Thinking Small: Tiny war museum to laud miniature Marine

Military uniforms and artifacts are on display at The Columbia Barracks military Historical Society Museum. (Steven Lane/The Columbian)

Until someone proves them wrong, Sam Jones and the rest of the Columbia Barracks Military Historical Society volunteers will continue to call their place the “world’s smallest known war museum.”

Jones decided to expand that distinction for a special Veterans Day this year, after chatting with his wife’s new caregiver, LaDonna Springer. The diminutive 51-year-old mentioned to Jones she once was an active-duty Marine. After Jones had seen her official paperwork as proof, he decided to celebrate Springer this Saturday as the “world’s smallest known Marine.”

The Vancouver museum, usually open noon to 4 p.m. Fridays, will offer the reception for Springer and those same hours on Veterans Day, following the city’s annual parade, which starts at 11 a.m. at Officers Row and ends at Esther Short Park.

Springer, who is 4-feet 105/8 inches tall, at first thought Jones was joking when he suggested the idea. She never ran across a shorter Marine, during her service. But she acknowledges having no idea if the claim as “smallest known marine” was true.

The official height restriction on Marines is 5 feet. Springer said her recruiter told her it was 4-feet-10, and she made it almost all of the way through boot camp at Parris Island in South Carolina before one of the instructors questioned her eligibility.

“I had went through the torture,” she said, including the berating that came regularly whenever her platoon went marching. Recruits lined up from tallest to shortest, so Springer always ended up in the back. She not only had difficulty matching the strides of the taller women, but she also had to keep her head at an even level with the others, which gave the appearance that she bobbed up and down. One time, she even was pulled out of the ranks and made to sit and watch as punishment.

She also had to overcome wearing shoes that were way too big. She typically wears a size 2 in boys, but the smallest the Marines had to offer was a 4 in men’s. Springer eventually was assigned to be a supply clerk. She wears heels now to help hide her stature, including three-inch lifts on her recent visit to the museum.

Springer’s favorite exhibit at the museum is the full set of Marine Corps dress blues. The set has been placed on one of the 40 mannequins in the shop that display uniforms, ranging from the Civil War to the Iraq War. Those displays cover all branches of the service, as well as oddities, including a replica of Bob Hope’s United Service Organizations uniform and one worn by a Knight Templar.

The oldest artifact is a fife, similar to a flute, from the American Revolutionary War, and the collection includes a variety of war-related memorabilia, such as posters, helmets, binoculars, photos, books and model guns. Also featured are items that represent the enemy, such as a set of stamps displaying Adolph Hitler in profile.

“Those are the kinds of things that put what we are doing into perspective,” volunteer Bryan Bell said. “Those are a reality check, about what Americans were fighting and are fighting for.”

Jones and Bill Hidden, who owns the building and sponsors the space, provide the upkeep and pay what few bills are generated by the museum, such as the $21 a month cost in utilities.

The place officially is 11 feet wide by 55 feet deep, yet the display space only covers about 42 feet of that depth, with the rest used as storage. A representative from a small military museum in Idaho visited recently to challenge the “smallest” claim, but Jones said the Vancouver institution won that one.

Despite its size, the institution encapsulates the emotional essence related to military service, Springer said.

“When it comes down to it, we’re really proud of our country,” she added. “Those who have went through basic training know how it feels to graduate, to be issued your uniform gear. Whenever the national anthem plays, the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. It brings back all of the glory.”