New attraction added to Veterans Park

FLORENCE -- No one is sure, yet, how to accurately identify the newest hardware addition to the memorial at Veterans Park

It could be a rocket or a missile or some type of training aircraft. Most everyone is calling it a missile. Either way, Randy Chapin, the memorial's unofficial curator, vows to identify and restore it. All he has to do is locate the identification plate.

The 2,500-pound winged object was transported to the memorial Monday on a flatbed truck from Southaven, Miss.

Its size ensures that Chapin will have plenty to do in the next few months. It is 28 feet long and 28 inches in diameter with a wingspan of about 13 feet. Under the red and white paint, Chapin found the letters, "USAF."

"It's going to be a dilly to do," Chapin said.

The missile arrived at the park simply by chance.

Paul Waddell works for Barnhart Crane and Rigging near Memphis, Tenn., which was recently hired to remove the missile from the Army Surplus Outlet in Southaven, where it had been used as a sign for about 30 years. The words, "Army Surplus Outlet" are painted in white letters on the wings and underbelly.

About two feet of what was actually the top of the missile had been set in concrete, some of which was still inside the missile, which is missing its nosecone.

When the business changed hands, the missile, which appears to be from the 1950s, was in violation of a local sign ordinance, said Ken Waddell, Paul Waddell's father and adjutant of American Legion Post 11 in Florence.

Paul Waddell said the company was hired to remove the missile, then to scrap it.

"When I heard that, I called daddy," Paul Waddell said.

He knew his father and the American Legion were interested in acquiring military hardware to display at the memorial.

There are already several items on display at the memorial, including an anchor, a propeller, two rockets and the most recent addition, an AH1-F Cobra helicopter gunship.

Chapin said the restoration process will likely take several months. He said when the missile is restored, it could be mounted horizontally beside the memorial's Honest John and Hawk missiles.

Russ Corey can be reached at 740-5738 or russ.corey@timesdaily.com.