The Roles of Orangetown in America's Military History since 1943.

Project Nike was a U.S. Army project, proposed in May 1945 by Bell Laboratories, to develop a line-of-sight anti-aircraft missile system.

By 1958, the Army deployed nearly 200 Nike Ajax batteries at 40 "Defense Areas" within the United States in which Project Nike missiles were deployed. Within each Defense Area, a "Ring of Steel" was developed with a series of Nike Integrated Firing and Launch Sites constructed by the Corps of Engineers.

The Battery Control Area contained the radar and computer equipment. Housing and administration buildings, including the mess hall, barracks, and recreation facilities, were sometimes located in a third parcel of land. More likely, however, the housing and administration buildings were located at either the Battery Control Area or the Launch Area, depending upon site configuration, obstructions, and the availability of land.

The Launch Area provided for the maintenance, storage, testing, and firing of the Nike missiles. The selection of this area was primarily influenced by the relatively large amount of land required, its suitability to extensive underground construction, and the need to maintain a clear line-of-sight between the missiles in the Launch Area and the missile-tracking-radar in the Battery Control Area.

The New York Defense Area (NY): Combined with the sites located in New Jersey, 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

All of the above is from WIKIPEDIA - the Free Encyclopedia.

My contribution to the story is the role of Orangetown in the New York Defense Area.

The Battery Control Area was on a parcel of the former iconic historical Camp Shanks Port of Embarkation that used over 2,000 plus acres of the Orangetown hamlets of Tappan, Orangeburg, Blauvelt and probably other neighborhoods/communities to process over 1.3 million GIs headed for Europe to fight the nazi army. It was created/built in 1943.

The Missile Program ended 1n 974

That parcel of 7+ acres is now the home of the “Rockland Homes For Heroes” on Western Highway in Tappan. Nine Supportive Apartments were built for homeless veterans and 14 more are being built, all of which will be using the Battery Control Area buildings' footprints. The Project Nike buildings were and are being demolished.

Ergo, “Rockland Homes For Heroes” will be perpetuating the role of our military.

The Launch Area was on Mount Nebo on Clausland Mountain.

For more information please visit www.rocklandhomesforheroes.org