NORTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN (WAOW) -
A controversy surrounding a WWII cannon is heating up. It
currently sits outside the National Guard office in Wisconsin Rapids.
But some say that's not where the piece of history belongs.
Some say the cannon was sent to Wisconsin Rapids for
repairs. While others say they aren't even sure when or how it got there.
The WWII Japanese cannon sits under the sun at the National
Guard office in Wisconsin Rapids. Some want it returned to its former home.
More than 40 years ago it was in Stevens Point. And veterans there say that's
where it belongs.
"It was here in the first place," Portage County Allied
Military Veterans Council Chairman Duane Miskulin said.
Even though no one is really sure when it was removed,
veterans in Stevens Point want it back.
"Like to have it back so we're back to complete like years
ago," Miskulin said.
Experts believe it was first donated in 1948. They say it
was removed and taken to Wisconsin Rapids around the 1970s.
"Doesn't say when it arrived or when it left," Miskulin
said.
And no one is really sure why. Veterans say now that the
memorial in Stevens Point has been improved, they want the cannon to return
home.
"It's now been restored and we would like the WWII cannon
brought back to where it's been a number of years ago," Miskulin said.
Officials at the National Guard office declined to talk on
camera. But tell me they aren't sure who the cannon belongs to, who owns it or
who has the right to remove it. But they are looking into the matter.
State Representative Louis Molepske sent a letter and an email
to the National Guard office. He's asked for the cannon to be returned to
Stevens Point.
"While it may not seem like a big deal to many people, it is
to the vets and we feel it went to Wisconsin Rapids and it's time to bring it
home," Molepske said.
"I think we can come to some kind of agreement and have it
back here in Stevens Point," Miskulin said.
Molepske told Newsline 9 he plans to follow up, while
officials at the National Guard office say they are still looking into the
matter.
