The Army left behind some bullets.
And some pins and patches, plus a couple of partial poker hands.
Those were some of the items recovered recently during the renovation of a Fort Vancouver National Historic Site landmark, the two-story infantry barracks across the street from the O.O. Howard House.
It was among the property handed over to the National Park Service in 2012, following the Army’s gradual pullout from Vancouver Barracks a few years ago.
The structure is now the headquarters of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, a transition we covered a couple of weeks ago.
Preparing the 1907 building for service into the 22nd century was an interesting opportunity, said Elaine Dorset, an archaeologist at Fort Vancouver.
“It’s unusual for us to have these historic structures rehabilitated and have construction work on the exterior and interiors. Several things were found behind walls or radiators,” Dorset said, maybe locations where “soldiers plugged up drafty spots.”
The lost-and-found items included an embroidered U.S. Army service forces shoulder patch with an unexpected local link.
“The service forces were developed as a result of reorganization by Gen. (George) Marshall,” commander at Vancouver Barracks in the 1930s. As Army chief of staff during World War II, “He only wanted to have three forces report to him: ground, air and services.”
(Branches of service forces included the quartermaster and signal corps, Corps of Engineers, and the medical and ordnance departments.)
“There is a 7th Infantry distinguished unit pin, and an Army first sergeant collar pin that’s in excellent shape,” Dorset said.
More Army-related finds: some live cartridges and several sheets of Army orders from 1959.
Other artifacts reflect how some soldiers spent their spare time.
“Playing cards were found in a couple of places. Three had been slipped into a small hole in the floor, between the first floor and the basement ceilings: two aces and a jack,” she said. “We’re thinking there’s a story there.”
There also is a remnant of a century-old pulp-fiction periodical, “New Story” magazine.
The magazine was published from 1911 to 1915, and contributors included “Tarzan” author Edgar Rice Burroughs.
These items were not discovered by park service archeologists, by the way.
“The general contractor and the subcontractors are the ones who found all the items and brought them to us,” Dorset said. “We’re pleased with how enthusiastic they were.”
Off Beat lets members of The Columbian news team step back from our newspaper beats to write the story behind the story, fill in the story or just tell a story.
