thedrifter
12-01-08, 07:53 AM
Marine Museum to open on Arsenal Island
By Mary Louise Speer | Monday, December 01, 2008
Rod Mooney is making the most of a little space.
His collection of military memorabilia fills a former office at the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Training Center on Arsenal Island, Rock Island, and flows out into the hallway in glass cases. The collection could expand to fill the entire center, he said.
Mooney, of Bettendorf and a Marine from 1952-94, looks forward to seeing the new U.S. Marine Corps Museum dedicated on Dec. 7, which marks the 67th anniversary of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.
“The biggest problem we have is we’re running out of room,” he said.
Mooney embarked on a quest to preserve the Corps’ local history in May 2007 and was sidelined for a few months while recovering from surgery. Since earlier this year, he has been determined to perfect his tribute to U.S. Marines.
“I think this is it. If it grows, we’ll make the necessary accommodations,” said Capt. Frank Brown of the Reserve Center at the Arsenal.
Every donation of photos, medals, uniforms, gear and flags is prized, both for the memories embedded in it and as visual reminders of those hazardous tours of duty, Mooney said.
“I was a kid in World War II, and I remember when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and what people went through,” he said.
A display of unopened cans of chocolate nut rolls and cocoa beverage powder, a boxed meal of beans with meatballs and more fill Mooney’s collection of food rations. Sometimes, Marines scrambled eggs and sausage on vehicle manifolds, he said.
“You couldn’t hardly stand the smell,” he said.
Another display highlights the 269 women who served in clerical positions during World War I, thus freeing male Marines to go to France.
Craig Borchers of Big Rock, Iowa, donated photographs that illustrate duties performed by U.S. Marines of the late 1800s and early 1900s. An image shows Marines mounted on horseback during a tour in Japan in the early 1900s.
“You just don’t see those often,” said 1st Sgt. Daniel Gutierrez of the Reserve Center. “It’s hard enough dealing with a sword. They had to be riding at the same time. Riding a horse would be nice, carrying all the gear we carry these days.”
Brown isn’t a history buff, but he likes collecting flags. Mooney’s collection of Japanese flags, in particular, strike a chord with him.
“It amazes me the lengths people will go to protect their national colors, the flag that they stand for,” he said.
The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.
Ellie
By Mary Louise Speer | Monday, December 01, 2008
Rod Mooney is making the most of a little space.
His collection of military memorabilia fills a former office at the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Training Center on Arsenal Island, Rock Island, and flows out into the hallway in glass cases. The collection could expand to fill the entire center, he said.
Mooney, of Bettendorf and a Marine from 1952-94, looks forward to seeing the new U.S. Marine Corps Museum dedicated on Dec. 7, which marks the 67th anniversary of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.
“The biggest problem we have is we’re running out of room,” he said.
Mooney embarked on a quest to preserve the Corps’ local history in May 2007 and was sidelined for a few months while recovering from surgery. Since earlier this year, he has been determined to perfect his tribute to U.S. Marines.
“I think this is it. If it grows, we’ll make the necessary accommodations,” said Capt. Frank Brown of the Reserve Center at the Arsenal.
Every donation of photos, medals, uniforms, gear and flags is prized, both for the memories embedded in it and as visual reminders of those hazardous tours of duty, Mooney said.
“I was a kid in World War II, and I remember when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and what people went through,” he said.
A display of unopened cans of chocolate nut rolls and cocoa beverage powder, a boxed meal of beans with meatballs and more fill Mooney’s collection of food rations. Sometimes, Marines scrambled eggs and sausage on vehicle manifolds, he said.
“You couldn’t hardly stand the smell,” he said.
Another display highlights the 269 women who served in clerical positions during World War I, thus freeing male Marines to go to France.
Craig Borchers of Big Rock, Iowa, donated photographs that illustrate duties performed by U.S. Marines of the late 1800s and early 1900s. An image shows Marines mounted on horseback during a tour in Japan in the early 1900s.
“You just don’t see those often,” said 1st Sgt. Daniel Gutierrez of the Reserve Center. “It’s hard enough dealing with a sword. They had to be riding at the same time. Riding a horse would be nice, carrying all the gear we carry these days.”
Brown isn’t a history buff, but he likes collecting flags. Mooney’s collection of Japanese flags, in particular, strike a chord with him.
“It amazes me the lengths people will go to protect their national colors, the flag that they stand for,” he said.
The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.
Ellie