80 Year-Old Cannon Sparks Feud

In what appears to be a giant game of capture the flag for grown-ups (and by “flag” we mean “howitzer”), there’s a bit of a feud brewing in Tacoma.

We read in The News Tribune this morning that the Karpeles Manuscript Library and American Legion Post No. 2 are squaring off over the fate of a cannon. The dispute has gotten so serious that they’ve taken it to court.

The TNT story goes into things in more depth, but to summarize… A 105 millimeter howitzer was delivered by the Army to the American Legion Post property near Wright Park 60-ish years ago. The post sold the property 20-ish years ago to the Karpeles’, leaving the cannon there. Recently the Legionnaires “reclaimed” the howitzer. The library reported it stolen. They went to court. The court ordered the return of the gun to the library – unless the Legionnaires can prove the gun belongs in their possession. They’re working on it. If all this doesn’t get sorted out, it’s possible the matter could end up in a jury trial.

This reads like a lost chapter of Puget’s Sound. We love you Tacoma.

Read the full story from The News Tribune.