and more than fifteen hundred names from Indiana are among the fifty eight thousand listed on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC a replica of that monument along with historic remembrances of other past conflicts are on permanent display at the Veterans National Memorial Shrine and Museum in Fort Wayne .

The site will in fact dedicate a new marker this weekend honoring those who fought in the Korean War.

And we'll learn more about the organization's work to provide a place in northeast Indiana where no veteran will ever be forgotten on this week's Prime Time.

And good evening.

I'm Bruce Haines.

>> With us today is Greg Bedford, Commander Veterans National Memorial Shrine to Museum and with Greg is Erik Johnson, second vice commander and we invite you to join us as well if you have questions or comments, just use the number that you see on the screen as we widen out and welcome our guests to the show.

We welcome you as well.

Greg Bedford, Eric Johnson, Greg Eric, thank you both for being here.

Appreciate.

>> Thanks.

Thanks for inviting us.

You bet.

Before we get to what is taking place today on this property just a little west of Fort Wayne, we need to think about the yesterday as this site was coming into being and we owe a lot to and tell me about Eric and Cleo Scott who are there the founders Eric was a World War One veteran that while he was in the trenches of warfare over in France made a promise to his God that if he made it out of that last battle that he would figure out a way to honor all veterans and make sure that no veteran would ever be forgotten.

Had were proud, very proud to carry on his legacy and we see this now Eric out on Odey Road.

You see the marker out in front of the property so he can't can't help but they can't just turn it in and see where it is.

>> You know, years ago people used to drive by and I drive by that place all the time.

We don't know what it is.

And the first thing we did five years ago, Greg and I and a pretty aggressive board said hey, we need words.

>> What's our brand and our brand is that sign right there?

>> I mean it's got all five services underneath it.

It's a logo that distinguishes us from everyone else and it's a monument to all the veterans who own a piece of the rock out there and that 40 acres belongs to every veteran that goes on the property and it tells so many stories intentionally inclusive of all conflicts.

>> Oh yeah.

Yes.

So we're going back we even have Revolutionary War in there.

Well, when you go through the new museum you'll see a lot of that Revolutionary War, Civil War and World War One and Korea and World War two and Vietnam.

But it's it's critical that people understand that no veteran will ever be forgotten and no conflict will ever be forgotten.

>> Correct.

And to help in that remembrance, there is a map of the site we'd like to share with you that is described as a walk path of war history.

>> Yes, sir.

Tell me about that.

Well, it was a vision that we had that started about three years ago with a five year vision and fortunately for us and the community, a five year vision has rapidly approached and a good chunk of it now with the new monument that's going to go up tomorrow, a good chunk of it is being realized already and we've got more to do and there's more monuments coming as we'll talk about later today.

But we're well on our way to making sure that there's a walk past history in Fort Wayne that will remember all conflicts and wars that the United States has been well and we in fact can start our virtual walk along that path with our our next image, which is a combination of several different images that show a chapel under-construction Eric and then at the site where tomorrow a new Korean monument will be erected.

>> Let's talk about Sterling Chapel first.

Oh, that has been has been a challenge due to the supply chain issues post covid we have met many obstacles that all have been overcome but each day is a new challenge and I'm proud to say that we've passed all the mechanical inspections.

We have a framing inspection coming up and then we can start insulating and that building hopefully will hopefully will be completed by spring of next year and we're anxiously awaiting our HVAC unit which is still 14 to 16 weeks out.

>> You know, the interesting thing about this chapel is all the legacy bricks that people have purchased for their veteran or for themselves will be attached to the front of the chapel and that's going to take place next week.

So all those people there's over 200 bricks that'll be on the front of this chapel and we'll have the legacy of all veterans who bought space on as well.

>> Pretty cool.

And if I could please we would not have that chapel if it wasn't for the generosity of the Daughters of American Revolution and the Jeanette Sterling family whose name adorns the front facade of that chapel and from the site of the new Korean War monument.

You can see it and and get a sense of context for the other memorials around the site.

Tomorrow's is one that feels that it has an affinity for the national Korean War Memorial.

And gentlemen, it's going to be an exciting time on this Saturday.

>> It's going to be a great day tomorrow.

It'll be a great day tomorrow.

And I think when you look at Washington, D.C. and you look at Fort Wayne , you're going to go wow, Fort Wayne so much different.

>> And I think it's because not only are these figures massive, they're seven and a half feet tall and they're they'll look like bronze but they're really colored bronze.

But when you look at the faces, they're local veterans who went to war back in the 1950s and these men will be there tomorrow to be honored when we unveil the statues in this field of returning patrol and it's pretty cool stuff.

