ThisWeek CW 6-4-2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/06/01/motts-museum-expansion-funded-by-private-donations.html

ANDREW MILLER/THISWEEKNEWS A Vietnam War-era Huey helicopter lands at Motts Military Museum in Groveport, delivering guests invited to participate in the May 23 opening of a new wing at the museum.

After 10 years in the making, a new wing opened at Motts Military Museum over Memorial Day weekend — doubling the size of the current exhibition space.

At 10 a.m. May 23, Groveport residents living near the museum at 5075 S. Hamilton Road were treated to a fly-over and then a landing of a Vietnam War-era Huey helicopter carrying several of the dignitaries invited to participate in the ceremony.

Double Medal of Honor recipient Ron Rosser and D-Day paratrooper Don Jakeway, who was one of the first to land on the beaches of Normandy for that World War II action, joined museum founder Warren Motts to cut the ribbon in front of a crowd of more than 400.

“This ceremony is to honor people who served in the wars from Korea through Iraqi Freedom, and I tell you, all of those people are the ones who should be up here on stage,” Motts said. “You look around at this crowd, and then at what we’ve accomplished, and it is pretty fantastic.”

According to Motts, construction of the museum’s new wing was prompted by the donation of a 10-panel Ohio Vietnam Memorial Wall, upon which Barbara Wright hand-lettered the name of every Ohio soldier who was killed in the Vietnam War.

“I didn’t have anywhere to put it, so we built the museum around it,” Motts said.

Brig. Gen. Stephen Markovich, chief of staff for the Ohio Air National Guard and a physician who also serves as president of Riverside Methodist Hospital, provided the keynote address.

Markovich began by pointing to a fighter jet parked near the podium.

“When the airplane you flew is in a museum, it might be time to retire,” he said.

He looked at all of the veterans represented at the ceremony, spanning the years from WWII through the current conflicts, and added, “Even as a general, I’m in rare air with these veterans. It was their duty to serve and it is our duty to remember and honor them.”

The new 5,200-square-foot wing was totally funded by private donations, including much of the labor to build the structure and install the new exhibits. Existing exhibits focused primarily on the Civil War through WWII, so the new wing covers a significant amount of American military history that had previously been left out.

“Without my dear wife, Daisy, this wouldn’t exist,” Motts said. “She put up with me starting this museum in our basement. I can’t say enough about what the city has done for us, too … thanks to Mayor Lance Westcamp and city council for all their support.”

After the event, Westcamp said he is looking forward to what Motts does next.

“This was a wonderful weekend in city of Groveport and those of us that attended Mr. Motts’ ceremony — well, what a big asset he is to the city,” Westcamp said. “I’d estimated every bit of 400 people or more at the opening of the new wing.”

Todd Kleismit, director of community and government relations for the Ohio History Connection, invited the crowd to a July 18 event at the Ohio History Center, 800 E. 17th Ave., Columbus, honoring Motts for his work in preserving the history of Ohio veterans.

“Warren has dedicated his life to honoring veterans and on July 18 … we will honor Warren,” Kleismit said.

For more information about the museum and its exhibits, call 614-836-5110.