Kenneth Elkins, a U.S. Army veteran, has created a museum and large American flag as a tribute to his fallen comrades and United States veterans.
Elkins has been a woodworker for about 50 years, learning the craft from his father and then taking courses over the years. A few years ago, he was looking to find something that would combine his love of woodworking with his passion for the military.
Using a scroll saw he creates a variety of signs and other items representing each branch of the service. He makes wooden replicas of the “Battlefield Prayer” depicting a soldier kneeling over a battlefield grave. The signs are donated to the American Legion to place on veterans’ graves or to give to families.
But his largest project is a wooden 8-foot tall by 10-foot-long American flag almost filling one wall in the room where he has created a military museum. The white stars on the blue field are filled with the names of service members killed or missing in action, including 13 killed in Kabul and four others elsewhere in Afghanistan. Along the flag’s stripes are dog-tag sized blocks with the names of more than 200 veterans, one even dating back to the Revolutionary War.
“I’ve had guys come in here and fall down on their knees crying,” Elkins said.
He said the wall includes the names of “all kinds of people from all different walks of life,” but the one thing they have in common is they are all American soldiers.
He invites veterans or families of service members to add names to the wall. He does not allow political or religious messages.
“These men and women right here is all it’s about,” he said pointing to the flag.
Museum collection
When Elkins first started collecting military memorabilia, he had it displayed in a spare bedroom in his home on Old Prentiss Road. However, he needed the extra room for his grandchildren to sleep and play in when they came to visit, so he finished a room off his workshop to create a museum.
“When I moved it down here, I thought ‘I don’t have enough stuff.’” He scours flea markets, estate sales and antique stores looking for items to add to his collection. One of his most unique finds was at the Highlands Road flea market - a patriotic red, white and blue motorcycle that he says once belonged to Kyle Petty.
“It’s not a professional museum, it’s just things I like,” he said.
The door to the museum is filled with the Armed Forces Oath of Enlistment, made from wooden letters Elkins made. Next to the door inside the museum is a case filled with bracelets with tiles of U.S. flags and the branches of the military. Elkins carries a supply of the bracelets with him when he travels to share with other veterans.
The case also includes a copy of Gary Sinise’s book “Grateful American.” “That guy there is my hero,” Elkins said. “He has done more for the military than anyone in the world.”
A room at the back of the museum is filled with uniforms from various eras dating back to World War I. Among the oldest items in his collection are two Civil War-era canteens. When he buys a new piece for the museum, he tries to find out the history of the soldier the item belonged to.
“I want to know where it’s from,” Elkins said. “To me, that’s the history of it.”
For example, he recently acquired a Marines baseball uniform. He learned it had belonged to a young man who lied about his age when enlisting and had to have his mother sign for him because he was only 16 years old.
Several shelves in the museum feature military-themed toys such as GI-Joe dolls, including one of George W. Bush. “This is what made a lot of men and women my age join,” he said. “It was like, ‘Oh my gosh, look at what GI Joe does.’ I love history – to me this is history – it’s what I grew up with.”
Elkins said he’s a collector and he enjoys being able to spend time looking at his items and learning more about them. “I don’t do it for the money. I do it for the fun of it – for the history.”
To visit Kenny’s Military Memory Wall and Museum or to add a name to the flag wall, contact Elkins at 419-631-0906. The museum and wall are open by appointment only.