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Memorabilia collector visits with Vietnam vets in Cumming
VVA
Members of the Cumming Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America look over several tables of military artifacts from the war. - photo by For the FCN

CUMMING — As a collector of Vietnam-era military uniforms and field gear, C.G. Garcia of west Forsyth has become somewhat of an expert on the equipment used by U.S. and South Vietnamese forces, as well as the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese military.

Garcia brought part of his extensive collection of military equipment to a recent meeting of the Cumming Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America.

According to Garcia, his interest in military paraphernalia started when his grandmother gave him his grandfather’s World War II uniform. He collected items from that period for a short time before turning his attention to items from the Vietnam War.

Garcia told the veterans how he would scour military surplus stores, flea markets, thrift stores and garage sales in search of desirable collectibles.

Garcia, who has acquired thousands of items, has turned a room of his home into a virtual museum with uniform-bedecked mannequins, helmets, rucksacks and all the other equipment issued to combatants on both sides during the war.

For the veterans, seeing the collection brought memories of their youth and days in service, both pleasant and unpleasant.