History Comes to Life at National Museum of the Pacific War with Working WWII Field Kitchen
Fredericksburg, Texas (PRWEB) March 18, 2014 -- Fresh backed molasses cookies could be smelled as visitors walked up to the Pacific Combat Zone tour this spring break. Byron "Cooky" Vinyard of the Tri-State Living History Association set up his privately collected, fully operational WWII Field Kitchen to give visitors a look at a piece of history that isn't mentioned in WWII discussions.
Byron Vinyard from Steeleville, Illinois has spent the last 10 years putting together his impression of a WWII Mess Sergeant. "For me it is seeing people enjoy my cooking. To educate people on a service that was very important to the war effort", Byron Vinyard. Cooky is part of the Tri-State Living History Association, a group of Living History enthusiast who travel the country and set up displays at educational programs. "We have guys in Chicago, Kentucky, So. Illinois, Washington D.C, and Colorado. When we all get together it is like a family reunion and my cooking is the center point of it. We get together share our passion for the history and eat well while doing it," Cooky said.
During his spring break exhibit at the museum they also fed the living history volunteers who put on the museums Pacific Combat Show which involves a reenactment of an island invasion equipped with a working WWII flamethrower. Brandon Vinyard, Cooky's son and Director of Marketing for the museum said, " It was great having my dad down here. We have talked about bringing him down since I moved here two years ago. It is a set up you won't find anywhere else and he does a great job of explaining the history and equipment, the food is good to."
The National Museum of the Pacific War is the only museum in the country entirely dedicated to telling the story of WWII in the Pacific. It is a 55,000 square foot museum that sits on six acres and consist of three museum. Brandon Vinyard said, " The museum is great. We have artifacts you won't see anywhere else, but having set ups like or living history program or in this case the field kitchen where the visitor can see, touch, and in this case taste helps bring the history to life and offers a better understanding of what it was like."
The museum is a Texas Historical Commission Property and is manages and supported by the Admiral Nimitz Foundation.
Brandon Vinyard, Admiral Nimitz Foundation, +1 (830) 997-8600 Ext: 205, [email protected]
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