Charles Machon, director of the Museum of Missouri Military History, has proven that service to the country and state comes in all shapes and forms.
"Missouri has such an amazing history; it's everyone's history," Machon said. "Those who do not study their past are condemned to repeat it."
For 18 years, Machon has embraced his role as one of Jefferson City's military history experts, hosting a hub of interesting artifacts, photos, armory, weapons, and stories of servicemen and women throughout history.
"This is kind of like my child; I've seen it grow and mature," Machon said. "It's not just for me, but this is a top-notch museum for our people, our soldiers, airmen and veterans to see this museum and feel proud that we can preserve their history."
Machon comes from a family of men who proudly served in the military. His father served in the U.S. Navy, and his grandfather served during World War II.
Growing up, Machon said, he listened to their stories and always found history interesting, but because he was legally blind in his right eye he was not eligible to enlist.
"I'm one of very few men in my family who have not served, but for me this is the next best thing," Machon said.
After graduating from high school, college was option, but finding a way to make money was a priority for him as well, he said.
His high school teachers advised him to go to college and become a teacher so he could have the opportunity to receive scholarships and grants. So he attended University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg and eventually found himself working in the university's archives museum for two years as part of a work-study program.
After graduating from UCM's undergraduate secondary elementary program, he was offered the opportunity to continue employment at the archives museum through a two-year graduate assistantship. There he gained hands-on experience learning the ins and outs of creating exhibits, which includes conducting research as well as sorting, tagging and cataloging artifacts.
Between working at the museum and attending class, he worked in a day care that provided him experience with preschool and school-age children.
Before starting his current position, Machon found himself with a host of part-time jobs, including director at the Johnson County Historical Society in Warrensburg.
Over the years, one challenge he has overcome was the size of the previous museum location.
The museum moved from the Thomas Hall builing to the its current location in Patriot Center in 2013.
The old museum offered maybe 850 square feet of space, Machon explained, whereas now there is 6,500 square feet of space not including the outside exhibits, which allows him to better tell a story.
"With the soldiers here at the headquarter site, I want them to be proud of their history at Missouri National Guard," he said.
By the second year the new location was open, the museum had attracted over 8,000 visitors in 2016, increasing by almost 7,000 people from its debut.
Machon receives items from across the state to display at the Museum of Missouri Military History.
"It means a lot when people trust you with their dad's things or grandpa's things or even their great-great-grandparents' things," he said. "The museum community is like a family; we learn who is a specialist or has a niche in specific fields."
Since he began his career, Machon has implemented community engagement programs like Military Appreciation Day and Military Antiques Road Show, established relationships with youth targeted groups like the Eagle Scouts, and created internship programs for students attending the University of Missouri.
"This has been a constant learning experience, always learning more and more,"Machon said.
"History isn't always pretty, but we always try to learn from it and improve ourselves."