Iraq war vet envisions military memorabilia museum

REDDING, Calif. -- Robert Burroughs, who served two tours in Iraq, has long collected military memorabilia.He has enough stuff to fill a small museum.So it seems only natural that the 45-year-old Cottonwood, Calif., man would want to show off some of his prized possessions.Burroughs, who served as a senior chief petty officer with the U.S. Navy's Seabees, has embarked on an ambitious plan to try to establish a museum honoring veterans, especially those from Northern California.Burroughs is seeking nonprofit corporation status from the state so he can begin to raise money for a proposed Redding Veterans Museum and Heritage Center that, he says, could possibly someday encompass 50,000 to 100,000 square feet of exhibit space at an estimated cost of $15 million."I'm waiting for final (nonprofit) certification," he said during a recent interview at his wife's accounting business in Redding.In the meantime, Burroughs has been collaborating with officials from other U.S. military museums for their guidance and ideas, drumming up support from local individuals and organizations, seeking prospective sponsors and trying to find a temporary location for the museum.But he is also hoping to find a permanent location, ideally near the Redding Municipal Airport, and believes it could be in operation within the next three to four years."I've got a lot of irons in the fire," he said, noting that students at the Anderson New Technology High School are working on the conceptual drawings for the museum as part of a school project.Those drawings should be finished in about a month, he said. As envisioned, the museum would feature state-of-the-art and interactive exhibits, as well as an indoor theater, gift shop, Medal of Honor monument, courtyard-amphitheater for lectures, a library, chapel and other attractions.Burroughs, who's determined to preserve and guard historical military treasures as well as provide a valuable educational tool, has a host of military artifacts, including rifles with bayonets, uniforms, helmets, medals, photographs, documents, works of art and other museum-like pieces.Burroughs said his collection, which includes an American M-1 carbine that was used in the invasion of Iwo Jima, numbers about 2,000 to 3,000 separate pieces.The proposed veterans museum would allow him to display his impressive collection, as well as allow the exhibition of those military mementos and artifacts donated to the museum or owned by others.Burroughs, who returned from his second tour of Iraq in September 2007, became interested as a young man in collecting military memorabilia after his U.S. Navy veteran father gave him his own personal items, including photographs and shells. The gift was made when Burroughs was still a youngster growing up in Canoga Park. His father died in 2000.But his idea for a veterans museum did not take firm root until a few years ago after he returned home from his first tour in Iraq.Through his volunteer work at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery, Burroughs said, he became convinced that there was a need for such a museum. He suspects that veterans in the area, as well as the families of deceased veterans, have numerous items gathering dust in closets that would be perfect for display.He's already received donated items intended for the museum, including a Purple Heart medal that was found at a garage sale."There's always a story to be told" with those artifacts, he said.And it's those stories that deserve to be shared before they are forgotten, he added.(Contact Jim Schultz of the Redding Record Searchlight in California at jschultz(at)redding.com.)