It's amazing want to be able to see that image and to know that it is going to be something like as in D.C. you can see the expression you can truly communicate and connect with these soldiers and to see all that tomorrow will will be absolutely stunning.

I think the dedicated on veterans is special too because you know, no veteran will ever be forgotten at our Memorial Park but also we remember veterans past and present tomorrow on Veterans Day which is very important and for this year we have been doing some time traveling because I think it was in August that you had a civil war with monument.

Tell me about that story.

>> A beautiful granite monument that was donated by the Bickel family and very humble husband and wife team that donated that monument right there that you see on your screen.

But we felt that was important that the civil war was remembered and her husband, his grandfather, great grandfather served in that war, which is the reason they decided to donate the funds necessary to purchase it and we're very proud to have it on our grounds.

>> That's often a monument.

>> You see, Bruce , not many people know about the Sultana which was a steamboat ferry ship that was returning prisoners after the Civil War.

They were going home and they packed this boat with seventeen hundred people.

Capacity was two hundred and forty people when got down the river overloaded the engines the steam engines blew up caused the fire explosion .

>> All seventeen hundred guys were killed drowned in the Mississippi River and it's one of the worst U.S. maritime disasters in the history of the U.S. And not many people know about it but guy from Indianapolis approached us to want to put the Sultana Monument.

We said bring it up.

We like it when we when we dedicated that monument.

>> He also gave us a time capsule.

He did.

And we're going to put in that in that same area which is very neat.

>> Wow.

And regarding the Civil War monument, the Bikal family had I believe the grave was unmarked for for a number of years before it was was discovered what cemetery that was Lindenwood and that was another soldier.

So that was in a pompous grave.

Yes.

And they discovered Tom Schmidt on our staff is a civil war kind of aficionado and Tom found it and we found out who it belonged to and we called their family out east and said hey, we're going to rededicate this.

We found your brother, your husband, your son, whatever.

And we rededicated that the day we we dedicated the Bickell monument and I see what a cool story I mean to be able to 1881 or whatever he's been unknown in a pauper's grave and now he's got his own monument is on a headstone and we're very proud to be part of that.

>> We're no veteran will ever be forgotten though and then it takes us to the Gold Star Families monument which is yet another recent addition that is encompassing of of all in the spirit of all those who have served well.

>> It honors the families who lost a loved one during a conflict or while serving in the military mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and Eric and I'm sorry excuse me Tiffany and Matt Kerans from the Marine or League are actively fundraising the remaining funds that are needed for that monument to appear on our grounds.

That is a depiction of what will be installed on our property and we are very proud to be partnered up with the Marine Corps League and Tiffany and Matt that's also affiliated with Woody Williams oh the Woody Williams Foundation which was the last he was the last World War to Medal of Honor until the bottom and so that that whole monument is Woody Williams backed Foundation Monument and we're very proud to be able to feature that down the road soon.

>> Soon very soon there is a Purple Heart monument we should pause and and give some some time to share that with us.

If you would.

>> We see it on the screen there.

There it is.

There it is.

also for those who have earned that honor I assume it is yes.

It's a tribute to those that earned the Purple Heart.

It is a monument that's been on the grounds for for quite some time before Eric and I actually took over and we're proud of the people that keep it up taking care the the landscaping around it.

>> And I just want to mention there are several bricks that line a walk path to that monument with names of Purple Heart winners and we are actively selling bricks for that monument as well.

But there's no better way in Fort Wayne to honor a Purple Heart recipient than than that memorial right there.

>> Also in recent history as our walk path continues, we have one recognizing the Afghan Iraq conflict and conflicts rather and it's there before us a very simple monument today we have a rendering in hand and we are actively fundraising a three stone panel that will be made out of Indiana limestone that will honor all the veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq Desert Shield Desert Storm Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom are the four big names of the conflicts that that we will be honoring in the very near future.

But we're proud of all of those folks.

The 20 plus year war that is now over fortunately for all of us and and we're going to make sure that they're not forgotten either.

>> It is still something that is in our memories even though it took place two years ago, many had seen stories or pictures and reports of replicas of the Vietnam War Memorial traveling the country and different places.

Now there is a journey of a traveling wall that need not wander any more.

It is what Eric and 80 percent replica 80 percent replica of the one in DC 10 feet tall ours is eight feet its highest point.

>> But you know, the interesting thing is this was a traveling wall like you mentioned over 400 cities over 14 or 13 years and they said do you guys want to be part of this?

And we said we sure do.

