Kellams: This is Ozarks at Large.
The world may change and go awry.
While there is still, in a corner of the Chaffee Barbershop and Military Museum in Fort Smith, a retro radio plays music from decades earlier. It helped set the scene for telling the story of the hundreds of thousands of men and women who've passed through Fort Chaffee.
Last month, Emma Makowski, the museum's collection coordinator, offered a quick tour. We began in a section she's particularly fond of, the story of the women and men who trained here before being sent to World War II.
Makowski: So this was two years of work, and I do have to credit my former boss, Cassie. She was here before my new boss, Jennifer, who's also doing a really wonderful job. And we have been working on this for a very, very long time.
The World War II trench is kind of my baby. I had been focusing on it for about a year and a half, and it finally came to fruition in 2024. And being a military spouse, I wanted to add little certain elements to it that maybe you wouldn't pick up on if you were to go through maybe another person's exhibit who has no military connection, or just maybe it's a familial connection through ancestry. So everything from red lipstick being issued to women in uniform, to our little Kilroy that we have hidden in the exhibit, we wanted to make sure it was interactive, but also educational as well, and that everybody of all ages can enjoy it.
Kellams: How did you find some of the things, some of the artifacts we see in here?
Makowski: Well, I actually went on Facebook. I joined a lot of Facebook groups for the 14th, 6th and 16th armored divisions. We train tanks here on Fort Chaffee, and we were specifically built for that because our terrain is very similar to Poland, Ukraine and Russia. Prime area for us to be training tanks today, but also prime area back then as well. Very similar setup to the Bavarian landscape that we know that Germany had at the time. A lot of trees and you have to learn how to navigate a tank through all those trees. If anybody has seen "Fury," they'll know what I'm talking about. Especially when you come to a clearing and a halt and there's a whole tree line full of German soldiers, you got to figure out what to do.
So they actually built little towns, and those were really interesting. We had Hitler Berg, and then they changed it to something not as nice for the Imperial Japanese that I cannot say. But they did change it to something once we realized we were going to be fighting the Japanese. But I do know that that training took place here. So for me, it was important to acquire artifacts that pertain to those divisions to kind of help tell that story a little bit.
So everything from these artifacts we have here, so this was brought over by an American soldier. It was actually sent back to his wife. And this is what I'm talking about when I say I wanted to add little things as a military spouse. It's the little things that your spouse brings back for you from the countries that they've been to. He had this made in, I think it was Holland right after the Battle of the Bulge, if I'm not mistaken. And then we have a box from Nice, France and a couple of other artifacts in here. We have a pen and also a handkerchief as those were really popular back in the day. But he brought this back and he was a part of the 6th Armored Division.
So joining Facebook groups like that, getting those stories from the children of these men, because unfortunately, there's not many left. And the one gentleman was going to interview for the 6th Armored Division passed before I could get to him, unfortunately. But just trying to get those stories down and just as a way for the public to kind of be like, oh, I could see myself 80 years ago having my boyfriend or my husband sending something back to me very similar to that. Or my husband did purchase something like that similar to me. To help create that human connection is really important to me.
Kellams: The museum includes artifacts from the fort's days that are both somber and not so somber. There is, for instance, a sign for the bowling alley that used to be on site. Bullets are coming out of the sign, Emma says. Those bullets were added, but for a reason.
Makowski: The bowling alley sign is really interesting, so we added these, but there were bullet holes in it, so we know somebody decided to have a little target practice. But this is from on post. We put lights in it. So whenever we turn on the lights, it lights up. So you kind of get to see what it may have looked like back then. We had bowling alleys, we had movie theaters. We also had a lot of celebrities come and visit the post during World War II. So we had a lot of stuff going on during this particular time as well.
Kellams: The fort's history isn't just World War II, and the museum reflects that. There are images and the stories of Cuban refugees who fled their country during the Mariel boatlift in 1980 and were housed at Chaffee. There are also stories of refugees from the Vietnam War who stayed at Chaffee following the fall of Saigon.
Makowski: It wasn't just Vietnamese refugees, it was also Cambodian, Hmong and all of the other ethnic groups from that region of the world.
Kellams: I'm glad this is here, because I think there are people in Arkansas that might not have quite the knowledge of what Fort Chaffee has meant for decades.
Makowski: Well, absolutely. That and coming from a very northeastern state as well, Arkansas is a very diverse area of the United States. And I don't think a lot of people really know that we have a lot of different histories here from all different cultures and different walks of life. And I think it's important to showcase that just to kind of show that the American experience isn't just one person's experience, it's multiple different experiences for individuals.
Kellams: Friday, the museum will host Doug Nguyen, who was a child when he and his mother fled Saigon and arrived at Fort Chaffee during what was called Operation New Arrivals. There will also be a film about Chaffee, produced by Natalie Vuong, a student at the University of Houston. Emma Makowski says the evening, beginning at six o'clock Friday, is part of the museum's mission of outreach.
Why do you think it's important for people, whether they're in the River Valley, the Ozarks, Arkansas or elsewhere, to know about Chaffee's history?
Makowski: I think it's important because, like I said, it's not just one person's history. It's multiple different people's experiences, and it tells the story of us. It doesn't just tell the story of the River Valley or even Arkansas in general. It tells American history. We were a part of a lot of really amazing things that happened during World War II and just history in general, but in particular the Buchenwald liberation. Those were our men that were the first into that camp. I don't think a lot of people know that. So it's learning little bits and pieces of information in history like that, and that we have connections outside of the United States as well. And just understanding how much of our impact has impacted regions of the world as well, I think is really important.
Kellams: The museum is called the Chaffee Barbershop and Military Museum for a very important reason. Arguably the most famous haircut of the 20th century happened here, when a new draftee, Elvis Presley, had his famous pompadour shorn by barber James "Pete" Peterson. This was March 1958. Elvis was not an up and comer. He had logged a dozen number one hits by this time.
Makowski: I like to compare it to Taylor Swift joining the Army. Like if she were to do that, and it's at that stage we're at that same level of fame. And what's really fascinating about Elvis is that he was here for three days, so he came here for his in-processing so he went through MEPS, which is essentially just making sure you're qualified to join. He was qualified. He decided to go get a haircut elsewhere, thinking probably they wouldn't shave his head. Nope. They still went in with clippers just to make sure it was up to Army regulation and standard.
But this room was packed. And as you can see by this photo over here, packed to the brim like these are all you've got. Police officers here, military police. You got photographers, you have people from the Signal Corps, you have everybody and the probably other soldiers just trying to get their haircut, trying to go through the process and are just not a fan of it in general. But we do know that he was very well respected, very well liked in the Army. And that not a lot of people had a lot of things to complain about him for.
Kellams: Emma Makowski is the collection coordinator at the Chaffee Barbershop and Military Museum, located at 7313 Terry St. at Chaffee Crossing in Fort Smith. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 until 4 each day. Admission is free. The event, From Saigon to Fort Chaffee: Untold Stories from Operation New Arrivals, featuring Doug Nguyen, is Friday night at six at the museum, with a suggested $5 donation at the door.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline and edited for length and clarity. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
