PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Thousands of Oregonians have served with distinction in this nation’s wars. A world-class museum paying tribute to them is under construction right now.
The Oregon Military Museum was named after one of Oregon’s greatest war heroes. Now his famous son, Tommy Thayer of KISS, is helping make that museum a reality in this place where we live.
The Oregon Military Museum project
Brigadier General James B. Thayer is one of Oregon’s most decorated war heroes. His many military honors include the silver and bronze stars.
https://lintvkoin.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/generalthayerphoto002.jpg?w=236&h=300
Brigadier General James B. Thayer. (Courtesy photo)
“My dad is going to be 95-years-old in about a month, and he’s just an amazing man that we all admire, and I love very much,” Tommy Thayer told KOIN.
In 1945, during WWII, James Thayer’s platoon engaged in brutal hand-to-hand combat with German SS troops, liberating prisoners from a concentration camp in Austria.
“And what they found there was just a horrific scene,” Tommy said. “But they helped save the lives of about 15,000 Hungarian Jewish refugees that day.”
Thayer’s heroism is why the $20 million Oregon Military Museum will bear his name. The three buildings at the Oregon National Guard’s Camp Withycombe in Clackamas will house artifacts, weapons and stories of Oregon’s fighting men and women going back to the 1800s.
“It’s really important to have a place like this, so we can keep those stories alive well into the future,” said Amy Maxwell with the Oregon Military Museum project.
https://lintvkoin.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/kiss-thayer-and-simmons.jpg?w=224&h=300
Tommy Thayer (right) and
Views: 22
