FINDLAY, Ohio — Armed Forces Day is Saturday, and thousands of war history buffs will be marching to Findlay to show their appreciation of the U.S. military's past.
Two Vietnam-era American Huey 369 helicopters flew overhead in Findlay on Friday. They're in town for the weekend, along with 180 historic military vehicles, for the 36th annual Findlay Show: Armed Forces Day Celebration at the Hancock County fairgrounds.
Along with the vintage equipment on display, multiple traveling museums are in town.
The Vietnam War Experience Traveling Museum from Marion, Ohio, visits schools and other cities to help share the first-person perspective of the divisive two-decade conflict.
"If you could get a Civil War vet to talk to you, that would be something else," museum coordinator Charles Van Voorhis said. "Well, the Vietnam vets numbers are declining and the few of us still around want to tell the story."
The military vehicles aren't stationary showpieces, either. Many are operational and can be seen traveling around the event grounds all weekend.
"It's a really good healing thing because a lot of our veterans come back that have served years ago," John Cheney, commander of the Findlay Military Association, said. "World War II, we have very few of them. But a lot of Korean [War] vets and Vietnam [War] vets. And they come just to re-experience and see some of the vehicles that they once served in and such. That's our primary focus, we're here to honor the veterans."
The show is also hosting one of the largest military memorabilia swap meetings in the country for local collectors.
"Even though you might not want to buy a Jeep fender, there are all kinds of military memorabilia, artifacts and artwork out here," Cheney said. "There are things for everybody to purchase and appreciate that likes to have a collectible."
The 36th annual Armed Forces Day Celebration runs all weekend long at the Hancock County fairgrounds, with a special opening ceremony celebration scheduled for 10:15 a.m. on Saturday.