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| War relics: collection chronicles infantry’s role in Iraq |
| 2003-08-04 |
| As history is being made overseas, the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning is busy preserving it. The museum is slowly accumulating artifacts from the war with Iraq, and one of the more striking displays is a large oil painting of Saddam Hussein. Museum director Frank Hanner opted to place it on the floor, covered in glass, rather than hang it on the wall like most paintings. "Someone came in crying, asking why we had a picture of Saddam on display," Hanner said. "It’s a symbol of our victory, not of our defeat. It’s on the floor -- you can walk on his face!" Heh. The 2002 painting was captured by members of the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, on or about April 8 when the Rangers secured the Hadithah Dam on the Euphrates River. Hanner said that Saddam put former President Bush’s image on the floor of the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad for visitors to step upon. In Islamic culture, showing someone the bottom of your foot or the sole of your shoe is one of the highest forms of insult. When Saddam’s statues were taken down in Baghdad, civilians beat them with their shoes. The head of Saddam from one of those statues is on its way to the Infantry Museum. The most interesting and expensive artifact, Hanner says, is a 10-year-old 9.3x74R (.345 caliber) game rifle made in Germany for Saddam. It was captured by the soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry from one of Saddam’s palaces in April. Wonder if one of our special ops guys would like to borrow this for a while. You know, to hunt ... elks. Yeah, elks. Near Tikrit. Hanner is in the process of preparing other items for display, including an Iraqi soldier’s winter boots, early night-vision goggles, load-bearing equipment vest and Gortex jacket. The soldier’s helmet has the name of his wife and two children written on the inside. Also on display is an Iraqi flag captured on March 22 by Scout Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 69th Artillery Regiment, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division. During the Gulf War, the Revolutionary Command Council chaired by Saddam placed the words "God is Great" between the flag’s stars. Hanner said it’s important to have tangible remnants from wars. "You can have a facsimile of a flag, but what would that mean to anyone? We try to have the real thing at the museum. If you’ve got something from the past to remind you of your accomplishments, it lays the foundation for the future. Our soldiers went into battle, fought a fight, and this is the result of that combat." Hanner and his staff created a list of artifacts that he wanted the soldiers to return with. He said that bringing back these artifacts is not considered contraband because they belong to the people of the United States. Hanner has gotten complaints about not putting out the artifacts quickly enough, but the Infantry Museum has a staff of five, he said, compared to Columbus Museum’s staff of 35. The National Infantry Museum has exhibits from the Gulf War and the war on terrorism. On display is the yellow POW uniform of Sgt. Troy Allen, one of 21 U.S. soldiers captured in the Gulf War. The museum also has an original copy of the famous June 1985 issue of National Geographic with an Afghan refugee girl with haunting green eyes on the cover. Another project in the works is a book of photographs depicting all Army infantrymen killed in action and those who’ve earned medals. "Our primary purpose is to train the next generation of soldiers to remember their past and be proud of their heritage as infantrymen. It’s a unique story. They’re not paying us to be a tourist attraction. Ours is a living, breathing museum." Something worth seeing next time one is near Fort Benning. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 National Infantry Museum Tours may be arranged by calling the museum at (706) 545-2958. Infantry Museum hours: Bldg 396, (706) 545-6762 Mon - Fri 1000 - 1630 Sat & Sun 1230 - 1630 |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-8-4 9:05:44 AM |