Showing the varieties of World War I helmets in the War Vet Museum collection is volunteer Joe Conroy Jr., who spends time learning about each artifact.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one of a series of Saturday profiles of area residents and their stories. To suggest a profile, contact features editor Burton Cole at bcole@tribtoday.com or metro editot Marly Kosinski at mkosinski@tribtoday.com

CANFIELD — Joe Conroy Jr.’s passion for American history stems from years of study in school and at the War Vet Museum, where he volunteers.

Conroy, 19, son of Joe and Mimi Conroy of Canfield, is a 2020 graduate of Canfield High School, receiving his diploma in a pandemic graduation earlier this year. Now that he is out of school, he works at Marc’s in Austintown, continues to volunteer at the War Vet Museum and takes part in World War II historical re-enactments. It was at the museum Conroy gained his passion for history at a young age.

“At the age of 10, I was into Thomas the Tank Engine,” Conroy said. “I visited the museum and saw the trains there and became interested in other items as well. It was a steppingstone from Thomas to trains to history.”

At the time, the museum had a few boys helping operate the large train layouts in the basement. Those layouts featured railroads during the great wars and thus required historical research. Conroy enjoyed that aspect and took it even further, he said, to the point of becoming an expert on most of the museum’s collection.

“I read books, watched documentaries and really got into history,” he said. “I also loved the library when I was younger. I visited it a lot and spent many hours in the old, smaller Canfield branch.”

Conroy said after becoming a regular at the War Vet Museum, he began visiting other museums within a three- to four-hour drive, soaking up the knowledge each contained.

He also became aware of re-enactments that happen all over Ohio. The most popular is the D-Day event in Ashtabula each year along the Lake Erie shore. The event has the original beach assault boats and amphibious vehicles.

Wanting to become a part of those re-enactments, Conroy began building his own arsenal of uniforms and equipment. Now, he has full Russian, German, British and American uniforms and a partial Austrian uniform.

“I belong to multiple re-enacting groups and portray a German paratrooper,” he said.

Some of the events can last up to a week, and Conroy said he has dug foxholes in the woods and slept in them.

“On average I do 10 events per year,” Conroy said. “Because of COVID-19, I only did two this year.”

As for a career, Conroy said he would like to head to trade school to study electronics. He said the history passion always will remain a hobby, and he hopes to always have a presence at the War Vet Museum.

“Being around history at the museum is one of my biggest joys,” he said. “No matter where I am or what I am doing, I will always have a love for history.”

Doug Speece, museum director, said he appreciates having someone like Conroy around.

“He helps research many of the donated items that come in,” Speece said. “Between the volunteer work and being able to help with tour groups, Joe is invaluable.”