Army personnel posing with gun emplacement Battery Leary-Merriam during firing practice at the Army installation at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro. Battery Leary-Merriam, constructed during the years 1916-1919 as a single two-gun emplacement, could fire a 1560 pound projectile fourteen miles out into the Catalina Channel. In the beginning, each gun was designated as a separate tactical battery, thus creating the hyphenated name. Later on, however, the battery was considered to be a single tactical unit. The effectiveness of these fixed gun emplacements was debated for many years, and nearby residents were unhappy about the test firings. At WWII's end, the guns were starting to be removed, with the last decommissioned in 1948. Two emplacements are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Battery Osgood-Farley (in 1976) and Battery John Barlow and Saxton (in 1982). Fort MacArthur, named in honor of Lt. Gen. Arthur MacArthur, father of Douglas MacArthur, was formally created on October 31, 1914 and first served as a training center during World War I. The first large gun batteries for harbor defense were installed there in 1917.
United States.--Army Military bases--California--Los Angeles Military training camps--California--Los Angeles Artillery--California--Los Angeles Fort MacArthur (Calif.) San Pedro (Los Angeles, Calif.)
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