Richard Fry wrote:

...
And If it didn't, why would he bother to test it at a site with a
near-perfect, salt water ground system?

RF

Because most antennas are measured against a chosen "standard" antenna
which was/is tested over a perfect/near-perfect ground--I'd imagine ...
(today, the "test standard" is likely to be an antenna modeled by
computer software--however, usually it is modeled over a virtual perfect
ground ...)

But then, your standard may be/have-been some bent coat-hanger
established over the poorest ground you could find in the world?

However, you already knew this ... well, most did.

Regards,
JS