Artillery Museum

Wherever there is an army base, there is a museum not too far away. One of my personal favorites that I have been to is the U.S. Army Artillery Museum in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. My parents went to church with Frank Siltman, an employee there. He was able to give me a personal tour of the museum.
The front page of their website tells you what this museum is all about: the U.S. Army Artillery Museum tells the story of artillery from 1775 to the present, with over 70 guns and artillery pieces..." But they don't just have guns (though lets face it, that's why people are gonna go!). They also have uniforms, mess kits, representative of all eras of the United States Army. They have everything, from guns from the Revolutionary war to tanks used in Vietnam. A highlight is a stuffed donkey from the Civil War. This particular donkey, whose name escapes my recollection, died bravely in battle. To remember him for perpetuity, they elected to have him stuffed. unfortunately, the taxidermist had never stuffed a donkey before. The only reference he had was a zebra. What resulted was a rather odd-shaped donkey.

The most impactful part of the visit is when Frank told us about some Vietnam vets that he got to escort through the museum. There was a particular tank (I'm probably not using the right word, but that's the one I've got) there that one of the vets had actually been on during the war. Frank told us that the man stood on his position, and just started crying. He said that's the reason why he does what he does. I hadn't even heard of Wright State's Public History program yet. I'm glad I did. Maybe one day I can be in Frank's position, and get to have that kind of experience.