But there anodized aluminum panels which were I guess the smart union 20 guys to the metal sheet.

>> The workers of Fort Wayne came up with a clip system where the concrete and the anodized aluminum do not touch it is a permanent wall whether it be able to withstand 110 mile an hour winds.

>> But I'll tell you what it's it's spectacular.

>> And Mike Pence was here a couple of years ago and saw the wall and he he compared to the one in D.C. and said D.C. doesn't have anything over you guys.

I mean this is a tremendous, tremendous tribute to all these guys who lost their life .

It it seems that this is a unique, unique exchange and in that it isn't just something that you can have erected and dropped off.

>> I mean this I'm sure must come under a great amount of chaperoning.

It does and we signed a contract with the manufacturer.

This will be the only 80 percent replica within a 250 mile radius and it's here in Fort Wayne , Indiana and we are very proud to have it on our grounds and it is visited daily and we have one gentleman who comes weekly.

He's got a panel out there.

He he he lost a platoon over in Vietnam and there's not a week that goes by that that gentleman does not come out and talk to his fellow comrades.

So it's it's really cool.

Bruce , that goes on and people say well there's a lot of closure too.

And I think when someone comes out there and we can help them find a name, there's no greater joy feeling that I have helping somebody being in Vietnam and knowing what we went through and then be able to come back and say we survived but we got to look at our brothers on the wall every time we go out there it's some people can't go to the wall.

I mean they just they can't do it and I we understand that.

But for those who come we can provide comfort and respect and have some closure to to maybe their relatives that's on the wall their brother, their dad , their cousin, whoever we talk to people every week from all states surrounding Indiana.

>> We've talked to people from Idaho and Ohio and Canada.

They come down and visit the wall.

>> So it's it's pretty rewarding and to know as well that you have also built in ADA accessibility.

You have lighting that that allows it to also be found almost any time.

>> Yeah, we were very, very concerned and we want to make sure that those with physical disabilities are able to see all our monuments.

So all the planning that goes into the monument is doubled when we plan for the Americans with disabilities and we want to make sure that they can get through our grounds very simply we learned early on that that was important because we had a guest that we could not accommodate and that changed the whole projection of how we put a monument in.

>> One of the challenges logistically too is the number of artifacts that you have been acquiring over time.

>> We talk about micro and we'll share a couple of those.

But you're sitting next to Eric a picture I believe we can get a little close up on.

This is as they say, breaking news insofar as it is a macro item.

>> What what did you what did you just acquire?

This is an M 240 seven Sergeant York tank and Greg Craig can speak to it but he comes in the other day and says I can get a tank, I can get a tank.

I said oh we need to do is raise the money to ship it here.

And so that we went to work on shipping right away.

But this thing's coming to Fort Wayne in about another week and you know it'll be on our grounds and we're getting prepared for that.

But it's very exciting to have a macro artifact like a sergeant your tank come to our facility.

>> It's a post Vietnam pre Desert Storm anti aircraft tank and it's leaving Danforth, Virginia next Wednesday and it'll be on our grounds I would guess within a week after that.

So we're excited to add that to our collection while we talk about some I believe it's 2000 some artifacts that the shrine of museum use and we have some photos of of that activity we'd like to bring to you including this which is part of a special ceremony to come in the next year I believe next year be the seventy fifth anniversary of the Mersey boxcar which was a gift from France after World War to repay in the gratitude train that we sent to France and but yeah, that that boxcars you see is freshly sandblasted and painted thanks to Paul Davis restorations and a few of a few of the good fellows from UAW Local 22 or nine .

But that will be adorned with ribbons and shields from all forty provinces I believe they're called provinces or states of France and it'll look like it was when it originally was delivered to the state of Indiana.

The cool thing about that is we're only forty nine of a made forty three of them are left and the one that was delivered to the state of Indiana is in our facility.

>> Well spent time at the state fair down in Indianapolis, eventually ended up in downtown Fort Wayne and then Eric Scott said I want that out here and he put it in a pavilion with a railroad track and it's going to be there forever and it's it's pretty cool.

>> A lot of history behind it.

They call it the Forty and a Mercy Boxcar because it held forty soldiers or eight horses and there's a long history there's a website you can go to and look up and find about the history the mercy box covered it was French the French way of saying thank America for helping us and as you visit the museum you need just look around so pretend you are in the museum here with us as you see several photos of of that which is on display and again micro macro and some in between.

Yeah, it's it's an amazing six thousand square foot facility.

The Paul Wolff Museum of War History and we're proud to be part of it but there are well over two thousand artifacts that we have in hand and things come daily families who lost a loved one that don't have the place to store their artifacts or their mementos of their time and service.

