Once a U.S. Marine, always a Marine. That's Ron Maxson's maxim, and he lives by it.
"The only former Marines are the ones in prison," is how Maxson puts it.
Maxson, 68, of Hempfield, even owns a cap that states, "USMC never retired; always a Marine." The cap is one of hundreds -- quite possibly thousands -- of pieces of Marine Corps memorabilia Maxson owns.
From caps to helmets, uniforms to weapons -- Maxson has it all, some of it stored in military-green ammunition cans stacked in his garage. The cans are perfect for storage: "They're airtight and watertight," he says.
Maxson served in the Marines from 1958 to 1979, retiring as a first sergeant, and collects mostly World War II memorabilia, with some World War I and Korean War mementos, as well.
Some of his collectibles are rare. One is a casket flag with 49 stars, only used from January to August 1959, between the time Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the union. The flag adorned a casket of a World War I veteran who died sometime during those months.
He also has a captured Japanese flag.
"When I run into World War II Marines who served in the Pacific, I have them sign it and put their unit on it," he says. Honoring veterans, which Americans do each year on Veterans Day, is important to Maxson.
Maxson says his blue Marine Corps flag was used between 1916 and 1922, when the corps changed its colors to scarlet and gold to differentiate its flag from the blue Navy flag. Another flag is framed; a certificate states it flew over Anbar Province in Iraq in 2008 during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
He has a cupboard full of wool Marine dress uniforms with the insignia intact. These are uniforms of a bygone era, as the Marines no longer use an insignia denoting the type of service on each uniform.
Maxson also owns dozens of reference books on knives, helmets, weapons and field gear.
"Some people end up with reproductions if they're not careful," he says. Other collectibles include Marine snow skids and white boots to wear in wintry climes and a set of 1944 leg irons with two keys, manufactured by Harvard Lock Co. of Reading, Berks County. A sketching kit for making maps and a kit for reading aerial photographs also are part of Maxson's gear.
"His collection just blows my mind every time I see it," says Mike Tchinski of California, Pa., the father of two active-duty Marines who also collects military memorabilia. Tchinski has set up displays with Maxson at various shows and has seen portions, but never all, of Maxson's collectibles.
"It's history," Tchinski says of the appeal of collecting military memorabilia. "When you look at what Ron has, or to some extent what I have, you wonder how they actually did it. ... Ron has a very extensive weapons collection that is unique."
Maxson owns various weapons kept under lock and key or in an armory. One is a rare World War II Raider knife that is monogrammed. Its owner was killed on Guadalcanal. Another Raider weapon is a stiletto owned by W.T. Wattenbarger and is kept with its leather scabbard.
Maxson gives talks on the Marine Corps from time to time to various civic groups. He also keeps his interest in the Marines alive in his duties as local commanding officer of the Westmoreland County Young Marines unit, which comprises 41 young people.
Maxson's interest in the Marines began in his youth.
"From the time I was 10 years old, I wanted to be in the military," he says. That interest sprang from the movie, "The Sands of Iwo Jima." When he was 12 or 13, he and some friends formed an informal Marine unit and began collecting field packs and other collectibles.
Maxson entered the Marines while still in his teens. He told his wife, Nancy, when they became engaged that "the Marine Corps comes first." He ended up serving in many different posts, including seven years abroad and has visited at least two dozen foreign countries.
Even his son-in-law, Irwin native Robert Isler, is a retired Marine. The Maxsons' youngest daughter, Dawn, wrote to Marines during Operation Desert Storm; Isler and another man asked if they could visit her while on leave. Both did, and Dawn eventually married Isler.
After his active service in the Marines, Maxson worked for an insurance company for 18 years and then started collecting in earnest. He has bought equipment and memorabilia at military shows, military vehicle shows, antique shops, flea markets and through newspaper advertisements.
"A lot of this stuff has ended up in garage sales or on eBay," where it could be sold and mailed out of the area, he says. "I wanted it to stay here." Maxson laments that descendants of Marines aren't interested in old uniforms their fathers or grandfathers wore, or the discharge papers that documented their service.
"To some people, it doesn't mean anything," he says. But the collectibles are meaningful to Maxson, whose real dream is to establish a Westmoreland County military museum that would display some of his collection. But he also is considering donating some of his collection to the National Museum of the Marine Corps outside Quantico, Va.
"People are constantly giving me Marines stuff," he says. "I have enough to supply a Marine infantry company."
