FORT BENNING, Ga. (WRBL) — This time of year, it's common to be asked "What did you do this summer?" But one Columbus State University junior has an answer that is anything but ordinary.
Andy Knap, a history major at CSU, spent his summer working at the U.S. Armor and Cavalry Collection on-post at Fort Benning. He's done everything from researching to assisting in tank restorations.
"I've been working heavily with the curator, [Robert] Cogan, here," Knap explained. "He's basically been giving me a bunch of these kind of jobs [that] I would be doing as a curator of a museum, which is eventually the position I want to get to."
This summer, Knap has helped put tracks back onto a WWII-era Sherman tank, given tours and worked with Cogan to manage the collection's administrative and logistical tasks.
It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which Knap has steadily worked towards, having spent multiple years as a volunteer for the collection.
Knap's CSU mentor, the school's Col. Richard R. Hallock Distinguished Chair in Military History, Dr. David Kieran spoke positively of his student.
"Andy is a wonderful student who has a real passion for military history," Kieran said. "He really exemplifies the kind of intellectual curiosity and passion that we hope our students will cultivate while they are with us."
According to Kieran putting together the internship was a collaborative effort between CSU, the Armor and Cavalry Collection – which was willing to host Knap as an intern – and the U.S. Armor and Cavalry Heritage Foundation – which funded the internship.
"It's nice taking someone who has shown such an interest in working in museums and showing them what takes place behind the scenes," said Cogan, Knap's curator mentor for the summer.
The curator added that his work often means suiting up to give tours, as much as it means getting dirty to work on armored vehicles in the collection. He pointed to a row of tanks.
"What you see behind me here on the exhibit floor, it's not even 5% of what goes on in an actual museum," Cogan said.
He's made sure Knap is able to get experience with some of the other 95% of museum curation.
As part of his work with the Sherman, Knap also spent significant time researching Staff Sgt. Lafayette Poole, a WWII tank crew and -platoon commander, who was the recipient of a Distinguished Service Cross. Knap said Poole would have worked with a tank similar to the Sherman he helped restore.
Knap plans to publish a journal article about his work and research over the summer in the Armored Cavalry Journal. It will be one more step closer to Knap someday becoming a curator.
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