Pictured from left are veterans Gerald Romine, RJ Hill and Bill Boardman in front of the restored cannon.

MENTONE — The M.M. Howitzer cannon that once sat in front of the Mentone American Legion is back in prime condition after a local resident decided to restore it.

“The cannon actually belongs to the army,” said Tim Croy who serves on the city council. “They have a place in Michigan that fixes them [cannons], but when I called up there to have them repair it [the cannon] they had no record of us even having it.”

The cannon was brought to Mentone in 1945 after World War II. With its deteriorating condition Croy decided he would take it upon himself to get the cannon restored. With the financial and laborious help of more than a dozen other people, Croy managed to restore the cannon in just three years. He then tracked down the remaining members of the former Mentone American Legion 425 to inform them of the restoration.

There are three surviving veterans from the Mentone American Legion:

• Bill Boardman, served in Korea from 1952-54 with the US Army X Corps Artillery. Boardman also did 18 month of temporary duty with the 45th battalion. Boardman joined the Mentone American Legion in 1957.
• Robert “RJ” Hill, served with the Marine Corps from 1951-54, spending 1952-53 in Korea. He spent 30 years in charge of the funeral color guard. Hill joined the Mentone American Legion in 1951.
• Gerald Romine, served with the US Signal Corps in Italy from 1946-47, as well as serving with the Air Force Reserve from 1950-54. Romine joined the Mentone American Legion in 1946.

The Legion disbanded in the early 1960s after less than 20 years of service. The cannon, which sat on a cement slab outside of the Legion on SR 19 and SR 25, was moved to the Mentone Cemetery when the building was sold in 1963. The gentlemen were excited to see the restoration of the cannon and appreciated Croy’s service to the town.

“Tim is one of the best people to ever serve on our council,” stated Hill.

The Burket Boy Scouts put in community service hours to help with the project by cleaning and scraping paint from the cannon. Partnered with the Mentone Fire Department they used high pressure hoses to blast away rust before the cannon was repainted.

The wheels were the final element of the restoration and were reattached on Oct. 13. Schwartz Wheels out of Bremen fabricated the wheels by hand. To avoid the same problem of pooling moisture causing rot, Schwartz made the wheels just an eighth of inch smaller in diameter to allow the wheels to be turned.

Croy would like to thank the following people for the generosity in the project: Barb Ross; Barb Smith; CM Tucker Farms; Richard and Carol Long; Tim and Jackie Croy; Bill and Linda Cochran; Roger and Linda Montel; John and Lorett Croy; Josh Shepherd; Schwartz Wheels; Jeremy Lybarger; Terry Dowell; Mervin Jones; Doug Bouley; the Town of Mentone; Mentone Fire Department; Burket Boy Scout Troop 782.