![[FEATURE ARTICLE] The Legendary M1 Garand Rifle: “Best Battle Implement Ever Devised”](http://varnumcontinentals.org/new_site45/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/feature_M1_Garand-1024x413.jpg)
The M1 Garand rifle is perhaps the weapon most closely identified with the U.S. infantryman in World War II. General George S. Patton once called it “the best battle implement ever devised.” The 30.06 caliber Garand, weighing in at almost 10 pounds, with its hefty American walnut stock and 8-round clip, is still successful competitively […]
[GALLERY] Varnum Armory’s Updated World Wars Display
![[GALLERY] Varnum Armory’s Updated World Wars Display](http://varnumcontinentals.org/new_site45/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/feature_world_wars_display-1024x413.jpg)
Check out the updated World Wars display at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum! Just go here to book a tour!
[FEATURE ARTICLE] Rhode Island’s Top Secret Ear on the World
![[FEATURE ARTICLE] Rhode Island’s Top Secret Ear on the World](http://varnumcontinentals.org/new_site45/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/feature_scituate_ww2_monitoring_station-1024x413.jpg)
On Darby Road in Scituate, Rhode Island, near the top of the 7th-highest point in the state (732 feet above sea level), is the site of what was once one of the nation’s best kept secrets during World War II: the Chopmist Hill Monitoring Station. In March 1941, the Federal Communications Commission’s Radio Intelligence Division […]
[MAY 9 DINNER MEETING] Guest Speaker LTC Oscar Diano (US Army): The Philippine Scouts and the Last Horse Cavalry Charge in Combat
![[MAY 9 DINNER MEETING] Guest Speaker LTC Oscar Diano (US Army): The Philippine Scouts and the Last Horse Cavalry Charge in Combat](http://varnumcontinentals.org/new_site45/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/feature_oscar_diano-1024x413.jpg)
The Philippine Scouts was a military organization of the United States Army from 1901 until the end of World War II. Made up of Filipino-Americans assigned to the United States Army Philippine Department, Philippine Scout units were given a suffix of (PS), to distinguish them from other U.S. Army units. One of these units, the […]
[FEATURE ARTICLE] The Only Nazi Bomb To Hit North America: An East Greenwich Connection
![[FEATURE ARTICLE] The Only Nazi Bomb To Hit North America: An East Greenwich Connection](http://varnumcontinentals.org/new_site45/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/feature_saint_yvon_torpedo-1024x413.jpg)
This story takes us up north to Canada’s Gaspe Peninsula and involves a well-known East Greenwich resident. Our tale starts in 1942. Canada was under attack by marauding German U-boats that were sinking ships carrying vital supplies to Great Britain as they ventured down the St. Lawrence River and out to sea. Faced with the […]
[FEATURE ARTICLE] The Quonset Hut: A Rhode Island Original That Went to War – Worldwide
![[FEATURE ARTICLE] The Quonset Hut: A Rhode Island Original That Went to War – Worldwide](http://varnumcontinentals.org/new_site45/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/feature_quonset_hut-1024x413.jpg)
It was 1941 and like it or not, America was gearing up for war. One major challenge was how to house people and supplies around the globe. The answer came from right here in Rhode Island: the Quonset hut. This writer recently became interested in this simple, multi-purpose structure while researching another story. As it […]
[FEBRUARY 15 DINNER MEETING] Barbed Wire College: Rhode Island and the Secret POW Camps of World War II
![[FEBRUARY 15 DINNER MEETING] Barbed Wire College: Rhode Island and the Secret POW Camps of World War II](http://varnumcontinentals.org/new_site45/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/feature_wallin_february_2016-1024x413.jpg)
EVENT UPDATE: Due to the possibility of a winter storm, the Varnum Members Meeting scheduled for February 8 has been postponed one week. The new meeting date is MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15. PLEASE RSVP AGAIN: If you have already RSVP’d and plan to attend the February 15 meeting, please RSVP again by FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, to […]
[DECEMBER DINNER MEETING] Guest Speaker: Tim Gray of the World War II Foundation
![[DECEMBER DINNER MEETING] Guest Speaker: Tim Gray of the World War II Foundation](http://varnumcontinentals.org/new_site45/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/feature_tim_grey-1024x413.jpeg)
We are honored to welcome Tim Gray (Chairman of the World War II Foundation and national award-winning documentary film maker) as our guest speaker at the December 2015 Varnum Members Meeting. The World War II Foundation is one of the world’s leading non-profit organizations committed to educating future generations about the personal stories of the […]
[FEATURE ARTICLE] General George Patton: Master of the Sword
![[FEATURE ARTICLE] General George Patton: Master of the Sword](http://varnumcontinentals.org/new_site45/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/patton_02-1024x370.jpg)
Few military exercises are as thrilling as the charge of a cavalry unit, sabers flashing as they face off against the enemy. Of course, in today’s advanced military arsenals, the saber has been relegated to ceremonial use. But as recently as the early days of World War II, you could have witnessed a cavalry charge. […]
[FEATURE ARTICLE] The Aircraft Carriers of Block Island
![[FEATURE ARTICLE] The Aircraft Carriers of Block Island](http://varnumcontinentals.org/new_site45/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Block-Island-CVE-106-1024x434.jpg)
Out on Block Island, there is a small plot of land with a very special memorial: a ship’s bell commemorating the two US Navy aircraft carriers that proudly bore the name USS Block Island. The first, designated CVE-21, was among the Bogue-class of escort carriers that went to sea early in World War II. These […]