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Thomas E. Creek VA Hospital Armed Forces Museum


McDermut99
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I decided to make a trip to my local VA hospital in Amarillo and check out their small museum located in the facility. It isn't a huge display but there are some interesting uniforms. Included are two uniforms that belonged to USMC Lance Corporal Thomas E. Creek, who served in Vietnam and was killed in action, posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. I'm not a fan of their preservation and display techniques, but I can't begin that battle currently. With exception to Creek's uniforms, all but one uniform has no name displayed with them. I tried to get good shots of most of the uniforms. Hope you enjoy!

 

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Some uniform close-ups:

WWI 36th Infantry Division

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My personal favorite, a WWII 142nd Infantry Regiment Ike cut down from a four pocket. Note the ribbon rack (missing a row) and waist buttons.

 

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Great display. What is wrong witht the preservation and display? I ask so that I do not make the same mistake. Is it the lighting above that would fade the uniforms?

 

Jacob

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Greens to a WWII and Korea combat vet.

 

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WWII navy vet with many years of service.

 

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WWII ETO signal corps enlisted Ike.

 

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WWII WAC enlisted group.

 

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WWII pilot group.

 

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Interesting 3rd Armored Chocolate chip BDU. This infantry officer was ranger and airborne qualified, and earned a CIB.

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36th Infantry Division desert pattern BDU

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90th Infantry Division woodland with air assault badge.

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Uniform of Tommy L. Folks Jr., 36th Infantry Division. CIB, Bronze Star and Purple Heart Recipient.

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Miscellaneous items.

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Last ones:

 

Foyer of the main lobby at the hospital.

 

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The original main building which now houses offices and the museum.

 

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Great display. What is wrong witht the preservation and display? I ask so that I do not make the same mistake. Is it the lighting above that would fade the uniforms?

 

Jacob

 

Lighting wise they have very bright florescent bars way too close to the uniforms, it will fade the color and break down the fabric quicker than you think. There isn't any temperature control so the lights will also heat up the cases, which is damaging especially to leather and paper. I also doubt there is any acid free padding anywhere.

 

The fact that they didn't bother to even put names with most of the uniforms shows their lack of interest in preservation. They want it to look good and impress visitors, but it does the exact opposite IMO. You'd also think that they would put a little more effort into properly displaying the uniform of a KIA Medal of Honor recipient. Others may have different opinions, but IMO it's a perfect example of the inappropriate diversion of resources the VA has been having problems with over the past few years.

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It's way better than what we have here in my area..

 

 

 

The VA opened a new VA Center here in Kernersville NC two years ago.. prior to that it was located in Winston Salem.. At that location they had a few named uniforms here and there displayed in Shadow boxes on the walls.. complete with ribbon racks and other awards.The irritating thing though is many of the awards had detached and fallen into the bottom of the displays. Mentioned it to the staff many times and offered to fix the problems with no response. When the new Hospital opened none of the displays were reinstalled.. no one seems to have any clue as to what happened to them.

 

The new Facility is truly a sight to behold.. a grand building, Modern and spacious... but rather curious because it seems to lack any Veteran theme. Whoever set the tone for decorating must have really loved the beach.. Lots of murals showing the sea, beach grass, birds etc.. but few Military related.

 

Here in NC we also have the old Salisbury VA, Built eons ago... In contrast to our new VA Center those Salisbury corridors are lined with huge photos showing service members of all branches doing their jobs.

 

Kration

Retired Infantry

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So, in addition to the innapropriate lighting (very bright, very close. 4 Watts is the prescribed lighting), temperature control is really bad too, as mentioned.

 

EVERYTHING is stored and displayed with Conservation and preservation in mind. Archival & acid free.

 

The thing that comes to my mind when I look at the pictures...everything EXCEPT the uniforms is a JUMBLE. It’s just “stuff on a shelf” and too much.

 

One of my friends will explain the lack of descriptions like this “I’m a museum curator, not an interior decorator!” There’s a possibility that whoever runs this hospital contacted their local museum, “pulled rank” and “demanded” artifacts to put on display. Wanna piss off a museum guy? Demand his artifacts!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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So, in addition to the innapropriate lighting (very bright, very close. 4 Watts is the prescribed lighting), temperature control is really bad too, as mentioned.

