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<\/a>His grandfather served aboard an American cargo ship, the U.S.S. Bootes, in the Pacific in World War II, and his stories about that kindled the interest the Patrick Henry High junior shows today.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me about it, and I just kept on learning about it more and more,\u201d Nolan said.<\/p>\n
Nolen is deep into the history. He collects, trades, and buys and sells artifacts of the war \u2014 artifacts that come from all sides in the conflicts, both in the Pacific and in Europe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many people who do the same things I do,\u201d Nolen said. \u201cWe get together all the time, checking out new things we might have come up with to trade or sell and buy.\u201d<\/p>\n
His room looks very much like a museum, with artifacts from every military service you can think of with regard to our world wars. There are old gas masks. Bayonets and swords. Military insignia and decorations from Nazi Germany, Japan, America, Britain, Canada. Old maps from D-Day in 1945. It\u2019s the prime indicator of a very serious student of military history.<\/p>\n
One thing Nolen is particularly proud of is from the earlier conflict \u2014 a complete uniform from the American army in World War I \u2014 occupies a prime place in the bedroom.<\/p>\n Nolen thinks deeply about the history of some of the things in his collection \u2014 wondering about the stories behind them.<\/p>\n \u201cI actually have a number of helmets that were worn by combat soldiers, and I look at them and wonder what stories the wearers of those helmets might have told me,\u201d he said. \u201cI think about the fact there were human heads inside those helmets \u2014 what they thought and what they went through.\u201d<\/p>\n The fascination with military may well extend beyond the collections.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I\u2019d like to serve in the military, maybe as a pilot. Air Force or Navy, maybe,\u201d Nolen said.<\/p>\n Nolen looks like a lot of military aviators I\u2019ve known over the years. He\u2019s somewhat on the short and stocky size \u2014 guaranteed to fit well in a cockpit.<\/p>\n His desire to serve draws the reaction you\u2019d expect from his mom, Carla.<\/p>\n \u201cSure, you worry about what might happen,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a tough world out there, but if that\u2019s what he wants to do, I\u2019ll support him like any mom would.\u201d<\/p>\n No telling what the future might bring, but Nolen Hubbard seems well set up to handle it.<\/p>\n If you have questions about our World Wars, Nolen might be a good resource to tap.<\/p>\n If he doesn\u2019t have the answers, I\u2019ll bet he knows where to go to find them.<\/p>\n<\/a>