the Civil War,” Jones says. Heaton estimates that 50 to 60 people, including numerous school groups, visit the museum each week. The museum’s library and its special exhibits on Purple Heart recipients, Navajo Code Talkers and the Tuskegee Airmen are among the most popular attractions. The museum has also become a gathering place for local veterans, and a videographer for the Library of Congress’s Veterans History Project comes once a month to interview them. “This is first-person history, different from what you’ll see in
New York or even at the Quantico Marine base,” Jones says. “Those museums have a lot of information about how the big shots ran the wars, but this is our own thing. We have details about what each person did.” In keeping with that focus, the museum hosts special events designed to honor rank-and-file soldiers and their sacrifices. Monthly flag ceremonies highlight individual veterans from the photo wall, and events on Veterans Day and Pearl Harbor Day have drawn hundreds of participants. The museum also partners with Wreaths Across America, a national
program that provides wreaths for veterans’ graves. “All this tells visitors that there were many people from this area that served their country proudly. It reminds visitors that these people should be honored,” Heaton says. And that’s just the impact Jones wants the museum to have. “I like that we’re honoring veterans of all wars and that the local veterans who weren’t honored before are now being honored,” he says. “Everyone who comes in here says it’s a wonderful thing, and that’s really heartwarming to me.”
Below: Dallas Jones Veterans Museum in Roanoke Rapids honors people from Halifax County or those who have ties to the community. Right: Eugene Bryant, left, and Dallas Jones in the museum that bears Jones’ name
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