"Ratings are plummeting in Long Island" joked Ken Jennings when contestants didn't know the Piano Man's songs.

Billy Joel might have some classics under his belt, but he knew when something was made solely to milk his fans for no reason.

For decades after his military service, Bruce Whipple would take his mobile museum filled with Vietnam-era items to military shows, schools and air shows. The 75-year-old, who served in the Vietnam ...