World War II Vietnam veterans stories shared at Capitol Visitors Center
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas Two local veterans who survived prisoner of war camps in Japan and Vietnam are the subjects of a year-long exhibit opening at the Texas Capitol Visitors Center on Veterans Day. Jerry Patterson chairman of the Texas Veterans Land Board and retired
Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve said
Our nations wars are well-known but hearing the gripping personal narratives from veterans of those wars their experiences of leaving home going abroad facing combat and surviving adds context for the public. These first-hand accounts prove that ordinary men and women faced with incredible adversity can accomplish extraordinary things.
Austinites Tim McCoy and Ken Wallingford are two of 12 Texas veterans whose stories are shared in short videos in the Every Veteran has a Story to Tell" exhibit.
The interactive multimedia display will open at 9 a.m. on Nov. 11 (11.11.11) at the Texas Capitol Visitors Center in the historic Old Land Office on the Capitol grounds at 112 East 11th St. in Austin. It shares stories and quotes from Texas veterans of wars from World War II to Afghanistan.
The Every Veteran has a Story to Tell" exhibit was made possible by the State Preservation Board and the Texas Capitol Visitor Center. The exhibit will run until September 2012.
Born in San Angelo in 1924 McCoy enlisted in the U.S. Navy prior to the U.S. entering World War II in 1941. During the war he served in the South Pacific on the submarine
USS Trout and participated in a famous mission that delivered ammunition to besieged U.S. troops at Corregidor Island and removed gold and silver from the treasury department of the Philippines prior to that countrys fall to Japanese forces in 1942.
Later after McCoy had already transferred to another submarine the
USS Troutwas sunk with no survivors. He survived the sinking of the
USS Grenadier but was captured by the Japanese tortured and placed in a slave labor camp until the end of the war.
Two multimedia kiosks containing iPads are part of the interactive display. Each is loaded with 12 short videos on one of the exhibits central themes: courage duty fear and survival. McCoys experience is recounted in the exhibit as part of the duty theme.
In his video McCoy talks about volunteering for the special Corregidor patrol that had a reduced number of crew and officers. …in the day time we laid out in the channel" he recalls and at night we moved alongside the docks at Corregidor… and we offloaded those 22 second AA shells and then they started bringing down station wagons and so forth loading gold and silver and securities aboard our submarine."
One of the stories shared as part of the survival theme is that of Wallingford who was sent to Vietnam in 1970 as a sniper with the 25th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. After volunteering for a second tour of duty in 1972 he was wounded and captured when his camp was overrun by
30000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong. He was held in a five-foot-by-six-foot tiger cage deep in the Cambodian jungle for more than 10 months until his release on Feb. 12 1973. Wallingford was awarded the Silver Star the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts among numerous other decorations. He is now a Veterans Liaison for the Texas Veterans Land Board.
Wallingfords compelling narrative in the exhibit shares his battlefield conversion story. A self-professed agnostic prior to the war he recounts that his attitude had been If you believe in God thats great but dont come preaching to me." But during the days-long battle that led to his capture it became clear to him it would take a miracle to survive.
He recalls …we just started praying. God you get me out of here and if Ive got to live or stay a prisoner or whatever Ill come back and make a confession of faith." He describes being overcome by a feeling of peace when exiting the fallen camp as a POW. One of the more powerful artifacts on display in the exhibit is the actual rice bowl he used for meals throughout his captivity.
The Every Veteran has a Story to Tell" exhibit is presented by the Texas Veterans Land Board as part of its Voices of Veterans™ program an oral history initiative of the VLB that honors veterans by documenting their powerful stories through thorough
interviews. The archived interviews are made available to researchers historians genealogists and the general public to inspire future generations. The program is free to all Texas veterans.
Jerry Patterson chairman of the VLB and retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve said These first-hand accounts prove that ordinary men and women faced with incredible adversity can accomplish extraordinary things."
The men and women who tell their stories through the Voices of Veterans exhibit are:
- Robert Bearden
- Allen Clark
- L.D. Cox
- Millie Dalrymple
- Sam Floca
- Dr. Sharon Frederick
- Ed Hark
- Hunter Hayes
- Keifer Marshall
- Tim McCoy
- Manny Rivas and
- Ken Wallingford
To complement the veterans videos quotes and personal memorabilia shared in the Every Veteran has a Story to Tell" exhibit the VLB will be selling new Voices of Veterans™ merchandise in the Capitol Visitors Center gift shop foam stress-busting" grenades and calendars that provide more photos and information about the 12 veterans featured in the exhibit videos.
For additional information on the Voices of Veterans™ program Texas State Veterans Homes veterans cemeteries and special home land and home improvement loans for Texas veterans call 800-252-VETS (800-252-8387) or visit our Web sites at
www.voicesofveterans.org or
www.texasveterans.com.
WHAT: The new Every Veteran has a Story to Tell" oral history exhibit is a multimedia display that features Texas veterans from all wars including 12 depicted in short videos.
WHO: Texan veterans
WHEN: The exhibit opens at 9 a.m. on Friday Nov. 11 2011 and runs through September 2012. Texas Capitol Visitors Center hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. MondaySaturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
WHERE: Texas Capitol Visitors Center Capitol grounds 112 E. 11th St. Austin.
WHY: To share the personal stories of Texas veterans and honor their sacrifices
