Museum Encourages People To Preserve War Stories

When families get together for the holidays, it’s a great time to talk about the military service of any of the members of the family. The Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum suggests that you discuss any military artifacts or mementoes, get the stories behind them and talk about what the veterans want done with those items. That could be leaving them in their will to a family member or donating them to a museum.

But even if the items never make it to a museum, it’s important to preserve the stories behind them. Rachel Cockrell, registrar at the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum, says a gun by itself can be a good example of a weapon used in a particular war, but a gun that grandpa used in Word War II to save his buddies is much more valuable. “This is the story of this soldier and this was his gun. And so that's why it's so important for the stories of the artifacts to stay with the artifacts; the person, what they did, who they were, what their experiences meant to them, which is why we encourage people to sit down and talk to their relatives, even if you never plan on giving these things to a museum. Your kids, your grandkids, they're going to want to know those stories," she says.

The museum has recently received donations from South Carolinians who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, including a uniform worn by state representative James Smith, who is also an Army Captain who served in Afghanistan. One thing that’s unique about his uniform is that he wore his “Member, South Carolina House of Representatives” pin at all times, hidden under a flap.

The museum also has items on loan from former state senator John Drummond of Greenwood, who was a fighter pilot in World War II. He was shot down and captured, and the museum has on display a pair of shoes he made as a POW using pieces of his uniform and strips of wood from his cot as soles. It also has his flight jacket and the original German POW file sheet that Drummond retrieved when the war ended.

Cockrell says if you are going to talk to a relative about his war experiences, you should first make sure he’s willing to talk about it. “If you've already got some artifacts, take those artifacts to the person and say, 'What can you tell me about this?' And, if it seems to be too much trouble to try to write it down, just turn a tape recorder on. Don't stick the microphone in their face, but say, 'I don't want to forget this. I think this is really interesting. Tell me about this.’ And having those tangible artifacts in their hands may help them remember, help bring some stories to mind. But that does help get the artifacts and the stories tied together and you've got it on tape or written down,” she says.

The effort could provide one of the best gifts ever to children and grandchildren. "It's going to help your grandkids, your great-grandkids understand what Americans went through then, what sacrifices they made for our country and it will be of great benefit to teach the lessons that you want your children to learn," Cockrell says.