Arizona Military Museum 'indefinitely closed' after Vietnam vet head says he'll be replaced by diversity hire

For decades, Vietnam veteran Joe Abodeely oversaw the Arizona Military Museum in Phoenix, curating its collection and hosting tours for visitors.

Comments he made on one of those tours earlier this year, however, caused the institution to oust him from his position, and led to an internal struggle among members of the board who run it that has put the future of the museum in jeopardy.

According to AZCentral, while guiding visitors through the museum's exhibits in February, 80-year-old Abodeely began ranting about what he believed would happen to his life's work when he died.

"Eventually they will replace me with some gay, black, woman, woke Jew who will ruin the place," he allegedly said.

In a letter to the senior, Arizona National Guard Brigadier General John Conley noted the comment as an example of "statements made ... during a group tour" that caused "concerns." He called the conduct "unacceptable" and that it "will no be tolerated."

Conley also cited Abodeely as having "told the members of the tour group that they knew nothing of the realities of the Vietnam era because they were too young, brainwashed, stupid, duped, uneducated, or uncaring."

The museum sits on land owned by the AZ National Guard, and following his comments, Abodeely was asked by the agency that oversees it, the AZ Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, to undergo two hours of diversity, equity, and inclusion training.

He obliged, and completed the program, however his behavior persisted. At one point, for example, he suggested that a soldier mannequin with its hand on its hip was gay.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the AZ National Guard lamented Abodeely's "continued use of unprofessional language," noting that, "in turn, [Adjutant General Kerry Muehlenbeck] lost confidence in Mr. Abodeely’s ability to interact professionally, and respectfully with members of the public."

Despite apologizing numerous times, he was subsequently ousted from his position at the head of the board of the Arizona National Guard Historical Society, the nonprofit group that runs the museum, and replaced by fellow member Mike Snozek.

On November 17, Muehlenbeck announced that ties had been severed between the AZ National Guard and the Historical Society, and that the group had until December 18 to come up with a plan.

While no details have been made public about what was eventually decided upon, the museum's website still says it is "indefinitely closed," and "hopeful to announce reopening in the near future."

According to Abodeely's website, he "was a combat infantry unit commander with the 1st Air Cavalry Division during the Tet Offensive in the Republic of Viet Nam" in 1968 and served in US Army Reserve components from 1969 to 1995. He had headed the museum since 1980.