Dickenson County Historical Society looking to keep veterans’ voices alive

CLINTWOOD, Va. (WJHL)- The Dickenson County Historical Society has a rich history and a mission to showcase veterans. Now, the museum has a collection that dates back to the Civil War.

“The veterans, this is the backbone of the country. And [if it wasn’t] for them, it wouldn’t be no country,” Army Veteran and volunteer Kerry Phipps said.

More than a thousand photos, uniforms, ribbons and other items are on display this week. Each piece came from someone with ties to the county.

“We just want people to realize that this county, though it is the smallest county in the state, does have a big history,” Susan Mullins, Secretary of the Historical Society, said. “If it were not for them, we would not have the freedoms that we have today. And the privileges that we have today. So we feel it is only that it is our duty to recognize them in this small way.”

Everything has been donated by the Veteran or their family, including the items of a man killed in action during World War II.

“We received his medals,” Susan Mullins said. “And the flag that was draped over his coffin and the flag that flew over the capital in his honor.”

The collection dates back to the Civil War and has memorabilia up to recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“It shows the progression of other military, progression of combat,” Marine Corps Veteran Donnie Mullins said. “In the Civil War were packing the old blunderbuss you know, a restart, a weapon [all the way to] what we have today.”

The display is emotional for those who helped put it together.

“My family- we have their photos here. My dad and his brothers cousins, in-laws, all of them,” Susan Mullins said. “Most of them are now gone. But you know, just to see it and know what they did, what a lot of them gave up just so that we could do this.”

Some of the volunteers are Veterans themselves donating their own items.

“When something happens to me, it would be here for people to see it,” Phipps said.

The collection pays homage to the past but creates a pathway for the future.

“I served in Afghanistan. These people have seen far worse combat than me. I couldn’t imagine what you people went through at all. Just a lot of a lot of pride and setting this up. Being able to talk to other people, explain history,” Donnie Mullins said. “Once I’m gone, people can look back on that, or somebody I know or somebody from my area served, I can too.”

You can see the collection yourself on Saturday. The Dickenson County Society opens at 11 a.m. as part of the town’s Fourth of July celebration.

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