Alba Park Cannon - Static Artillery Displays on Waymarking.com

I'm really not sure of the history behind this one, but the park is a nice little city park behind what used to be the Medford Library.

*UPDATE 11/25/2020* The City of Medford Parks and Recreation website contains a PDF document that highlights the history of this piece of artillery and it reads:

The Japanese Type 41 (1908) 75mm Mountain Gun was identified as such in May 2004 by the West Point Museum. In 2008 correspondence from L. Jensen of the museum the gun history was described in excerpt below:

“The gun in the park is a Japanese type 41 (1908) 75mm Mountain Gun. It is described in a U.S. Army technical manual, TM-E 30-480, Handbook on Japanese Military Forces, Oct 1944-Sept 1945 pp. 393-394 as follows:

This weapon was originally the standard pack artillery gun, but is now largely superceded in mountain artillery regiments by the Type 94 (1934) 75mm mountain gun. The Type 41 is now issued to infantry regiments, on a basis of four guns per regiment, and is thus often referred to as the “regimental gun.” Though light and easily handled, the weapon is very steady in action.

Virtually all of these captured Japanese guns were brought into the United States after World War II for distribution to states and communities. Federal records of transfers are scattered. These guns are no longer plentiful as they once were. Most that were never issued to communities were scrapped in the 1950’s and 1960’s; local political decisions have relegated many to storage or scrap metal dealers.”

The gun was refurbished by Eagle Scout Jeffrey Adams, Jacksonville and completed May 2009.

What type of artillery is this?: Japanese Cannon Where is this artillery located?: Park What military of the world used this device?: Japan Parking location to view this Waymark: N 42° 19.464 W 122° 52.571 Cost?: 0.00 (listed in local currency) Artillery is no longer operational: yes Still may work: no Are there any geocaches at this location?: There was one actually on the cannon, but it has been archived. There is usually one in the park most of the time, but its location in the park varies. Date artillery was in use: Not listed Date artillery was placed on display: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Two pictures are required for this Waymark. Please take a close up picture of the artillery. Take a second with the artillery in the distance and capture as much of the surroundings as possible. Name the Waymark with first the name of the area and second what the artillery is. An example would be if it were a cannon in front of the Montgomery Armory you would name the Waymark: Montgomery Armory Cannon.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   11/25/2020 NW_history_buff visited it 11/24/2012 ddtfamily visited it 12/15/2009 tvetting wrote comment for it

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