McKinney, Texas, March 15, 2015 -- The opening of the Vietnam Syndrome Exhibit got off to a rousing start Friday afternoon at the Collin County Historical Society and Museum at 300 E. Virginia Street in McKinney. Grand Opening ceremonies had been planned for the front steps of the historic old Post Office, but due to a steady downpour had to be moved indoors. However, in spite of the inclement weather, an estimated 300 people showed up and crowded inside. Vicki Day, Museum Director, said it was by far the largest number of people that she had ever seen inside those walls.
With the Opening Colors presented by four very impressive young ladies of the McKinney High School Marine Corps ROTC, Joe Cordina, Colonel, USAF Reserve, welcomed the veterans and guests and presented Colonel (Ret) Anthony A. Wood, USMC, who kept the audience in awe with heartfelt and moving stories of his service during the Vietnam War.
Hundreds of artifacts, weapons, uniforms and pictures from the war, that fill two floors, are on display, including life-size replicas of POW Cells in Hanoi, North Vietnam, where American pilots, including Congressman Sam Johnson, were held for many years; a bamboo tiger cage used to hold GIs captured in South Vietnam; and a typical Marine Corps sand-bag-covered machine-gun bunker.
The exhibit will run through the end of November, 2015, with visiting hours from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., each Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Admission is $7.50, $5 for seniors and veterans, $3 for children, Vietnam Era Veterans Free.
For more pictures and information go to www.ccfreedomfighters.com
or visit the Collin County Historic Society and Museum online at http://collincountyhistoricalsociety.org/