"I Love The Smell Of Napalm In The Morning"

[thedrifter]

END OF AN ERA

LA Times] Sunday, April 1, 2001

Relegating Napalm to Its Place in History

War: The final cache of the deadly, controversial brew--in Fallbrook--has
been removed. A Texas firm is recycling it for peaceful use.

By TONY PERRY, Times Staff Writer

FALLBROOK, Calif.--More than a quarter-century after the end of the
Vietnam War, a group of American military brass will gather here this week to
declare victory over one of the war's most feared and tenacious
combatants: napalm.

On a hilltop at the Naval Weapons Station, the acting secretary of the
Navy, admirals from San Diego, Hawaii and the Pentagon, and other uniformed and
civilian personnel from the Department of Defense will announce that the
final cache of the liquid fire that became an enduring symbol of the
Vietnam War is on the verge of being converted to peaceful use.

Like the war itself, the push to dispose of 34,561 canisters of napalm was
protracted, expensive ($50 million) and politically controversial. Several
times, the public was assured, prematurely, that the end was in sight.

But now the 10-foot cigar-shaped canisters, which once covered 67 acres,
have been punctured, drained and shredded.

The final canister went through the process late last week. Two empties
will be used symbolically for the "last canister" ceremony at this base 60
miles north of San Diego.

For two years, the smelly, sticky substance has been removed and shipped
by railroad to a firm in Deer Park, Texas that specializes in the recycling
of toxic materials. In all, 2.7 million gallons of the deadly brew of
benzene, gasoline and polystyrene has been shipped to Texas.

The napalm that was once used to destroy enemy locations and protect
advancing American troops has been processed into fuel for factories in
Port Arthur, Texas, and Baton Rouge, La.

Aluminum from the canisters is being turned into airplane and automotive
parts, and the wooden crates are being burned in Tennessee to produce
electricity.

Fourteen of the empty canisters will be sent to a museum at the China Lake
Naval Weapons Center, about 120 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

Officials involved with the napalm removal project hope to interest the
Smithsonian Institution in taking two or three of the olive-drab
containers.

Given the military and political significance of napalm, "it would be a
shame if they were not retained for history," said J.D. Brigance, remedial
project manager for the removal operation.

As the Vietnam War ended, the Navy assumed custody of napalm that had been
produced for the Air Force. By 1978, it was declared surplus and available
for disposal.

Sempers,

Roger

[arzach]

probably a good thing,although i'll miss the smell in the morning!
arzach