Published: October 08, 2008 10:13 pm      

General: Museum needs $2 million

EDMOND — Oklahoma’s top military adviser to Gov. Brad Henry told members of the Edmond Kiwanis Club he plans to ask the Legislature for $2 million for a new wing on the 45th Infantry Division Museum.

Major Gen. Harry M. “Bud” Wyatt III, the adjutant general of Oklahoma, commands units of the Air and Army National Guard, and he oversees the museum. Wyatt was the featured speaker Wednesday during a Kiwanis luncheon on the University of Central Oklahoma campus.

Wyatt said the museum, at 2145 N.E. 36th St. in Oklahoma City, needs space to grow.

“We are stuffed to the gills with exhibits, most of them World War II, but also some Gulf War stuff and some Air National Guard stuff,” Wyatt said.

Putting in a plug for the museum, Wyatt called it the best state-run military museum.

“We have some things that the national museums are wanting very badly to get from us,” he said.

Currently, the museum, which stands on a 15-acre park, has 27,000 square feet of exhibit space. The museum is funded by the Legislature through the Oklahoma Military Department and the 45th Infantry Division Association, the closest thing it has to a fundraising arm, Wyatt said.

Membership to the association is open to anyone who wants to pay dues, Wyatt said. The main pool is former members of the 45th Infantry Division, he said. Other sources of revenue come from donations by patrons and from gift shop purchases.

In other remarks, Wyatt discussed the role of Oklahomans in forging a relationship with a key Iraq war ally — Azerbaijan.

“We here in Oklahoma get to play the part of fostering that relationship, and I’m very proud of the state partnership,” he said.

Situated along the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan shares borders with Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Iran. Azerbaijan also is a conduit for the 1,000-mile Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which carries oil from the Caspian Sea through Georgia to Turkey. By some accounts, Caspian oil fields may hold the world’s third largest reserves.

Oklahomans and Azerbaijanis have had exchange programs. Wyatt said he works with Azerbaijan’s minister of defense to promote humanitarian efforts.

Al Warren, incoming president of the Edmond chapter, said headlines about the financial crisis have drawn attention away from national security issues, but the sacrifices of Wyatt and the men and women serving in the armed forces should not be forgotten.



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