Retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Jim Joyce said the Heritage Park Veterans Museum’s new mobile unit will enable more people to honor the sacrifices of military veterans.

  “The best thing about the mobile unit is, we can take it to those who can’t get to us,” said Joyce, the museum’s curator. “I hope they get a sense of pride, and become really very thankful for the military.”

  The mobile unit was unveiled Saturday at Heritage Park in McDonough.

  One wall of the mobile unit contains approximately 150 artifacts and information from all branches of service. This, said Joyce, is just one example of what the mobile unit has to offer.

  “On the other wall, there are examples of military warrior uniforms from all branches of services, highlighted in cases that are backlit for viewing,” he said. “There’s one from all five branches of service, and a sixth one dedicated U.S. Army veteran Bill Steele. He was one of our volunteers at the museum. We lost him the day before Thanksgiving. He was a member of the 173rd Airborne in Vietnam.”

  The nose of the trailer, said Joyce, features the uniform of Medal of Honor recipient, Army Master Sgt. Roy P. Benavidez, who was also known by call sign, Tango Mike Mike. Joyce said the letters “TMM” in the call sign stood for “The Mean Mexican.”

  “He was a member of the 5th Special Forces Group,” said Joyce regarding Benavidez. “Also in the nose of the trailer is a closed-circuit TV monitor that plays several videos concerning the museum, and the video of Tango Mike Mike, talking about what he went through when he earned his Medal of Honor.”

  The concept for the mobile unit originated about five years ago. At that time, Joyce said, the museum was becoming more popular, with visitors expressing a desire to bring family members to enjoy it as well.

  “We finally decided to work toward funding the mobile unit,” he said. “It’s funded through 100 percent donations. Not a single Henry County tax dollar went toward this trailer.”

  Joyce said he was pleased by the turnout for the launch of the new trailer.

  “It was cold, and it was raining, and there were about 60 people there,” he said.

  Joyce said local residents have been solidly behind the process of adding a mobile unit for the museum. He said plans are already in place to introduce the mobile unit to schools, senior centers and other locations in the area.

“Right now, we’ve got 13 events scheduled for that trailer,” said Joyce. “Every library in the county is on the schedule.” For more information, call Jim Joyce at 404-831-9740.