What is Happening on Western Highway in the Hamlet of Tappan ?

This article is a repeat of an earlier story and where we are now and going to. It is not intended to be a legal document, just a story worth telling, including the proud military history of Tappan beyond the American Revolution.

As you probably know that in 1943, the WW II Army took over 2O40 acres of the hamlets of both Tappan and Orangeburg, if not pieces of other hamlets, to build the largest US Army embarkation camp, the largest port of embarkation in the world, named Camp Shanks. The site was chosen because it was on the Erie Railroad tracks and near a Hudson River railroad pier in Piermont, both of which could be used to transport GI's to the New York Harbor where they could board those gigantic ships which would take them across the Atlantic Ocean to the European War.

Over 1.3 million GIs from all over the USA were processed for weeks at Camp Shank to be prepared for war. What followed was sailing across the Atlantic Ocean under tight conditions for England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and North Africa to fight the nazi army. Many never came home from the "Last Stop USA". Most were very young men. 75% were in the world's largest invasion on D-Day on the beaches of France. More than 2,400 were killed in the first day or so. Many are buried in France.

As the war was ending, according to Wikipedia, Camp Shanks also housed 1200 Italian and 800 German prisoners of war between April 1945 and January 1946, with the first Germans arriving in June 1945. At the close of the war, 290,000 POWs passed through Camp Shanks as they were processed for return to their native countries. The last German to leave was on 22 July 1946 according to Wikipedia.

And brilliantly as our Government could be at times, much of the camp property was converted to veteran housing, the biggest GI housing in the country to Rockland's pride. This will be ironic when my story
ends. Eventually the property was transferred back to the Town in many ways, but not all of it.

The next thing that came along in the Fifties was "Project Nike"!

The Project investigated the use of Nike-Zeus missiles as interceptors against Soviet ICBMs in the "Cold War".

Ergo, the New York Defense Area (NY) was created with sites located in New Jersey and New York. The New York sites composed one of the largest defensive nets in the nation. Headquarters facilities were located at Tappan, Fort Totten, Fort Wadsworth, and Roslyn. The Hq of the Tappan site was on former Camp Shanks property, which the Army held on to and the silo launch site was on Clauland Mountain.

When the Program ended the HQ was simply abandoned and most of the silo on the mountain, but not all, was torn down.

The Hq buildings were subsequently occupied by an Army Reserve unit - Company B of 845 Engineering Battalian of 411 Engineering Brigade of the US Army which did not stay long

Then the last remaining parcel of Camp Shanks owned ny the Federal Government was abandoned until declared surplus for use of serving our homeless, with some rare exceptions.

That's when the "Loeb House & the Joseph Home" charities, experts in providing community housing to the handicapped and homeless, created a third charity named "Homes for Heroes Inc." dba "Rockland Homes for Heroes" charity for a lease on the last 14+ acres of the Camp property to serve homeless Veterans.

In 2008, we torn down the old buildings on the top/street level of the parcel along Western Highway and built 8 supportive apartments.

The program was so successful, we decided to add 14 more supportive apartments on the mid-level of the parcel, so we applied to the the New York State Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance for funding and was granted for most of the total cost of the Project. We secured the balance from the Federal Home Loan bank [FHLB] vis a vis Sterling Bank {Thank You} and contributions from the residents of Rockland who support our Veterans. I hope everyone visits the Donor Wall on our web site www.rocklandhomesforheroes.org. to see all our donors and maybe add their name.

At which time, we decided to share the property with the Town for two reasons. One was to cap how many apartments we want on the property and the Orangetown Highway Department could use some of the property to build a program/project to prevent flooding the Sparkill Creek by storm surface water that would be treated before hand. The Program is called the "Homes For Heroes Green Infra Structure". It will soon be opened to the public. It is a brilliant project.

Meanwhile, we are getting ready to start construction on the mid level of the property within the next 90 days of the additional 14 units. The Apartments are intended for honorably discharged homeless Veterans referred to us by the Veterans Administration, the Rockland County Veterans Department and the Rockland County Social Services Department. We, of course, are still seeking financial help as the Bills keep coming very fast and furious.

Please view the photos of what we already built, what we are replacing and what the final construction will produce. I close with an expression of gratitude to the Orangetown Planning Board and Building Department and the thought that what was a site from which so many left home, for so many who returned and found a temporary home and now it's a home for our homeless Veterans. I hope our Project will be a Living Memorial to all.

For more information, please visit our web site

www.rocklandhomesforheroes.org

or email John Murphy at murphy6288@icloud.com