 

EVERYTHING is stored and displayed with Conservation and preservation in mind. Archival & acid free.

 

The thing that comes to my mind when I look at the pictures...everything EXCEPT the uniforms is a JUMBLE. It’s just “stuff on a shelf” and too much.

 

One of my friends will explain the lack of descriptions like this “I’m a museum curator, not an interior decorator!” There’s a possibility that whoever runs this hospital contacted their local museum, “pulled rank” and “demanded” artifacts to put on display. Wanna piss off a museum guy? Demand his artifacts!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Absolutely. The sad part is if the hospital did in fact contact our local museum, it's the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum, which is highly accredited both on the state and national level. Either way its unfortunate. I would extend an offer to help better display it but I highly suspect I'll get the cold shoulder as well.

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It's way better than what we have here in my area..

 

 

 

The VA opened a new VA Center here in Kernersville NC two years ago.. prior to that it was located in Winston Salem.. At that location they had a few named uniforms here and there displayed in Shadow boxes on the walls.. complete with ribbon racks and other awards.The irritating thing though is many of the awards had detached and fallen into the bottom of the displays. Mentioned it to the staff many times and offered to fix the problems with no response. When the new Hospital opened none of the displays were reinstalled.. no one seems to have any clue as to what happened to them.

 

The new Facility is truly a sight to behold.. a grand building, Modern and spacious... but rather curious because it seems to lack any Veteran theme. Whoever set the tone for decorating must have really loved the beach.. Lots of murals showing the sea, beach grass, birds etc.. but few Military related.

 

Here in NC we also have the old Salisbury VA, Built eons ago... In contrast to our new VA Center those Salisbury corridors are lined with huge photos showing service members of all branches doing their jobs.

 

Kration

Retired Infantry

 

That's truly unfortunate and saddening. I wonder if the uniforms were "lost in storage" or "kept temporarily off site to be restored by a volunteer". Sadly that VA center has perfect examples of improper spending and the classic "not my job" mentality.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Why doesn't everyone cease fire??? Remember, the mission of the VA is "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, his widow and orphan"....NOT "and take care of old stuff". Most VA's do NOT have historians assigned to them (which was not always the case)...for example, both here in Dayton and at Cinci, their artifacts are taken care of by people whose "real" job is medical media. And what's the BS about a VA demanding stuff from a local museum???? VA's constantly are given things from family members that literally arrive in a garbage bag...no info what so ever. And if you're not getting any response, it's because you're talking to the wrong person. Here at the Dayton VA, they love any kind of help we can give. In fact, Friday we're meeting with the interior designer to help them create a display in the Hospice.

So cut them some slack - they do the best they can with what they have. Instead of tearing them down, find a way to make things better, huh???

 

 

Mark sends

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Why doesn't everyone cease fire??? Remember, the mission of the VA is "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, his widow and orphan"....NOT "and take care of old stuff". Most VA's do NOT have historians assigned to them (which was not always the case)...for example, both here in Dayton and at Cinci, their artifacts are taken care of by people whose "real" job is medical media. And what's the BS about a VA demanding stuff from a local museum???? VA's constantly are given things from family members that literally arrive in a garbage bag...no info what so ever. And if you're not getting any response, it's because you're talking to the wrong person. Here at the Dayton VA, they love any kind of help we can give. In fact, Friday we're meeting with the interior designer to help them create a display in the Hospice.

So cut them some slack - they do the best they can with what they have. Instead of tearing them down, find a way to make things better, huh???

 

 

Mark sends

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Thanks Leigh! I get so sick and tired of people just looking for something to bitch about the VA. My wife and I could go to Wright-Patterson for our health care but we use the VA because they take such good care of us. We called the Director of the Amarillo VA and told them we appreciate what they're doing. He said that almost everything has been donated by locals from the panhandle of Texas...we're helping them do the paperwork to get a display Medal of Honor set - the family kept the MoH ribbon. Anyway, I normally don't rant and rave on this forum, but this nonsense really pissed me off.

 

 

Mark sends

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  • 2 months later...

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