A US Marine visits

In March we were visited by Hershal Byrd, a colorful character from the US. Hershal had served in Vietnam as a marine in the 11th Battalion of the US Marines, and was wearing a baseball cap with the battalion’s logo. Imagine his surprise and delight to discover that his battalion was featured in our displays. The 11th Battalion was camped in nearby Victoria Park during World War Two.

Hershal entertained us with his stories of action in the Vietnam War, where he was badly wounded. Later he became a policeman and worked as a homicide detective for many years. A trained pilot, in his sixties he took up acrobatic flying. During his visit he told us that he had flown up from Lethbridge the day before to get an aerial view of Ballarat and the tramway.