SALT LAKE CITY — Fifty years ago, Jared Cornell made a deal with himself
“I made a promise to myself that I would fire the cannon again on the 250th anniversary of the army, said Jared Cornell, founder of the Utah Living History Association.
And today, he fulfilled it.
Cornell built a cannon on display during the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday celebration at the U.S. Army Reserve Center at Fort Douglas on Saturday. He said he built the cannon for the U.S. Bicentennial back in 1976.
“We made that promise happen today,” he said. “I bought the barrel and built this gun when I was 19-years-old and here, we are again 50 years later.”
The U.S. Army was founded in 1775, making it the oldest branch of the United States military. The Utah National Guard, the U.S. Army Reserves and other army units celebrated on the same day as the national commemoration in Washington D.C.
The celebration included an army aviation flyover, cake cutting, historic military vehicles, reenactment by several historic military groups, and booths to showcase the U.S. Army’s history.
Mike Haggen, a World War II collector, featured all his collectibles at a booth, including a binder of old family photos.
“My uncle Edward Hans Haggen, he was in Patton’s Third Army, they landed in Normandie in September of 44, a few months after the D-Day landings,” he said. “This is a picture that he kept in his pocket; this was of his mom and dad.”
The Army’s 250-year legacy wouldn’t be possible without the people who’ve put everything on the line.
“We owe so much to them,” Haggen said. “All the freedoms we enjoy are because of them. They didn’t even know what was in store for them at the time, but they were brave enough to do it.”
