A Vietnam War veteran has been ousted from the military museum he curated for decades over offensive comments, including the suggestion that he would be replaced by “some gay, black, woke Jew.”
Joe Abodeely, 80, spent half his life running the Arizona Military Museum, which was a personal passion for the Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War – his own uniform was even on display.
But the museum has been closed to the public for more than four months and the nonprofit that manages it no longer receives government support.
Arizona National Guard Brigadier General John Conley sent Abodeely a letter in February expressing concern about the senior's statements during a tour.
“At some point they will replace me with a gay, black, woke Jewish woman who will ruin the place,” Abodeely said, according to the letter obtained by The Arizona Republic.
Joe Abodeely, 80, led the Arizona Military Museum for 40 years – but was forced to resign because of “unprofessional language.”
The museum closed after the state cut ties with the nonprofit that oversaw it and ordered it to vacate the building
Abodeely, a Vietnam War veteran, had personal connections to the museum and even displayed his own uniform
He reportedly called “all Americans” stupid and “told members of the tour group that they knew nothing about the realities of the Vietnam era because they were too young, brainwashed, stupid, deceived, uneducated or indifferent.”
The 86-year-old museum is run by the Arizona National Guard Historical Society, a nonprofit that Abodeely led for decades, and is located on military property.
Following the incident, the state Department of Emergency and Military Affairs directed Abodeely to attend two hours of diversity, equity and inclusion training. He obeyed.
Maj. Gen. Kerry Muehlenbeck, the Guard's adjutant general in Arizona, also wanted to meet with him.
But the abusive language didn't stop there, even though Abodeely received a certificate of completion for the course. In an interview, he noted that a museum doll with a “hand on the hip” depicted gay soldiers.
A day later, Abodeely apologized, attributing his erratic behavior to the combined stress of the cancer exams and the museum fiasco.
“I’m arrogant and I know it,” said the 80-year-old. “I'm a little selfish, but I care about other people.” I care about other things. “I care about my nation, my state and I care about the museum.”
Abodeely's comments during the tour contradict posts on the museum's Facebook page in which he condemned racists and spoke about the division in the country.
Abodeely was reprimanded for telling a tour: “At some point they're going to replace me with a gay, black woman, a woke Jew who's going to ruin the place.”
He allegedly told the group that they were “too young, brainwashed, stupid, deceived, uneducated or indifferent” to understand the “realities of the Vietnam era.”
The 86-year-old museum was formerly operated by the Arizona National Guard Historical Society, a nonprofit that Abodeely led for decades
“This is not about economics, politics, ideology or haves versus have-nots – it is clearly about RACE,” he wrote of the motivations behind the Jan. 6 Capitol siege.
“These people are simply ignorant, despicable racists; and their actions have brought the issue of race to the forefront. It took a racist president and supporters.”
In an interview, he claimed that he was forced out of office due to a personal vendetta by Mühlenbeck, a claim that her spokesman denied.
Mike Snozek, a U.S. Army and National Guard veteran, served on the board of the Arizona National Guard Historical Society for more than a dozen years before the riots.
He said Abodeely misrepresented Muehlenbeck's views about the museum to the board and the public.
Snozek said he acted at the request of the majority of board members when he called a meeting last summer and they elected him as the new chairman to replace Abodeely.
Abodeely, in turn, believed the vote was illegitimate and appointed his new board himself.
The guard banned him from interacting with guests at the museum, but spokeswoman Capt. Erin Hannigan said he continued to use “unprofessional language.”
“In turn, the adjutant general lost confidence in Mr. Abodeely’s ability to deal with the public professionally and respectfully,” she said.
The Army veteran was forced out of his leadership role at the Arizona National Guard Historical Society (Pictured: Abodeely, third from left, and his platoon)
When he refused to resign along with the newly appointed leader, the state announced it would find a new group to oversee the museum and reopen it
The nonprofit must submit a written plan for removing its property from the museum by Dec. 18
While Snozek expressed understanding as to why Abodeely didn't want to part ways with the museum, he added, “There's a way to behave and a way not to behave, and we have rules and we follow them.”
“And there is what is socially acceptable and there is what is absolutely not socially acceptable.”
In an effort to preserve the museum in its current location, Snozek voluntarily agreed to resign if Abodeely would do the same. But the Vietnam veteran, who later in his life worked as an assistant district attorney and criminal defense attorney, declined.
On November 17, Mühlenbeck finally announced her decision to cut government ties with the group.
The nonprofit now has to provide her with a written plan for removing her property from the museum by Dec. 18, according to a spokesperson.
The spokesman added that the Arizona National Guard plans to find a new group to run the museum and reopen it.