Vietnam War veterans are finally getting an exhibit at the Barton County Historical Society Museum and they are also planning to add a memorial at Veterans Memorial Park, said veteran Larry Parsons.
The new exhibit at the museum was unveiled Thursday and featured uniforms and items donated or loaned by Barton County veterans of the Vietnam War. Ghazi Jahay, Ellinwood, brought his Army uniform and a colorful jacket that sports a map of Vietnam, the years 1970-71, and the words, “When I die I’ll go to heaven because I’ve served my time in hell — Da Nang (a major base with the U.S. Army during the war)”.
Jahay said he was promoted to the rank of Spec. 5 at least five months earlier than the rules allowed at the behest of his commander. “I was a combat medic with the 1st of the 1st Armed Cavalry, with a tank unit.” One of the most-decorated combat divisions of the United States Army, they saw more combat than any other soldiers in Vietnam, he said.
Parsons donated a ring and a lighter from his military days. He also provided shadow-box displays of the six veterans from Barton County who died in the Vietnam War. These men were also recognized when The Wall That Heals, a replica of the Vietnam Memorial, came to Great Bend earlier this year. Parsons was one of the organizers of that event and surviving family members of those veterans received similar shadow boxes at the opening ceremony. “Now we want the community to be able to see them,” he said.
When he prepared the shadow boxes for the family presentation, he wanted to learn more about the men who gave their lives in service. He researched old newspaper clippings and has assembled a book of those for the display at the historical society.
Several Vietnam veterans visited the museum on Thursday for the opening of the new exhibit. Brad Maddox shared a “P 38” can opener, issued with canned field rations (C Rations). These small, metal tools, each about 1.5 inches long, were included with each set of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). Maddox said the “P” stood for “puncture” and “38” was the number of cuts it took to go around a can.
Small mementos became cherished keepsakes. Parsons saved a menu from his 1967 Thanksgiving meal in Vietnam. It was a traditional meal with roast turkey and all the trimmings. “That was a feast to us,” he said.
Marcella Birzer said her husband, the late Robert Joy, saved many items.
“Bob talked a lot about Vietnam,” she said. The display includes his field compass and medals. One item he considered especially precious is now on loan to the museum. It is a calendar from 1969 in which he recorded the mortar attacks of each day. Joy went on to be an art teacher and artist in Great Bend. The calendar includes some of his early drawings along with his notations. (Joy passed away on March 28, 2023.)
For Thursday’s exhibit opening, guests were greeted by 10-year-old Gratian McCaffery, a junior ambassador to the museum who is the grandson of the historical society’s research coordinator Linda McCaffery. Gratian was wearing an Army uniform that belonged to his great uncle, Leroy Mares, who served during the Vietnam War. First Sgt. Mares was a drill sergeant who received a bronze star, Gratian said.
He has several uniforms and planned to wear a replica of a World War I uniform on Friday when he would participate in a flag-folding ceremony at Ellinwood Grade School.
The Barton County Historical Society Museum is located just south of the Arkansas River bridge in Great Bend at 85 South U.S. 281. Winter hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
Vets Park Memorial
Parsons said a group of veterans, including himself, also plans to build a Vietnam veterans memorial at Great Bend’s Veterans Memorial Park in 2024. The site has been chosen and five members of the group met with Bruce and Brent Bitter from B&B Metal Arts in Hoisington about a possible design.
