Across from the American Legion Hall in Riverside’s Fairmount Park stands an impressive monument to the city’s participation in wartime production during World War II. The concrete ramp coming out of Lake Evans supports one of many Water Buffalo amphibious vehicles produced in Riverside for nearly four years.
The Water Buffalo, or the LVT (Landing Vehicle – Tracked), started as a response to needing a vehicle that could traverse the Florida everglades after hurricanes. Soon though, the US Navy and Marines became interested in it, and as war broke out, ordered thousands of the amphibious vehicles to be produced for use in the Pacific Theater.
The main contract for production of the Water Buffalo went to the Food Machinery Corporation, or FMC. FMC had a large plant in Riverside that had been making fruit packing equipment. By spring 1942, though, the plant was being converted for war production.
Initially, about 20 vehicles were made each month. By war’s end, about 10 vehicles a day were leaving the plant. Many of them were tested on Riverside’s roads, and lots were taken through their paces in Lake Evans in Fairmount Park.
Production of the Water Buffalo and other war materiel was in full swing when the war ended in August 1945. In the years after, the government found itself with lots of surplus vehicles. It was during this time, probably at the goading of the American Legion, the idea of securing a Water Buffalo as a monument to Riverside’s part in the wartime production was proposed.
Naturally, it took several years to make it happen, but by the fall of 1949, one had been given to Riverside.
On Nov. 2, 1949, Riverside’s Water Buffalo was driven across Lake Evans and up onto the concrete platform made for it. A ceremony honoring the vehicle and the workers in Riverside who had produced them was scheduled for Nov. 11.
At 2 p.m. Nov. 11, hundreds of Riversiders gathered around the Water Buffalo near the American Legion Hall.
After the obligatory speeches, the honor of christening the memorial was given to Inez Villegas, the mother of Ysmael “Smiley” Villegas, a Riverside Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. The champagne bottle to be used was festooned with many ribbons. The ribbons made it hard to hold, and when Inez Villegas went to swing the bottle at the vehicle, the bottle slipped from her hands and landed in Lake Evans. The bottle was retrieved, and given to her as a souvenir. Regardless of the Water Buffalo’s christening state, it was there on its stand to pay tribute to all men and women of Riverside who helped produce it during the war.
For 75 years now, the Water Buffalo has been a part of Lake Evans and Fairmount Park.
It pays tribute to the many people who produced this much-needed military hardware during the war. At a time when Riverside’s population stood at around 35,000, the small citrus town made a huge impact during the war and our Fairmount Park memorial makes sure we won’t forget.
If you have an idea for a future Back in the Day column about a local historic person, place or event, contact Steve Lech and Kim Jarrell Johnson at backinthedaype@gmail.com.
