PORT BYRON - From World War I to the conflicts of today, Port Byron residents have answered their country's call with honor and dignity.

It is these ideals that Lock 52 Historical Society president Dorothy Walker and her mother, Betty Smith, wanted to honor when Walker first started collecting pieces of Port Byron's military history several years ago in one of the small rooms in the historical society house on Pine Street.

“I had pictures on a posterboard,” Walker said. “But I wanted to get something nicer and this all grew from there.”

Initially Walker was collecting pictures, biographical information and stories from veterans and their families, but she found out sooner that people were interested in sharing more than just memories.

Before long, Walker found a great deal of memorabilia was also amassing.

“Now we've got a lot of flags,” Walker said. “And uniforms and more pictures and biographies and we keep picking up more and more stuff.”

After realizing the historical society had so much, Smith was adamant that a display should be created to honor the men and women that have served.

Smith said important memorabilia has been collected and it's important to keep and preserve these stories and mementos for future generations.

On Sunday afternoon, the historical society hosted an open house, welcoming guests to see the pieces, ranging from medals and citations to uniforms, photographs, postcards and letters to back home, spanning more than 60 years of American military history.

“My mom really thought we should do an open house,” Walker said. “She thought we should do something to show off all of these pieces and uniforms and everything. We're really pleased with the turnout we've had all day today. We really didn't expect so many people, but it has been a great turnout.”

Walker also welcomed two of her cousins, Master Sgt. Mark Emerson and Staff Sgt. James Murnane, both of whom have served in Iraq.

Emerson talked about his experiences, which helped build and train the Iraqi army.

Emerson said he had a good experience in Iraq and that of the 750 soldiers he served with, he was among the 10 percent that received the Bronze Star.

Emerson's job of training the Iraqi army put him in more than 40 combat missions. He said perhaps the most difficult part was the language barrier.

“My experiences were good,” Emerson said. “The Iraqis actually learned to speak English from American movies. But the language barrier had a lot to do with how we worked with and how we trained the Iraqis.”

Murnane, who has 23 years of military experience, was first to be deployed as an engineer in 2003, but it wasn't until 2007 that he was deployed to Iraq, serving in more than 120 combat missions.

As an engineer, Murnane oversaw work on roads, maintaining safe places for vehicles and repairing damage from attacks by insurgents. It was the best part of his mission.

“It was enjoyable,” Murnane said. “In over 120 combat missions no one was hurt. It was a good mission because we knew that we were there helping other soldiers.”

Helping enliven the display were contributions from Robert Good, of Manlius, who brought some extensive memorabilia that he began collecting when he was 5 years old.

Among Good's displays were pieces spanning as far back as the Civil War.

Good, who served in the Army for 25 years became interested in collecting from his parents, both of whom met, married and served in World War II.

“My mother was a nurse,” Good said. “And my father and her met and they got married in Hawaii before he went to serve in the Pacific.”

Among his most prized pieces is a photo booklet his father kept with him with pictures of Good's mother, as well as a lock of her hair.

Walker said all of these pieces stand as a tribute to crucial American and local history.

“We want to keep these things for the younger ones,” Walker said. “They don't know about these things. There was one girl here because her great-grandfather was in here. It is for people like her. We can keep these stories and keep building on them.”