Column: New military museum highlights MN veterans, like my great-uncle of the 'Chosin Few'

CAMP RIPLEY — This September, the Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum hosted a grand opening of its new facility near Camp Ripley, just north of Little Falls.

The 40,000-square-foot facility features immersive exhibits and archives highlighting the role of Minnesotans in U.S. conflicts, from the Civil War forward.

I have a personal connection to one of those exhibits.

An entire display is dedicated to my great-uncle Merwin Perkins. It includes a mannequin made in his likeness, uniforms, photos and a trunk bearing his name and address, Cpl. M. A. Perkins of St. Paul.

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Perkins family

Known affectionately as "Perk," Merwin was a Marine who served in the Korean War. This includes operating a mortar weapon in the Chosin Reservoir during one of the most brutal, and brutally cold, battles in the history of the Marines.

It was 1950, and he was 19 years old. There were 215 men in his platoon, plus 75 replacements. Only eight walked out of the battle under their own power, including Merwin. He and his childhood friend Frank Bifulk were the only two original members of the platoon to return home.

The survivors became known as the "Chosin Few," and the story of those who fought the battle is told in the book Colder than Hell: A Marine Rifle Company at Chosin Reservoir. My great-uncle is mentioned in the book.

I talked with my cousin Sue Seidl about what it means to her and her siblings to see their dad, who died in 2022 at the age of 91, featured in the museum.

"We had already dispersed a lot of mementos, but no one in the family could really handle this trunk [and its contents]," Sue said. "What do you do with it? You know, you don't want it sitting in someone's dusty basement."

After searching around for ideas, she came across the museum and decided to reach out to see if her dad's items might be of interest.

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Perkins family

"The museum curator got back to me and said, 'We would love it,'" she said. "It was just so heartwarming to find a place like that that would take his things and totally appreciate them, right, and value them."

The family learned the items they were donating would remain permanently in possession of the museum, either on display or in the archives.

"And he said, 'Anytime you wanna come back, all you have to do is tell us that you're a relative ... and we'll go in the archives and we'll pull out all the things you gave us to show them.' So what a wonderful way to keep those mementos," Sue said.

While the Perkins family grew up knowing their dad served in the Korean War, it wasn't something Merwin regularly discussed until later in his life.

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Perkins family

"But the older he got, I think the more it was such an impactful part of his life, you know?" Sue said. "[Stories] about guys in the next foxhole over being killed, just all around him. It was a very, very bloody, deadly [battle]. And he was right on the frontlines."

Sue said she thinks her dad would be humbled and maybe even a little embarrassed by the amount of attention his museum display commands.

"He didn't ever seek attention for his time in the service. And I think he'd be thinking, oh, you know, 'Why me?'" Sue said.

"But I just can't tell you how much it means to all of us. ... And it's just so heartwarming to know that Dad is recognized in this way, because it's hard to describe the sacrifices he made, not just in war, but through all his life."

1 of 2  — Merwin mannequin

A mannequin bearing the likeness of Merwin Perkins dons his Korean War-era Marines uniform and jacket in a display at the Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum at Camp Ripley.

Contributed / Perkins family

2 of 2  — Merwin display

A display at the Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum features a trunk, helmet, uniform, photos and information about the Marines service of Merwin Perkins, who died in 2022 at the age of 91.

Contributed / Perkins family

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Perkins family

Merwin was known as quite the jokester in the family, and I told Sue I could imagine him posing with his mannequin and poking fun at it.

"I mean, he wasn't a shy guy at all, that's for sure. We have pictures of him in the service sitting at the piano playing while the guys stand around singing. So he was definitely, you know, entertaining them then, too," she said with a laugh.

Joking aside, she said she wishes her dad could see the display.

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Perkins family

"I feel like he does know," Sue said. " ... In fact, when we were there, my sister said, 'Geez, I felt like his eyes followed me. It felt like he looked at me.' Our daughter Bailey said, 'I did, too.'

" ... We kept being drawn back to that mannequin that was dressed as him. And every time I walked by, 'Hi Dad.' It was just really cool. Really cool."

To see Merwin's display and the displays of so many other local veterans, visit the Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum. It is open on Veterans Day, as well as 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.