Hello everyone! The following article appears in today's online edition of the "Beckley Register-Herald", http://www.register-herald.com/ It's a little lengthy for an email, but I think it's a worthy project and wanted to make sure anyone that would be interested had a chance to read it. Thanks, Melissa -- "An education in patriotism" By Lynne Gilham Register-Herald Reporter The Raleigh County Veterans Association is embarking on a campaign to enlist members and raise funds. The dollars will be reserved for the proposed Raleigh County Veterans Museum, which, to date, has been an uphill battle all the way, according to promoters. Veterans Russell Neely, Howard K. Manning, Okey Mills, Ernest Nichols and John Shumate brought back the spoils of war and want a museum to house their memorabilia for posterity. Among their souvenirs are Japanese rifles and swords, telephones used in the South Pacific, a World War I skull cap, a helmet, World War I and World War II gas masks and much more. The soldiers also want to obtain a World War II jeep and a small airplane to suspend from the ceiling, Shumate said. They have the assurance from sources in the U.S. military that they can obtain a C-41 airplane fuselage. "We lost 360 (soldiers) from Raleigh County during World War II," Shumate pointed out. "Why can't we have something nice and have something fixed up for our children to see. Let them know that what they have today, someone paid a price for that. When children cast their eyes on this stuff, it will help them to realize that liberty was not free." Shumate envisions the veterans museum working in conjunction with the Southern West Virginia Youth Museum. When buses of children visit the Youth Museum, they could also take in the veterans museum. "It would be an education in patriotism," he said. "What they see, they will carry to their graves. They would think we were crude people in those days, but we did quite well with what we had from our forefathers." Shumate spoke of the proposed veterans museum as "putting footprints in the sands of time." "It's an educational thing," he said. "We should teach them patriotism for our nation while they are still young and impressionable." To date, Gov. Cecil Underwood assigned $5,000 to purchase showcases. The Legislature donated $5,000, the Whitesville Moose Club gave $1,000 and a widow who wishes to remain anonymous recently contributed $1,000. Smaller sums from $50 to $500 were given by various donors, and Beckley Newspapers supplied $6,000, the association's split from a special veterans section published in November. "About $20,000 so far," Shumate said. Shumate said that the organization will soon have its own constitution and bylaws written thanks to Ernie Nichol. For more information on the veterans museum, call Shumate at 252-6675. -- Melissa Bailey Duggins <e-mail:mduggins@lexcominc.net> Raleigh County, WV GenWeb http://www.rootsweb.com/~wvraleig/ --Please consider submitting one piece of data to the Raleigh County Archives http://www.rootsweb.com/usgenweb/wv/raleigh.htm--