Just an old phone made of Bakelite plastic, nothing more. This phone is just an object until you think about the conversations and the people who used it. And what if someone really bad, someone evil beyond understanding, used it to make calls? How would you feel about it then?
Those thoughts were going through my mind as we drove to the U.S. Army Signal Corps Museum southwest of Augusta, Georgia to see Hitler’s telephone and other artifacts. This phone was used by one of most horrible people in recent history. Used to give orders for diabolical and inhuman plans, his sharp, callous German accent yelling into the phone, spit on the receiver. This phone was not destroyed by the war. It sat in a warehouse for years until it was placed here at this museum.
I’m glad it is under a case, but it still makes me really uncomfortable.
It, along with many other historical artifacts revolving around communication and the signal corps reside here. The U.S. Army Signal Corps Museum at Fort Gordon is a permanent historical and educational institution, providing training and education to soldiers, military dependents and the general public on all aspects of the history of the Signal Corps, the development of Fort Gordon and vicinity, and the U.S. Army. As you walk down the hallways you will see the evolution of military history in communication, from flags to balloons to radio.
There are lots of really cool things to see here which were, in many ways, part of major historical events in history.
Recently, the museum acquired the doomsday phone from the Pentagon and one from the Imperial Army Headquarters in Tokyo. The exhibits are amazing and cover early U.S. signal corps history up to the present.
So, if you are ever in Augusta, you will definitely want to make a trip down to Fort Gordon to see this museum. It’s worth the drive! I’ll see you next time on Stories, Secrets and Sagas.