And as we progress forward that open floor space you see we have plans to fill it in and-I'o that in the near future from an education standpoint every conflict has a map, Bruce and and a reader board that tells you about the key battles that took place.

This is a Vietnam one right here but you'll see a battle flag there too from a guy who was the last one to leave his firebase and brought the flag to us.

I had a guy today called me and said my dad has World War Two stuff and I bring it in.

Sure.

So we're accepting well, we're accepting what we can and not duplicates.

But when people bring artifacts in we're more than happy to to put them on display if they'll let us and loan it maybe they're on loan or just give it to us so it all comes from the public.

>> Well, and that's also probably a point of closure for some as well.

So these items become they take on different meaning.

They take on a different kind of value and and they want to be sure that they are literally passed on to someone who knows what's a lot of people in the family will argue about who's going to take dad's stuff and somebody says I don't want it.

Well, I don't want it.

Well, we do.

>> Yeah.

I mean it's history and it's or it's our way of preserving history.

We're seeing so much of it tells what the last couple of years been like then for you while you've been out of a five year plan which might be multiple one year plans as as opportunities present themselves.

It's truly been a roller coaster ride.

We are fortunate this community has supported us every step of the way both the corporate donors and our individual donors.

We have literally thousands of individuals that have made donations to this organization so that we can continue on our mission and the corporate donations although they're greater in no none of them matter more than the other and we would not be successful without this community support.

So for that we're eternally grateful but to be able to make sure and honor all veterans and make sure that no veterans ever forgotten that is a mission that we will not let die as long as we are part of it and we will turn it over to the next generation and we're always looking for volunteers and we're always looking for that next person to step up in a leadership role to say hey, we want to be part of this and Fort Wayne is full of veterans and we know they're out there and we continue to draw them in and we don't charge any admission to come into the museum.

>> But I think there's donation boxes and people have been very kind and whether they put in a five dollar bill, a twenty dollar bill, it really doesn't matter.

That's a twenty that we didn't have yesterday and it all goes to operating costs and keeping the museum open.

We're excited about it and we keep bringing new things to the public and we're going to get more visitors and we see that concurrently it our our attendance is going up.

>> I'm just going to ask I mean even the impact of the Wall being able for folks to understand that this is now a destination day put it on the map, put us on the map and I think the career well like Gregg says, I think the Korean might even be bigger.

He said well no, it'll be But I'll tell you what those two together are going to be a drawcard for and we should share again tomorrow the eleventh of November at eleven o'clock I believe this is the the unveiling of the new Korean Monument and that will be out at the Veterans National Memorial Shrine and Museum on Anzac Day Road.

And there are other monuments that are on the drawing board right there.

Oh yeah.

We've got World War Two , the Lay family who have been supporters of ours for a long time out of Avilla.

They're going to do a family monument for World War Two .

We have Founder's Monument that we're going to do for Eric and Cleo Scott and like Greg mentioned, their Iraqi conflicts and Desert Storm.

I mean that's there's a lot of guys that have fought over there and they haven't been recognized and we have to do that because we can't just sit with somebody once said oh, you guys are all about the Vietnam War.

No, we're not.

We have much more to offer than the war.

The wall is so massive and takes up so much space and is so picturesque when you see it .

>> But we have more monuments coming and we think we think we'll get there.

Like Greg said, everything needs sidewalks and places so disabled veterans and an elderly people we have a lot of seniors that come out.

We have we have retirement homes.

We have colleges that come out .

>> We have great schools that bring their students out.

So we think this is a great, great way to educate not only the next generation but also honor those who fought in World War two , Korea and of Vietnam.

We have a lot more Vietnam veterans going on on our flight.

Greg's been a part of that and he'll tell you for years we had a lot of Korean and World War two guys but now it's Vietnam moving on and as we are moving on in our final half minute, let's be sure we share with you& ways in which your computer can connect and give you additional information so that you in fact can personally connect with the Veterans National Memorial Shrine to museum.

There you see it honoring forever all one piece they're honoring forever Doug and phone number and tours are available too.

I believe they are.

Yes.

Can arrange those as well.

Just give everyone a call.

Best of luck in this coming weekend activities and our collective best wishes and gratitude for the service you all and fellow veterans.

Thank you for this.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Appreciate it.

Greg Bedford is the commander.

Erik Johnson is second vice commander of the Veterans National Memorial Shrine, a museum.

I'm Bruce Haines for all of us with prime time take care.

Thanks for watching and have a safe and happy Veterans Day weekend