BUNKER HILL, Ind. (AP) - One of the most extensive exhibits in the country dedicated to Air Force security police has opened inside the Grissom Air Museum thanks to donations from a former airman who served at the base.
Retired Master Sgt. Chris Armold recently donated the complete exhibit, which features the history, uniforms and weaponry of the airmen who protected the combat aircraft and personnel assigned to Bunker Hill and Grissom Air Force Base throughout the Cold War.
The Air Force first developed the concept of infantry-style units to defend air bases in the 1940s. They eventually developed into ground defense units protecting the military’s nuclear weapons systems.
Armold said he was assigned to the security police force at Grissom in 1983, and retired as an Air Force security policeman. He also served as the vice president of the Heritage Museum Foundation, the forerunner of the Grissom Air Museum.
He said he came up with the idea to create a museum exhibit dedicated to Air Force security police after attending a reunion this summer for veterans of Grissom’s 305th Security Police.
“For me, the opportunity to create an air police and security police exhibit for a museum I was a part of 30-plus years ago was just too good to be true,” Armold said in a release.
Over the next few months, he garnered a horde of artifacts and items donated by former Air Force security officers from across the country, such as uniforms, equipment, patches and documents. The exhibit also includes replicas of the weapons used by security officers.
Tom Kelley, a museum volunteer and former security officer at Grissom who helped organize the exhibit, said the new display is part of the museum’s mission to remember every airman who served at the base.
“That whole museum is there to celebrate the legacy of the people who served on the base, as well as their mission,” he said. “We want everybody to understand what the base was all about and celebrate its history, and the security police are a very important part of that whole operation.”
Kelley said the security police exhibit is one of the most extensive collections outside the Airman Heritage Museum in San Antonio, Texas, and offers unique insights into the history of the Air Force’s security forces that can’t be found anywhere else in the area.
“We’re really excited about having this,” he said.
For Armold, who is an historian and author who has written a new book about Air Force police, the exhibit is a way to commemorate and honor the airman who served as security officers, just like he did at Grissom.
“I hope people who visit this exceptional museum will enjoy the display,” he said. “I’m proud to have served at Grissom Air Force Base and always enjoy returning to the area. It still feels like home to me.”
The Grissom Air Museum is now operating in off-season hours and is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Admission will be free to prior military personnel during the Veterans Day weekend.
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Source: Kokomo Tribune, https://bit.ly/2eYnG4y
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Information from: Kokomo Tribune, https://www.ktonline.com
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