The DeLand Naval Air Station Museum at one time was a training base for dive bomber pilots during WWII from 1942 to 1946.  Eventually when the city took back the airport they took the station and made it a museum. The museum is not very large but it features ammunition, a two-seater Dauntless Dive Bomber critical in WWII, Aircraft models and parts, guns, historical newspapers, books, photos and videos from all the various wars the U.S. had involvement in. The historical hangar nearby contains vintage helicopters and memorabilia from the Korean War. Currently a Vietnam veteran purchased the PTF-3 Nasty for restoration it was transferred to the museum recently from Fort Lauderdale then to Edgewater only finally to end up sitting on the museums property. It was deteriorating in a boat yard and ready to be scrapped. Before all that it was in Norway. 

During the Vietnam War torpedo gun boats were used. The PTF Stood for Patrol Torpedo Fast. At one time in 1962 this boat was top secret some said because of this boat it increased animosity between the U.S. and Vietnam. Since this 80 foot boat was very fast it was able to carry out raids on a covert level. Because these boats were secretive when the war ended most PTF's sat up in Virginia rusting away very few are in museums or preserved. These gunboats played a major role in the war and often people have forgotten about the 50,000 soldiers who died. In WWII gunboats were used to drop soldiers off on land but many did not know the role they played in Vietnam. 

One of the most well known roles that PTF-3 played in the Vietnam War was the Tonkin Gulf incident of 1964 which was said to escalate into a bigger war hence Vietnam. The gunboat was involved with damage a communications tower, water tower and some buildings in the northern Vietnam islands. In return Vietnam retaliated by torpedoing the USS Maddox a destroyer which was also in the Gulf Of Tonkin at the time. In my opinion you can see that violence and war creates only the same in return. But this incident caused Congress to authorize military actions in Vietnam causing the war. 

One of the reasons I wanted to get out there to the museum was that I read the newspaper article that the boat was currently under restoration thanks to the effort of the Boy Scouts. Although it will take two years to restore I thought to myself this boat has got to be haunted just sitting there all alone behind the museum. I would love to board it and perhaps sometime I will. The boat eventually will be used in a program called the Sea Scouts which will train teens boating skills along the St. Johns River. I am not sure if the boat will be able to be maneuverable on the St Johns since parts of it are shallow or narrow. 

So there is alot of history to the museum and since it sits within the airport the whole area has alot of history as it was part of a air and naval base. With all the history here it is no wonder as to why it would not be haunted. There is perhaps a real gloomy feel around here at night its like if you stare beyond the gates you can almost feel like something is back there just watching you. But sitting down for awhile and day dreaming you could actually imagine at one time how pilots and such reported to this station as some would dock there bombers in the nearby hangars. 

© By

Rick-AngelOfThyNight