Back in October, we were travelling to see family when we stopped at Mission BBQ in Roanoke, VA, which so happened to also be hosting a birthday party for two WWII veterans. My brother was thanking the veterans present for their service when he started conversing with a 94-year old Korean War-era veteran named Cap. Lee Anthony, who owns a large collection of war antiques that he stores in his barn. Cap. Anthony invited us to tour his Barn and see his collection. Of course we accepted!

Cap. Anthony does indeed have a very impressive collection of Civil War, Korean, Vietman, and both Word War antiques, from holsters to uniforms to buckles to helmets to portraits to wreckage from Audie Murphy's plane. I was invited to sit in a pilot's seat and hold beautifully filigreed genuine ornamental WWII German swords and knives. There was a story attached to several little and large items, but, sadly, a good deal of his collection is sourced from thrift stores, when family of deceased veterans drop off the veteran's memorabilia, leaving the antiques story-less; More often than not, it's impossible to identify the veteran or original owner.

It reminds me of when my family and I were cleaning out my grandmother's house. She was an antique dealer and a borderline hoarder. We still have several pieces of furniture, but couldn't possibly keep everything, so most of the antiques were auctioned off. My mom remarked several times during Col Anthony's tour that she played with canteens and other wartime knicknacks as a young girl, oblivious to their history. Knowing what we do now about the significance of history, I can't help but wonder if there was anything amazing, notable, or unique we missed cleaning out my grandmother's house just because none of us cared or knew much about history at the time.

I highly recommend arranging a tour with Cap. Anthony to see his Barn in Salem, VA. He's extremely knowledgable, witty, and there's a story for everything he collects.