12, 1942 to guard the naval base.

One of the interesting artefacts at the Beech Hill is a bronze plaque presented to the Mayor in 1943 on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Marine Corp landing in Northern Ireland.

The plaque and other items is will go on display in the museum room at the Beech Hill.

Work is also underway to create trails throughout the grounds where visitors will be able to see the imprint left by the camp and, as Patsy O’Kane explained, in tandem with the work on the developing museum room and outdoor trails, there will be a programme of events at the Beech Hill in this anniversary year, cumulating in the re-creation of a ‘Marines Ball’ in November.