LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. — The Curator of the National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Andrew Walker, attended and presented at the New Jersey History and Historic Preservation Conference on June 13, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Back in October 2012, the National Guard Training Center, located along the coast in Sea Girt, was struck by Hurricane Sandy. The hurricane caused an estimated $36.8 billion of damage in New Jersey alone. The hurricane hit the museum especially hard, damaging 80% of the artifacts in the museum’s collection.

The annual two-day conference brings together participants who have a collective commitment to preserve New Jersey’s current historic landmarks.

Walker spoke during the “We Have a Lot at Risk” panel, hosted by Monmouth University professor and former Fort Monmouth Command Historian, Melissa Ziobro, where he presented the story of the National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey’s recovery from Hurricane Sandy and the lessons learned to better prepare for the unknown road ahead.

“It is important to attend this conference to share with others the impact and more beneficially, our recovery from Hurricane Sandy,” said Walker.

Since taking over the position as curator of the museum in 2019, Walker oversaw the relocation of the Sea Girt museum’s artifacts to a more publicly accessible location just outside the main gate to the training center in Sea Girt. Of particular note, this building is located a half mile from Stockton Lake and on more elevated terrain.

This was the first time Walker presented at the conference, though he plans to continue these collaborations with other historic sites across the state on an annual basis.

“We have seen how unpredictable weather can devastate our collection and we have to hear from the different experiences of other historic sites,” said Walker. “Learning from each other’s past experiences is the best way to better prepare for whatever unknown future weather events might come at us and preserve the long history of the New Jersey National Guard.”

For more information on the National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey, including the Center for U.S. War Veterans’ Oral Histories, visit njmilitiamuseum.org.