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 Barney
the Bear
Died 1972 - Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Barney was a small Malayan Sun bear, the mascot of
Company Alpha, 5th Special Forces Group, Airborne, Ben Hoi, South Vietnam.
Discovered by the soldiers as an orphan cub, he would be put in a knapsack
when the company parachuted on missions.
Sgt. Jerald Hilleson was especially fond of Barney. When the sergeant's
tour of duty ended, he decided to take the bear with him, and managed to ship him home in a 727.
 Barney
lived at Fort Bragg for two years before dying of pneumonia. Sgt. Hilleson,
ever the pal, decided to have him stuffed. The taxidermist didn't do a very good job, and when
Barney was donated to the fort's Special Warfare Museum, people soon complained
of the horrible smell. Still, Barney was a base legend, so the Museum couldn't
just throw him away. Instead, they sealed him inside a Plexiglas box, where
his lumpy, half-hairless form is still an object of conversation.
Barney the Bear:Address: 1400 Marion St., Fort Bragg, NC [ Show Map] Directions: JFK Special Warfare Museum. NOTE: Photo ID required to access Fort Bragg. I-95 exit 46 (Elizabethtown/Fayetteville) toward Fayetteville. Continue to exit 100 (Mountain Rd.) Turn left onto Mountain Rd. and continue to Eastern Blvd/Business 301. The Cumberland County Convention Center will be on the right. Turn right and immediately get into the left lane. Turn left at the first stop light onto Owen Drive, which will become the All-American Expressway. Drive to the sixth exit (Gruber Rd.) Turn left. Continue to Reilly St. Turn right. At the next light (Ardennes St.), turn left and then turn left again at Marion St. Park at the rear of the museum. Hours: T-Su 10-4 (Call to verify) Phone: 910-432-4272
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