East Texas veteran uses museum display to preserve memory of those who served

WOOD COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - An East Texas veteran is on a different kind of mission these days.

He’s working to preserve the stories and memorabilia of those who served our country.

Some of the collection was literally ‘saved from the trash pile’.

From rare World War One uniforms, to letters from the front, a military display in Holly Lake Ranch is the mission of Chicago native , now East Texas resident, Bob Dymek.

“I was kind of disappointed to find out there were very few military museums. Doing some research I found that mobile military museums are out there,” he says.

His 501-C ‘GHQ’ military museum features rare photos and letters from veterans of campaigns from World War One through Afghanistan.

“I always loved military history. I come from a military family. It was interesting the stories of the families and the friends,” Bob says.

A veteran himself, who served first in the navy then the army, many of his items were donated by the families of the veterans, and others like uniforms and letters home, were rescued.

“A garbage company worker, on his route and he found this military hat sitting on a can. This letter from a service man was found on a garbage can. I had people come up to me and say yeah this was my dads burial flag. I don’t want it,” Dymek says.

He has painstakingly researched each item to find the veteran, or their families, to chronicle their stories.

“I would make it a point to do a complete biography on that person. From birth till the time they passed, in and out of the service. That’s what I find the people are most interested in,” says Bob.

With his mobile unit no longer functional, he is seeking sponsorship to get a new mobile unit.

“Get back on the road to complete the mission we began. I’ve done from schools to churches to retirement communities. They need to learn about why they have the freedoms they have,” Dymek says.

For more information about the GHQ military museum in Wood county, go to our website kltv-dot-com and click on the Big Red Box on the right side of the homepage.

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