THE FOLLOWING IS A VERMILION COUNTY WAR MUSEUM RELEASE
ABOVE: Volunteer and Board member Bob Hous interviews 99 year-old World War II veteran Norlyn Dossey for the Vermilion County War Museum video collection.
The Vermilion County War Museum’s annual observance of Armed Forces Day will be this Saturday, May 18th.
The Museum Society’s new President, Larry Weatherford says, “We’re really excited to invite visitors in to see what’s new at the Museum. That includes the New Media Center/Technology Room, the Medal of Honor Hall, new exhibits, an expanded area of display space, the new Camp Carnegie designed for children, that’s almost ready to open, and as always on Armed Forces Day, we’ll have living history presenters throughout the Museum to tell their stories.
(LEFT) The Black Brothers display in the museum’s new Medal of Honor Hall. Another ten Medal of Honor recipients are also honored in the Hall. (RIGHT) A video of last year’s Taps on Tuesday is shown. It features local historian Tim Smith speaking at Atherton Cemetery.
Admission for Armed Forces Day will be free, and the hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For those interested in volunteering at the Museum, current volunteers will be on hand to talk about those opportunities. The War Museum, which will celebrate its 25th Anniversary on Veterans Day this year, is located at 307 North Vermilion Street in the former Carnegie Library. Over 60,000 artifacts are on display. The Museum’s weekly hours are from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
A historic quilt hangs on the wall in the 125th Illinois Infantry display. It was sewn by family members of veterans and first displayed in 1896 at a veterans reunion in Lincoln Park.
