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| The Wiley Armory today |
How well I remember Waynesburg’s Memorial Day Parades of
the 1950s, full of marching troops, bands and floats. My grandmother, Mrs. Asa
G. Wiley, was one of the Gold Star mothers who wore a corsage and rode in a convertible.
People cried when they passed by. Too young to understand, I later realized that
they were honoring her loss of a son in World War II, my uncle, Capt. Robert C.
Wiley, for whom the Armory is named.
His widow, Rona (Tuttle) Wiley, was the borough tax
collector at that time. My family and I watched the parade from her second
floor office windows near the police station.
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| American Legion James Farrell Post No. 330 Drum and Bugle Corps ca. 1928. Photo courtesy of Waynesburg Borough. |
Uncle Bob had first enlisted in Waynesburg’s storied Company
K of the Pennsylvania National Guard while attending Waynesburg College in the
1920s. The Armory on North Washington Street was their training site.
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| Captain Robert C. Wiley. Photo courtesy of his sister, Margaret Wiley Morgan. |
When Company K mobilized in February 1941, Uncle Bob was
34 years old, married and the father of a son, considerably older than the
other volunteers whom he supervised. But, he was unwilling to abandon “his boys,”
many of whom he had taught and coached at local high schools. He left Waynesburg
as the First Sergeant of Company K, and within two years was company commander.
Company K was part of the Pennsylvania 28th Division. After extensive
training stateside, they deployed to Europe in September 1943 and joined the
Normandy invasion in July 1944.
On August 9, 1944, in a fierce battle with the Germans
near St. Lo, most of his officers were killed or wounded. Despite being severely
wounded, he continued to lead until he was killed by a sniper four days later. Posthumously,
he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second highest
award for valor.
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| Early postcard view. |
When constructed in 1914, the Waynesburg Armory was the
finest public structure in Greene County, one of 20 built across the state. The
legislature had appropriated $30,000 for its construction by W. L. Blair &
Sons of Waynesburg. Earlier, Company K had been headquartered on the third
floor of the Ross Building on South Morris Street, today Hot Rod’s restaurant.
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| 1950's view, courtesy of Waynesburg Borough. |
The all-brick armory had a two-story administrative wing
in front and large drill hall in the rear.
The low-pitched, steel truss roof
had wide overhanging eaves, typical of the Prairie style of architecture developed
in the Mid-West at that time by architects Louis Sullivan
and Frank Lloyd Wright.
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| Plaque above entrance door. |
Commissioned officer rooms, lockers and dressing
facilities were on the main floor with a community lending library and
amusement room above, and in the basement, kitchen, showers and steam heating
plant. The large drill hall was 60 x 75 feet with an 18-foot arched ceiling and
wood floor. It was used for many community events including early Waynesburg
College basketball games. It was named the Robert C. Wiley Armory in 1999.
For almost a century, Wiley Armory housed an Army or
National Guard unit until the last occupant, Company B of the 110th
Infantry, moved to a new “Readiness Center” in Evergreene Technology Park
outside of town in 2010. Waynesburg University purchased the old armory and
renovated it, retaining the Wiley name. It is now used for administrative
offices and university athletics.
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| Wiley Armory is now owned by Waynesburg University. |
