No, that isn’t a billboard going up south of Texas 180, just east of Mineral Wells. It’s the pole onto which the Friends of the NVWM hope to hoist one of the three UH-1H helicopters the museum owns.
"It will look like it’s banking to fly to Fort Wolters," said Jerry Staggs, a Vietnam veteran who’s the project director.
Before Staggs and his buddies can put the Huey on it’s pole, they need about 19 yards of concrete to hold the mount in place. Virtually everything else was donated, so they’re hoping a patriotic benefactor will step forward with the mud, too.
Staggs said that Crosstech Energy donated the 31 feet of 20-inch pipe and 40 feet of 6-inch pipe for the mount, and Smith Fabrications of Mineral Wells engineered and assembled it.
Cross braces on the end of the pole that will be covered with concrete are train rails made in 1902, salvaged from the Rails to Trails project, Staggs said.
Dennis Bradshaw at the Mineral Wells Ace Hardware donated rust-proofing primer paint for the pole.
Charles Stutzman of Tejas Coach Works in Mineral Wells coated the whole thing with spray-on bed liner, making it just about indestructible.
Jim Messinger, president of Friends of the NVWM, said a Hoist-the-Huey party is planned.
"We can’t pick a date until we get the concrete in the hole," Messinger said. "So once we have concrete, we’ll be notifying everyone of the date and time."
The Huey is the symbol of the Vietnam War in many veterans’ minds. The NVWM site was chosen for its proximity to Fort Wolters, where thousands of Vietnam helicopter pilots were trained.
Staggs, who was a Vietnam War helicopter crew chief, said installing the bird is a labor of love, but he put the emphasis on labor.
He and Messinger dug the pole’s hole with the NVWM’s backhoe. As the last scoop of dirt came up, the backhoe’s motor blew up. Staggs said he’ll have to drop another motor into the machine, because it has a lot more jobs to do on the museum’s site.
However, the MT-250 crane that lifted the pole into place and will hoist the bird was purchased for that job alone. It came from federal surplus by way of Texas Surplus Properties, but decals in the door show that it was used by the 844th Engineering Battalion at Camp Arifjan Kuwait in 2004.
Staggs said the Huey that’s destined for the pole saw service four decades ago. It will be repainted in the proper OD green, but Staggs plans to paint a black cat emblem on the nose representing his old unit – the 282nd Assault Helicopter Company at Marble Mountain Airfield, a Marine airbase on the coast of Vietnam, about five miles southeast of DaNang.
The 282nd supported the 51st RVN Regiment, Staggs said. He’s wondering if any of those veterans are among Vietnamese immigrants who have settled in the Metroplex. Maybe one of them has a concrete company.
"We’re not begging for concrete," he quipped. "We’re just asking."
Anyone who’d like to answer that request may call Messinger at 940-664-3918.