Texas Military Forces Museum honors director with name
By Tech. Sgt. Gregory Ripps
Texas National Guard Public Affairs
CAMP MABRY, Austin, Texas (Feb. 7, 2006) The Texas Military Forces Museum here received a new name Feb. 4. It is now the Brig. Gen. John C.L. Scribner Texas Military Forces Museum.
The event celebrating the renaming also marked a birthday, an anniversary and a retirement
all having to do with General Scribner. Retired Col. Pat Simpson, the new museum director, noted that the occasion celebrated the master historians 75th birthday (Jan. 13), his 20th year as command historian and museum director (Feb. 27) and his retirement from that position (March 1).
Maj. Gen. Charles G. Rodriguez, Adjutant General of Texas, addressed the crowd at the museum for the event, describing General Scribner as a patriot and a great American.
General Scribner is celebrated today for his personal imprint on preserving Texas military history through the Texas Military Forces Museum, General Rodriguez said.
General Scribner enlisted in 1948 and, following a distinguished military career, retired in 1986 and joined the Texas State Guard. That same year, Maj. Gen. James T. Dennis, the adjutant general at the time, appointed General Scribner, as a state employee, to establish the museum. He then began what General Rodriguez termed the arduous task of compiling and documenting the history of the Texas Military Forces. The museum relocated to its present location in Building 6 on Camp Mabry in 1991 and opened its doors to the public in 1992.
We had a mission statement to tell a story that we could all be proud of as members of the Texas Military Forces, General Scribner said, noting that it was the only museum dedicated to all Texas military forces. We older ones have a duty to teach the younger ones.
The museum has constantly evolved as more items have been acquired. General Scribner has overseen the volunteers, mostly former military members, as they documented the acquisitions and organized the exhibits. The museum includes uniforms, weapons, flags and a multitude of other equipment covering the period from the Texas Revolution of 1835 and 1836 to the present. Displays range from tanks and small aircraft to dioramas featuring hundreds of accurately detailed miniature soldiers.
As testimony to General Scribners work with historical re-enactors and researchers, two organizations, the Lone Star Military Vehicle Preservation Association and the French Foreign Legion Historical Society, presented General Scribner with plaques Feb. 4. Also, the governor of Texas has signed a letter of appreciation for General Scribner.
General Scribner explained that the story the museum tells about the Texas Military Forces is for its members as much as for the general public.
The museum belongs to them [Soldiers and Airmen], General Scribner declared. How good it is depends on how well they use it.
General and Mrs. Scribner plan to move to New Braunfels, Texas, but he said he still hopes to do some volunteer work with the museum.
By Tech. Sgt. Gregory Ripps
Texas National Guard Public Affairs
CAMP MABRY, Austin, Texas (Feb. 7, 2006) The Texas Military Forces Museum here received a new name Feb. 4. It is now the Brig. Gen. John C.L. Scribner Texas Military Forces Museum.
The event celebrating the renaming also marked a birthday, an anniversary and a retirement
all having to do with General Scribner. Retired Col. Pat Simpson, the new museum director, noted that the occasion celebrated the master historians 75th birthday (Jan. 13), his 20th year as command historian and museum director (Feb. 27) and his retirement from that position (March 1).
Maj. Gen. Charles G. Rodriguez, Adjutant General of Texas, addressed the crowd at the museum for the event, describing General Scribner as a patriot and a great American.
General Scribner is celebrated today for his personal imprint on preserving Texas military history through the Texas Military Forces Museum, General Rodriguez said.
General Scribner enlisted in 1948 and, following a distinguished military career, retired in 1986 and joined the Texas State Guard. That same year, Maj. Gen. James T. Dennis, the adjutant general at the time, appointed General Scribner, as a state employee, to establish the museum. He then began what General Rodriguez termed the arduous task of compiling and documenting the history of the Texas Military Forces. The museum relocated to its present location in Building 6 on Camp Mabry in 1991 and opened its doors to the public in 1992.
We had a mission statement to tell a story that we could all be proud of as members of the Texas Military Forces, General Scribner said, noting that it was the only museum dedicated to all Texas military forces. We older ones have a duty to teach the younger ones.
The museum has constantly evolved as more items have been acquired. General Scribner has overseen the volunteers, mostly former military members, as they documented the acquisitions and organized the exhibits. The museum includes uniforms, weapons, flags and a multitude of other equipment covering the period from the Texas Revolution of 1835 and 1836 to the present. Displays range from tanks and small aircraft to dioramas featuring hundreds of accurately detailed miniature soldiers.
As testimony to General Scribners work with historical re-enactors and researchers, two organizations, the Lone Star Military Vehicle Preservation Association and the French Foreign Legion Historical Society, presented General Scribner with plaques Feb. 4. Also, the governor of Texas has signed a letter of appreciation for General Scribner.
General Scribner explained that the story the museum tells about the Texas Military Forces is for its members as much as for the general public.
The museum belongs to them [Soldiers and Airmen], General Scribner declared. How good it is depends on how well they use it.
General and Mrs. Scribner plan to move to New Braunfels, Texas, but he said he still hopes to do some volunteer work with the museum.
