Colorado Springs ROTC instructor hopes to preserve up to 300 commemorative Navy plaques
In 2017, Doherty High School’s senior naval science instructor started a project to honor the wartime contributions of service members from Colorado Springs. Five years later, with the help of a local mural artist, retired Navy Capt. Greg Thomas’ project was completed. Dubbed the Hall of Honor, the project consists of a two-wall mural festooned with images of warships and aircraft, as well as plaques commemorating local war heroes like Phil Long, the former fighter pilot and auto dealership titan, and Navy Petty Officer Daniel Griffin, the first Coloradan to die in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack that brought the U.S. into World War II. Now, Thomas is looking to expand on the project with a display that will help preserve naval artifacts that might otherwise be thrown away. Last month, while in Texas for biannual training, Thomas met a man who had several old plaques from decommissioned Navy ships. A former helicopter pilot, Thomas recognized one of the ships, USS Mount Hood, as a platform he had once flown on. “The guy had a few plaques on a table,” said Thomas, who heads Doherty’s Navy Junior ROTC. “He said, ‘Do you have any use for these? My kids don’t want them.’ So I took them.” Since then, Thomas has collected 36 ship’s plaques, some from donations, others purchased on eBay. His plan is to augment the Hall of Honor project with 200-300 plaques, he said. Typically made of brass, the plaques were often gifted to sailors as end-of-tour mementos. When those service members die, the plaques are often thrown out, Thomas said. “I would be willing to bet the vast majority of these things end up in a landfill somewhere,” Thomas said. “I want to preserve these any way I can. They are a part of naval history. And they’re just very interesting and unique to see.” Each plaque represents its