has been prominent on South Arendell Avenue for over half a century, and only a small number of old timers know how it came to be here. Its story is interesting even though a sad aspect is that Zebulon lost the Army National Guard unit that made it possible for us to have the building.

Following World War II, small towns in North Carolina were searching for additional payrolls. Zebulon was no exception. The Zebulon Rotary Club was one of the most energetic organizations in the search.

Major Darrell Perry, executive officer of the 113th Field Artillery Battalion with headquarters in Louisburg, was invited to speak at a Rotary meeting about the National Guard. During his presentation, he remarked that a National Guard unit would not make a town rich, but its payroll was equal to a small factory.

The talk of a payroll whetted the Rotarians’ interest. They began searching for someone to head the effort to obtain a National Guard unit for Zebulon.

The search was fruitless. Finally I agreed to leave the Air Force Reserve and join the Army National Guard for a year to get the unit established.

“Get yourself a good First Sergeant and a good cook and you’ll have it made,” I was told.

So retired Sergeant Major Sidney Fuller Holmes agreed to serve for a year to get Battery A, 113th Field Artillery Battalion, organized. He remained in the Guard for more than 20 years, retiring as Battalion Sergeant Major. Former 82nd Airborne Division cook Percy Parrish agreed to head the mess section. With these two top notch soldiers on board, we began recruiting.

The Town of Zebulon agreed to permit use of the rear of the water plant building on East Vance Street as an armory and appropriated several hundred dollars to construct a small supply room and a weapons vault.

For a Guard unit to gain federal recognition, it had to have at least 22 members. In early summer 1949, we enlisted the 22nd man. A special formation was scheduled on a Monday night during which an Army colonel arrived with his aides to inspect the 22 men, all in civilian clothes.

They were a mixture of World War II vets and high school students. As the inspector walked in the door, we made a final count of the men in formation. There were only 21! One man was AWOL! While the Army inspector was shown the little supply room, several of the men broke ranks and disappeared. There was some concern about what they had in mind until the colonel made his inspection of the men in ranks, and I was dumbfounded to see 22 standing straight and tall. It was after the colonel left that I realized the 22nd man only had a wooden leg.

“That was the best we could do, Cap’n,” said John Clark, one of the World War II vets.

Subsequent inspections by Army officers confirmed that we had the poorest facilities of any Guard unit in North Carolina. Percy Parrish conducted classes for his mess section in the back of a 2-ton truck.

Other classes were held in the Recorder’s Court room, which also was located in the old water plant. It was a make-shift operation at best. Then Governor Kerr Scott’s attention was called to unit’s predicament. Zebulon was given fifth place on the list of units which were to have new armories. All that was required of the town was four acres of land graded and ready for construction to begin. The cost of construction — $120,000 — would be paid with state and federal funds.

Our turn came, and in 1952 Battery A moved into a brand new armory. Governor William Umstead was invited to speak. It was his first public appearance since he had suffered sickness that nearly killed him, and we had an ambulance stationed by the armory’s rear door for emergency use.

The governor made a fine talk and named the building Davis Armory in honor of Eric Farmer Davis, the first Zebulon citizen to be killed in combat in World War II. He lost his life the first week of January 1942 in the Philippines fighting the Japanese.

Battery A provided the beginning of outstanding military careers for many of Zebulon’s young men. Several rose to command the 113th A Battalion, which had Headquarters in Louisburg, a service battery in Youngsville, and firing batteries in Roxboro, Dunn, and Zebulon. It also provided new and varied experiences for its members. They traveled to Alabama for their first two summer camps, then to Ft. Jackson, S.C., for the next two. From then on, Guardsmen from Zebulon journeyed all across the U.S. for summer training.

Through the years, Battery A was armed with numerous artillery pieces. Its first was the 105mm howitzer, which First Sergeant Holmes derided as a “peashooter.” It later fired 155mm howitzers, the monstrous and unbelievably accurate 8-inch howitzer, the “Honest John” rocket designed to fire an atomic round, and a launcher that fired multiple rockets.

In 1954, when Hurricane Hazel devastated this part of North Carolina, Executive Officer Jack Potter ordered the local Guardsmen to report to the armory to help clear the streets of Zebulon of debris.

Unfortunately, since his call to duty was done without state approval, none of the Guardsmen were paid for their work. They did not complain. They were happy to have been of service.

As years passed, officials in the North Carolina Adjutant General’s Department reduced the size of the Zebulon unit. From a strength of 150 officers and men, Battery A repeatedly was reduced in size until finally it was deemed a poor investment of Guard funds to permit a 20-man unit to be based in our town.

So, quietly and without publicity, the Army National Guard abandoned Zebulon, and we were left with an empty building.

Not to despair! When the armory site was deeded to the state of North Carolina, the deed was to specify that should the facility not be used for military purposes, title would revert to the Town of Zebulon. But a problem was noted. No mention of this was recorded in the deed.

Thanks to fine work by town officials and the understanding of state officials, the armory finally was deeded back to the town for a buck.

Now Zebulon has a very nice building adjacent to the Zebulon Community Park to house its recreation department and its activities. The money designated to renovate the 57-year-old Davis Armory is far more than its original cost of $120,000, but it will be a bargain.

We lost our Guard unit, but the armory stands as a fine memorial to the unit and the hundreds of local men who served proudly in its ranks.