1970 National Guard Armory robbery

[Battis]

I'm not sure if this is the correct place for this post...
On Sept. 20, 1970, a National Guard Armory in Newburyport, MA was broken into and robbed of "guns and ammunition." Some reports say that radios and explosives were also stolen; some reports state that all of the stolen items were recovered.
Question: what type of weapons (rifles, handguns, etc) would have been in that armory at that time?

[Taylor]

M16,1911,M60,M203 or M79,C4,ANPRC77,but don't know why the guard would need c4 or claymores.They could have had shotguns and scoped rifles(M21).And squad radio's that never worked to begin with.Grenade's or grenade simulator's.

[Battis]

The reason I ask is that on his prison deathbed in 2011, one of the bad guys claimed that they buried the stolen weapons in the town I live in (the town he grew up in).

[M-Tecs]

I have no idea what the National Guard Armory in Newburyport, MA had at the time but M1 Carbines, M1 Garand's and M14's were used in my area in the mid-70's. Some had S&W model 15's and 50 Cal BMG's.

[jeepyj]

The reason I ask is that on his prison deathbed in 2011, one of the bad guys claimed that they buried the stolen weapons in the town I live in (the town he grew up in).
Just in the town or did he give an area to be able to play treasure hunter?

[commando223]

That would have been too much equipment to handle unless your starting a revolution or something.

[Battis]

If the weapons were buried in this town by a "local", there's most likely only one or two areas where they would have gone to. Of course, they could have come back at any time since 1970 to get them, or maybe he was lying on his deathbed.
They were starting a revolution:
http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/09/16/william_lefty_gilday_dies_at_82/

[snowwolfe]

Even if they were found, unless they were buried with great care and properly protected against rust and corrosion they would most likely have turned to total garbage.

[Rick Hodges]

My Army Reserve unit also had flame throwers.

[rondog]

My Army Reserve unit also had flame throwers.

For "riot control" no doubt.....

[rl69]

If you find a BAR I call dibs

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Time to buy or borrow a metal detector, Battis!

[Battis]

It's one of those "what if" things. I've known about the confession for years, and I walk my dog in the "suspected" vicinity just about every day. The problem is that the "authorities" claim that everything that was stolen was recovered. But, a few weeks ago, I emailed a local radio talk show host who was involved in the death bed confession and I asked her if she thought that stolen items really had been buried in my town and she replied, "Yes...do you know where they are?" That was the extent of the emails.
For the heck of it, yesterday I pulled out a town directory from when the thief was young (1925) and sure enough his family was in that directory (he was listed as a student), and their address was within a half mile from the area that I suspect is the stolen item burial area.
A few years ago some construction workers in town uncovered a bunch of hand grenades in a different location but not far away. What did the geniuses do with them? They put them in the back of their truck and brought them to a cop working a road detail...right in front of a school. Apparently there had been a small munitions plant during WW2 where they found them.
Anyhoo...the stolen/buried weapons possibility is intriguing.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Buried treasure is always intriguing. But, if you make a project out of finding it and advertise what you are doing, you can be certain that after you do all the work of finding it and digging it up someone else will be there to confiscate it. Shhhhh! :idea:

[Battis]

I'm trying to stir up local interest in finding the items. If it was gold or jewels, I'd keep it to myself.

[Taylor]

Time to buy or borrow a metal detector, Battis!

I have one to rent.

[Plate plinker]

My Army Reserve unit also had flame throwers.
That was to defrost stuff right?
[smilie=1:

[Battis]

I wouldn't mind a flame thrower - I'm sick of the ice on my driveway.
In a perfect world, there'd be crate of unissued rifles packed in thick cosmoline waiting for me to find them, but that 's not gonna be the case.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

good luck on your Treasure hunt I just cant but think about Oak island i got sucked into watching that on TV

[Rick Hodges]

That was to defrost stuff right?
[smilie=1:

There was a time when we were supposed to be shoveling out the motor pool .....but that didn't really happen did it?:???:

[xs11jack]

I think Snowwolfe hit the nail on the head. I just don't think the thieves spending the kind of time it would take to gather supplies needed to preserve the weapons properly and do a good job of burying them. They most likely wrapped them in tarps and buried them that way. I don't think they would have more than one night to do all of this as daylight would bring curiosity seekers around to see what is going on.
Battis, I have 6 or 7 metal detectors so if you are really serious about this, I will send you one if you pay shipping.
Ole Jack

[country gent]

In a lot of big cities and even old farmers when things were buried they weren't outside. A few blocks were pulled of the wall or the dirt floor and dug into to hide whatever was being hidden. There were a lot of graves in basements in New York, Detroit and other cities. The old timers here that were alive in the depression all had loose stair treads, loose blocks in basement walls, floor boards, and spots in plaster that were hidden for stashing money and valuables.

[Battis]

Thanks for the offer of the metal detectors. I think it might be time for me to invest in one. I agree that if they did hide the items there, they were in a big hurry, and maybe came back at a later time.
The area where I think the items might be is a forested hill with a river running near the west side. There's an old stage road that skirts the west side of the hill where kids have partied for a long time. The town recently removed some old 1940s era car wrecks from the woods on the side of this road. Back in 1970 this would have been the place to drive a car into the woods at night (Gilday lived on the east side of the hill). I asked a "townie" the other day (I'm not a townie - I came in in 1983) where he would have driven or gone to hide stolen items at night and without question he named the same area. I'm sure most towns have this kind of place, where kids party in the woods, etc.
If I could be sure that the stuff was ever there, I'd start a serious search. For years I heard stories of an old silver mine on that hill but no one knew where it was. I went to the library and searched old newspapers and found one from the mid 1870s that told me where the mine had been. Sure enough, I found it.

And to what Country Gent said - the house that Gilday lived in is on the other side of the hill. It's a big old Victorian built in 1860. I'd love to get into that basement or attic eaves.

[RugerFan]

I have no idea what the National Guard Armory in Newburyport, MA had at the time but M1 Carbines, M1 Garand's and M14's were used in my area in the mid-70's. Some had S&W model 15's and 50 Cal BMG's.

Likely S&W M10 if it was an Army NG unit (as opposed Air National Guard). As I recall Army used the M10 and Air Force used the M15.

[Multigunner]

In the late 60's or early 70's I read a newspaper spread of a find of vehicles and weaponry stashed by a reclusive multi millionaire in the 1920's.
His grand son inherited a small island in the middle of a river and awhile looking over the property he found a ventilation shaft. At the bottom he found tunnels and galleries filled with WW1 era military and civilian trucks and many cases of rifles and machine guns along with millions of rounds of ammunition.
Turned out the grandpa has been certain that civilization would come to an end because of the stock market crash and stockpiled weapons and supplies enough for a large group of followers.

I've tried to look up information on this in recent years with no luck. All I remember was the locals called the island Skull island but that was probably not its real title. The Grandson wanted to build a theme park and hotels there, don't know if he was successful.
Most of what was found was rusty and moisture damaged.

In Florida in the 70's a arms cache left by NAZI agents 30 years before was found buried near an old lighthouse.

[richhodg66]

Whether the stuff is hidden around there or not, this is the kind of lore that makes communities fascinating.