When our oldest suggested we tour Ft. Knox, we said yes and we would like some samples… We did visit Ft. Knox and we did see the area where the gold is kept. We could not visit the spot where the gold bullion is housed, as no visits are allowed by the public. The signs near the entrance to the separately gated entrance also spell out plainly no pictures, although you can see it from the nearby road and if you perform a google search the term “Ft. Knox” a picture of the gold storage complex comes up. Staying safe, I have not included a picture.

We enjoyed a tour of Ft. Knox with our oldest who was staying there for training for several weeks. His wife and son did fly in and stayed with us for a week so they would be close. We enjoyed being with our grandson and daughter-in-law. We also found that E-town (Elizabethtown) is a great spot to hang out;  we were at Freeman Lake Park on more than one occasion.

The whole family got a personal tour of the base. It is separated from the gold reserves, and even our son (and all of the others on post) do not appear to have access to visit the gold. Like a lot of bases, it covers a large area. It was the training area for the tanks. That has since moved, although several tanks remain as historic fixtures.

We were excited to see the graduation ceremony. Fortunately, we live close enough to Ft. Knox to attend the ceremony. Not too many friends and family could attend as the program drew from all over the country.

Lessons Learned

I enjoyed the group of soldiers reciting the creed. It made me proud to be the father of an American Soldier. I do not think I had heard the creed recited as a group; it made an impact on all of us present watching the ceremony.

Other Fun

After the graduation ceremony, I was excited to run a 5k on base—it was a course just for me, designed by me to avoid sitting and waiting. Who else, other than soldiers stationed at the fort, can say they have run at Ft. Knox? Our soldier needed time to have his room on post cleared and checked prior to all of the graduation class leaving. I am sure there were several goodbye’s as well between all of the soldiers attending.

Attached to Ft. Knox, but entered by a public gate, is the Patton Museum. Outside of the museum are several tanks, which are no longer part of the training at Ft. Knox. It was nice to see them inactive and up close.  

I enjoyed my tour of the Patton Museum and will plan to come back with my friends and make a longer stay at the museum. I learned some good information about Patton as well as the museum’s focus on leadership in the military.

The museum gift shop is the only place to mention gold and the fort’s place in history holding the gold reserves. It had well done displays of movies made on the post as well as a representation from the James Bond movie that “took place” at the fort.

A sample WWII barracks is also outside of the museum, free and open to the public. It is a quick look into how my dad was probably setup for basic training in early 1940s when he was training in Texas for WWII.

The only place I saw a “gold bar” was at the visitor’s center, and they were designed as a kid’s coin repository.

No biking on this trip to Ft. Knox. Now I can say that I have biked on a military base (Ft. Jackson) and run on a military base (Ft. Knox).