Wilson County native, Steve Quarles, recently gifted the Museum with his Special Forces dress uniform, Vietnam-era fatigue shirt and iconic green beret with 5th Special Forces Group insignia. The Green Beret may be worn only by those awarded the Special Forces designation. President John F. Kennedy claimed it a “symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom.”
Quarles was drafted into the US Army in 1968. He reported for Basic Training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he was offered the chance to go for Special Forces training. Barry Saddler’s popular “Ballad of the Green Beret” created an image that was too alluring to pass up and Quarles joined this elite organization with little hesitation. He was initially assigned to the 6th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, before becoming a 5th Special Forces Group member in support of the missions in Vietnam. Quarles was honorably discharged from the US Army Reserve in 1974 and went on to pursue a successful career in manufacturing and engineering.
In the second image, from left to right: Dan Pomeroy, director of collections; Museum executive director Ashley Howell; Lisa Budreau, curator of military history; donor Steve Quarles; and Thomas Smith, chairman of the Douglas Henry State Museum Commission.
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