Latest news with #JimMessinger
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
National Vietnam War Museum Inspires Untold Stories
MINERAL WELLS, TX (FOX 44) — Did you know that the National Vietnam War Museum is based here in Texas? As the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon approaches, the museum offers a powerful look at that pivotal moment in history. In this story, we'll meet the museum's founder, learn what inspired him to establish it, and explore how the Fall of Saigon continues to help shape its mission today. 'Welcome to the National Vietnam War Museum. Follow me to see the secrets,' says Jim Messinger, one of the founders and the current treasurer of the National Museum of the Vietnam War. Messinger knows all about the 'secrets' which are on display as soon as you walk through the door: a utility truck, with its armament and specs – all detailed in a compelling display. A giant 7 x 12 quilt with 68 photos – all people who served in Vietnam. And a training helicopter – something near and dear to Messinger. 'What kind of memories does this one bring back? Oh, the greatest memory of all is I almost failed flight school because of this helicopter,' Messinger says. Yes, Messinger was a helicopter pilot – did tours in Vietnam in 1967-68 and again September of 1970 through September 1971. '[Being a] Helicopter pilot was a big thing. I wanted to be in the air force, and they required a college degree. I was majoring in women and beer at the time and my grade point average was slipping – if you go below 2.0 you get drafted, and it was at a 1.8 (GPA) when I went to sign up for the Army,' Messinger says. 'I asked the Air Force guy if they were still requiring a college degree, and he said yes. So, the Army recruiter was right next door to him, and he says, 'We have this helicopter program. All you need is high school diploma,' and I had three years of college under my belt, and I found out they weren't going to give me a degree for my major, so he said, 'Okay, sign up.'' Messinger says it was fellow helicopter pilots who trained at what then was Fort Wolters near Mineral Wells, who met to form a local support organization, which morphed into something else. 'A guy named Jim – not me – raises his hand and says, 'Let's build a museum!,'' and that's how it kicked off,' Messinger says. 'We didn't know anything about what we were doing or how to do it. We just started down the road. We knew how to raise money. Today we have a 10,000-foot two story building, and we're building another building right now, so in couple of years we'll have two of these, and then we'll be talking about what the third one will be.' For Messinger, building the museum was his second life – flying helicopters (was) his first. 'There's nothing more fun than flying helicopters, and they really are fun,' Messinger says. 'When I went to Vietnam, I was 21 years old, and my first job was to fly around and let people shoot at me. Anybody out there wants that job – let me know!' Across from the training helicopter, another display that touches Messinger's heart in a different way. 'Evacuation from Saigon,' Messinger says. A display that features a video surrounding the Fall of Saigon in the spring of 1975. 'My big thing is this display behind me, (which is) the evacuation of Saigon, and what I am going to teach people that come here about their government, and why we need a different government,' Messinger says. 'It's the only war that's been blamed on the soldiers. The soldiers don't do it. The government tells us to go to war, and unfortunately the government wanted to run the war. They don't know the first thing about running wars, so it was messy over there.' Much of the messiness on display as you stroll through the museum's decorated hallways, as well as its impacts on all people involved. 'I'm out here at least two days a week,' Messinger says. 'And sometimes more. And it's still very emotional for me. Still.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Pilot Reflects on Vietnam Helicopter Training at Closed Texas Fort
MINERAL WELLS, TX (FOX 44) — Let's step back in time to Fort Wolters, the launchpad where over 40,000 helicopter pilots learned to fly during the Vietnam War. One of the pilots who trained there, and later was also an instructor there, is Jim Messinger – one of the founders and current treasurer of The National Vietnam Veterans Museum just outside of Mineral Wells. 'The large building on the left,' Messinger says, as he reminisces about where he lived while stationed on Fort Wolters in the 1960s. There's not much left of what was then living quarters. There are other signs of what was before Fort Wolters was deactivated in 1975. Stairs leading to what were buildings, foundations of buildings long gone, building after building – some in advanced states of decay. It's all tucked into pockets what is now the Wolters Industrial Park, which has reminders of the significance at the gates. 'I was on a committee that built up the front gate, rebuilt the front gate, and we maintain that front gate as it was during Vietnam. You'll get to see it. It has a Huey – it has the two helicopters that we trained in on the gate there,' Messinger says. Messinger says Fort Wolters was once part of what was Camp Wolters. 'Camp Wolters was the largest infantry replacement depot in World War II. It was gigantic, and so after the war that disappeared pretty quickly,' Messinger says. 'The Air Force dropped in part of that later on for a little while. One of the good things they did was build a new airport for Mineral Wells, and then they left.' Then the U.S. Army came in and established Fort Wolters on a portion of Camp Wolters as the primary helicopter training post for the Vietnam War, which it did until 1973 before the post's deactivation in 1975. Messinger says he and many of his fellow helicopter pilots have wonderful memories of their time here. 'The camaraderie. We all of us went to basic training and came straight here,' Messinger says. 'There were some prior service guys who got in on it, but most of us went to basic training and came here to learn how to fly helicopters and were to become warrant officers.' Then there's a different kind of nostalgia – remembering what was and is no more. 'It's kind of sad. Camp Wolters is pretty much 99 percent gone. Ft. Wolters still has some of our barracks buildings that we lived in. They were made out of concrete, and they're still out there and look good. The facilities for flying anything have been destroyed, pretty much. It's just a bunch of junk. It's just a deserted fort now.' You can learn all about Fort Wolters and its history by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
