In a rare moment of spare time, I opted to make a one and a half hour run south from Gig Harbor, Washington to Chehalis to the Veterans Museum. It was well worth the journey.

These ladies and gentlemen, and they all are of the highest calibre, gave me a warm welcome. I remodeled a house for a couple 12 years ago. Cupcake happened to run into them at Chez Depot the other day and she mentioned my new book. Scott and Jean said her dad Ernie was a volunteer at the museum on Thursdays so I opted to run down there with some book materials and a poster. Unfortunately Chip Duncan, the Museum director, wasn’t in so my request for a little space was not immediately addressable.

On to the museum. The displays begin with the Revolutionary War and move forward through America’s history touching on most of our spats over the decades. The World War 2 exhibit is especially poignant as it encompasses both my father’s and my uncle’s service.

The Vietnam War exhibits brought back many raw moments. I thought I was immune to these feelings after 40 years. Seems I was wrong. As for displays, rarely have I seen a collection so complete in every regard with attention to accuracy of detail. Few remember, but we had three-pronged tips on our barrels then. I did see one Car-15 (shortened carbine version of an M-16) with the full shroud, but some of those were reported to have that. They had a nice A1 Air Force version with no bolt assist on the right side as well.

M-14 (top) with an A1 Air Force “smoothie” (no bolt assist) below; Bottom is a big favorite of mine- the M-79 we called “Thumper”

Unexpectedly, they have many demilled, DEWATs including two-count them-two M-79 thumpers and a like new M-60. I also spotted a lovely old friend- the venerable G3 .45 grease gun. There must have been a million of those left over from WW2 because they were all over up in Laos. I found an AK displayed in the Afghanistan cases and an old Russian SKS in another cabinet with some Spanish American rifles.

Russian SKS

M-60

Another 40 Mike Mike thumper-this one looks like New In Box

The glare on the cabinet was nasty but here’s a couple of shots of a battle weary old friend. This is the original with the “organ grinder ” handle of the G3. The G3A1 had the more recessed version slotted in on the receiver.

Original G3

G3 .45 cal.

They have no RPG-2 launcher so I agreed to take mine down there when the books arrive next week.

As I mentioned, this is quite possibly the premier destination for Vet Dads this summer.  Here’s the web site and information on it. Rarely do you get this much under one roof in one place. Their collection of old M-2s and Model 1918 HMGs is tremendous. And in addition to guns, they have some beautiful period dress and uniforms from as far back as the Civil War.

This probably isn’t going to be the wife’s cup of tea unless she’s a hardcore vet too, but the sheer volume of artifacts is enough to boggle the imagination. I spent almost two hours in the exhibits. The museum was completed in 2005 and looks like it was built yesterday. The gift shop is well-stocked with all sorts of “gotta haves” as well. If you live up in the northwest corner of the Left Coast, this would be a valuable stop on your way through Chehalis. It’s a hop, skip and a jump off the freeway with a super-easy return. Add in that it’s not on a busy boulevard with a gaggle of people and it makes for a enjoyable outing.

Admission is cheap, too. $5.00 for the 8 percenters and $6.00 for Cupcakes. You can join for $20.00/year and support a wonderful cause, too.