Military gear on display
A collection of military gear dating back to the Civil War is on display to the public Monday for Veterans Day.
The private collection of war equipment is at the American Legion Post 117 hall on Main Street in Butler for one day only. The pieces all belong to Butler resident Gordon Kennedy, 58, a U.S. Army veteran and 20-year member of the legion.
This is Kennedy's third year displaying his stash of military gear at the hall. Usually, it fills a spare room in his house, but he likes to bring it all out to show whenever he can.
“Everyone needs to see the history,” Kennedy said. “Some of this stuff, I don't know how they ever even used it. It's not built for comfort.”
Kennedy started his collection with the gear the Army issued him during his 10 years as a mechanic from 1979 to 1989. The gear on display is as much a military microcosm as it is his own personal history: his gear and the equipment issued to his family members both from past eras and today are included. The rest he found through auctions, sales and word-of-mouth exchanges.
Walk through Kennedy's collection and one finds contemplative pieces, impressive equipment and patriotic memorabilia.
At the start, a lonely dinner table greets visitors with an authentic Army dinner tray. It's a memorial to all the soldiers who never came home, and Kennedy said he considers it the most meaningful piece of the display.
From there, one finds helmets, knives, uniforms and plenty else from virtually every era of the U.S. military dating back to the Civil War.
He has a World War II bunk bed. There's a metal-bound Bible, which soldiers wore in their breast pockets in the hopes of it saving their lives. A Civil War officer's sword is one of Kennedy's personal favorite pieces, as is a Naval Air Force jacket.A table of chemical defense equipment had Kennedy joking as he set up the display on Sunday.“People always tell me if any chemical warfare ever happens in Butler, they're coming to my house,” Kennedy said.John Krill, Kennedy's son-in-law, contributed his body armor and boots from Iraq. Kennedy encourages visitors to pick up the body armor and appreciate that many soldiers wore the heavy piece during every day of deployment.“The display is awesome,” Krill said. “It's a big thing for people who have served. We can see the history behind everything we're doing.”In the future, Kennedy hopes to start adding military vehicles to the collection. He'd love a Harley with a side car or a Bantam Jeep.His love of motorcycles has overlapped with the military collection in some ways. He has converted a few old war helmets, including a World War I “doughboy” helmet, into head gear for riding.But at the legion hall Monday, the collection focuses primarily on military and patriotic items. The hall is opening its doors for the public to visit through Monday night.“People need to see this,” Kennedy said.
