The Voice for Kitsap County’s Veterans, Active-Duty Personnel,
and their Families
Veterans Life
KitsapVeteransLife.com
May 2015
Honoring those who served
IN THIS EDITION
A visit to the Veterans Living History Museum in downtown Port Orchard By LESLIE KELLY
lkelly@soundpublishing.com
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Armed Forces Day Parade May 16
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Ernie Pyle’s final column from the front
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ust about 10 a.m. every morning, Dale Nitz can be seen opening the door of his museum and placing a few military artifacts on the sidewalk near the entrance. He then places a giant, 19-footlong flag between two poles outside the museum. Recently, he has been placing a storyboard near the front window, dedicated to his border collie Waya, who recently passed. The Veterans Living History Museum — at 825 Bay St. in downtown Port Orchard —- is his life now that she’s gone. And the museum, which recently was in the news because of a controversy about whether he could display his large flag, is his “home away from home.” “This is not about me,” he said of the museum. “This is for them —- the veterans. I do it for them.” Nitz, a retired propane delivery driver and Coast Guard veteran, said he bought his first piece of military memorabilia in 2001. He intended to resell the cadet gray parade uniform he had purchased on the Internet auction store eBay, but the uniform didn’t receive a single bid. “I didn’t get one bid for it,” he said. “I thought, ‘Something is wrong here.’ ” Nitz slowly learned more about the uniform and the man who wore it. He discovered the gray helmet, trousers, sword and belt were worn by World War II Army Col. J.W. Lockett, who died in
Dale Nitz opens the Veterans Living History Museum in downtown Port Orchard. “This is not about me,” he said of the museum. “This is for them —- the veterans. I do it for them.” Leslie Kelly / Veterans Life
1990. He learned the colonel spent time in a POW camp in Schubin, Poland. He uncovered more about the man’s family history, a trip to China and his experience in the prison camp. Along with information about the soldier from the Greatest Generation, Nitz also acquired
more of the colonel’s belongings. Before long, Nitz had Lockett’s dress blue uniform, pictures from his graduation at the United States Military Academy at West Point and even a history of his uncle J. Lockett, who was also a colonel. Nitz took his collection to the West Sound Military Vehicle
Preservation Club. He was astounded at the reception the collection received. “They talked me into showing it,” he said. “It snowballed from there.” As Nitz’s collection of military memorabilia dating from the See MUSEUM, Page 2
also ...
Ashes of veteran of two wars will be escorted to Tahoma
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PORT ORCHARD — Robert S. Timm was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. As a Navy sailor, he served in the Pacific from 1945-46. As
Opinion ■ Calendar ■ Resources
an Army soldier from 1948-56, he was stationed Fort Lewis, and in Alaska; Sasebo, Japan; and Busan, South Korea. At some point, he settled in Kitsap and spent the rest of his
life here. Timm died at Retsil Veterans Home on Dec. 19, 2014, at the age of 87. The Kitsap County Coroner’s office could locate no surviving relative, no next
of kin. But the old sailor and soldier is not forgotten. His ashes will be escorted to Tahoma National Cemetery See UNFORGOTTEN, Page 3
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