Twenty-nine Spiro GEAR UP juniors traveled to Muskogee, OK. to visit the Muskogee War Memorial Park: Home of the USS Batfish submarine. James Erb, the Curator of the War Memorial Park and Museum, welcomed the students as they entered the museum. He gave them a short presentation about the museum, its artifacts, and his military background. Next, the students toured the museum at their own pace. Erb mingled and walked around, answering questions and giving more information about the artifacts. The USS Batfish is closed due to the flood in May of 2019. The Muskogee War Memorial Park and Museum are still open to the public while raising money for the submarine’s repairs. The USS Batfish submarine, missiles, and many more large military artifacts are on the park grounds. The student’s favorite part was ringing the 681 Batfish Brass Bell found inside the museum.

The field trip was sponsored by Eastern Oklahoma State College GEAR UP. Eastern received a $17 million federal GEAR UP grant in 2017 and will serve over 3,000 students in 39 area schools for seven years.