My
Tribute to John Wayne, American Hero
John Wayne - American Hero
A tribute to John Wayne
can be many things. Not everyone can afford to amass a huge collection.
The items that you see above are just a fraction of the John Wayne
items that I have collected. I have over 90% of all his movies on DVD.
I have all the Franklin Mint figurines and pocket watches. The Breyer
horses that were made, a replica of one of the hat's he wore, and many
more items are included in my collection.
Also one of the images is a tribute my wife and I have decided to do
when we visited Winterset Iowa for the John
Wayne Centennial Celebration in May of this year. When the new John Wayne Museum and Learning Center
is complete... we already donated for the red granite stone you see
with Duke's
silhouette and one of his movie titles etched in the stone. Our names
will also be etched in the stone and placed outside the museum in the
Walk of Fame. Being a Navy vet I chose In
Harm's Way for the movie on our stone. It's one of my military
favorites.
Those items are part of my tribute that I can keep around and remind me
of Duke
every day and the values he instilled in us as we grew up. They are
also all the items that I will be donating to the museum when my time
is up here on earth. But all the collectibles in the world mean nothing
if you don't live the life Duke
taught us to live. Duke
was no saint but through his movies and the things he did for others is
a testament to how he wants us to treat others around us.
How I try to live my life is to share as many of Duke's
movies with people that I can. I'm always buying the new releases or
formats and then giving away the older releases. I've bought a few
collectibles then re-sold them and have given the profits to the John Wayne Cancer Foundation. I
promote John Wayne
whenever I can. I find the inexpensive copies of his movies at certain
stores then give them away to people I know that don't have a large
collection like I do.
But I think the best way to actually make a tribute to John Wayne
happened recently in my life. When the word filtered out to many of us
fans about the release of an Official Site and Message Board I had
thought what an honor it would be to get involved. When Wayne Enterprises finally opened the
front door so-to-speak to the new Official
John Wayne Message Board I joined and immediately tried to help
where I could. Circumstance arose that gave me an opportunity to apply
to help Wayne Enterprises
monitor and run this forum. As you can see the rest is history. I am so
honored to volunteer my time and expertise to help Wayne Enterprises,
the staff and the entire fan base keep this forum alive, safe and
accessible to all that want to join our community. I hope to continue
to be a part of this community for a very long time.
I'd like to leave everyone with one last thought... Duke struggled the last few years of
his life battling cancer and heart disease. I myself struggle with
heart disease and know how Duke
felt on some of the bad days that come around. If you only do one thing
in John Wayne's memory during
your life. I ask that you donate to the John Wayne Cancer Foundation.
Heart disease and cancer are the two worse killer diseases today. If
you want a good charity to donate to every year or to remember them in
your estate planning, think of giving to the John Wayne Cancer Foundation. Give a
little to help a lot.
John Wayne is my HERO. We miss
you Duke...
The NEW John Wayne
Birthplace Museum and Learning Center!
Give today for tomorrow's
legacy!