Local man to showcase Vietnam memorabilia at VFW Veterans Day event
Nov. 10—Chuck Simpson, a collector of military memorabilia, recalled watching a veteran examine a tin drinking cup that Simpson was displaying at an event.
The veteran told him about his time in the field, filling a similar cup with ice and whiskey.
Later, Simpson saw the veteran sitting alone, drinking a beer. Simpson had a duplicate of the tin cup. He pulled it out of storage and went to sit with the veteran.
I want you to take this and go home and have a drink for your friends, Simpson told the veteran.
A few moments later, Simpson glanced back to where he had sat with the man. The veteran was gone, his beer left behind.
Simpson can only imagine the emotion the veteran felt about the gift. He was inspired to start his collection eight years ago in honor of his relatives who served in Vietnam. He continues building it for all the men and women who have served.
Simpson plans to donate his collection when the new military museum opens in Peru across from the Grissom Air Reserve Base.
Simpson served as well, but at a time when the U.S. military saw budget cuts, and he received an honorable discharge after basic training, he said with a wistful tone as if something important to him had been taken away.
The collection sits in a room within his apartment. There's a table full of Vietnam-era items. The centerpiece is a museum-quality replica of an M-16 rifle. In one corner is a display case that includes a World War I helmet. Another corner houses a collection of model airplanes and Desert Storm trading cards. In the center of the room is a clothing rack filled with a variety of uniforms.
He said one of the most popular pieces in his collection is a box of rations containing cigarettes, matches, chewing gum, toilet paper and a meal. The C-rations he owns had a dinner of spaghetti and beef chunks.
"Seventy years old," he said. "I don't know if I would eat it."
There are several mannequins in the room, one clothed with Huey helicopter flight crew gear, all items that he dated as being from 1967-1969.
It's the Vietnam-era pieces that are most important to him. He said he had two uncles serve tours of duty in the war. He will showcase those pieces from 5-9 p.m. Saturday at the Logansport VFW, 1023 Erie Ave., on Veterans Day.
The VFW Veterans Day event will also include a meal of pulled pork, mac and cheese, baked beans and chips from 5-7 p.m. Broken Spoke will perform from 6-9 p.m. There will also be a 50/50 drawing and a silent auction featuring war plane models.
"It's usually a good time," he said. "I get a lot of turn out at my table. A lot of questions."
He said veterans love to talk and he is ready to listen.
"I love talking to the vets," he said. "That's what it's all about and that's what I do."
Simpson said he's invested not only money, but a lot of time in hunting down items for his collection.
He didn't get to serve his country very long, but he's content being a caretaker of United States military artifacts.
"I just do it for the vets," he said. "Keep their history alive. Once you see that spark in their eye—just seeing the littlest thing that brings back a memory, then next thing you know you are standing there talking to them for an hour. That's what I like. That's what it's all about. I do it for them."
