Photos: Souvenirs of Service: The Things They Kept at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Souvenirs of Service
A large display featuring artifacts collected by veterans of war greets visitors to the "Souvenirs of Service" exhibit. At right is Jennifer Stevenson, a senior marketing specialist with the museum.Â
Souvenirs of Service
A collection cartes de visite, small photographs that during the Civil War were reproduced and shared with family, friends and fellow soldiers, are part of a new exhibit at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum that highlights items kept by service members during times of war. Peter Arndt, of Kenosha, the first assistant surgeon with the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, collected 192 cartes de visite during his time in the war. The exhibit is scheduled to run for at least the next 18 months.
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A WW I-era seabag from the USS Agamemnon carried by US Navy Reserve member Erwin Zirbel is displayed as part of the Souvenirs of Service exhibit at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison, Wis., Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Souvenirs of Service
A Zippo lighter depicting the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center was collected in Iraq by Norra Prohaska, of Cudahy, who served with the Wisconsin National Guard during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and 2004. The lighter was being sold by a merchant who had approached her unit.Â
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Kuwaiti license plates acquired during the Iraq War are displayed as part of the Souvenirs of Service exhibit at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison, Wis., Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Souvenirs of Service
A World War I-era Neapolitan mandolin and case acquired by Paul Paulson, of Racine, a member of the U.S. Army’s 121st Field Artillery Regiment serving in France, is displayed as part of the "Souvenirs of Service" exhibit at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.
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A rag doll given to Madison, Wis. Air Force fighter pilot Harold C. Brown by a woman in London following a German air raid on the city in 1943 is among the items on display as part of the Souvenirs of Service exhibit at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison, Wis., Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
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WW II-era pennants share a wall behind Wisconsin Veterans Museum curator of history Kevin Hampton in the Souvenirs of Service exhibit at the museum in Madison, Wis., Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
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A Civil War-era artillery shell is displayed as part of the Souvenirs of Service exhibit at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison, Wis., Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Souvenirs of Service
A collection of uniform shoulder straps from World War I German soldiers are displayed as part of the "Souvenirs of Service" exhibit. They were brought home by U.S. Army Lt. William Beseler, of Marshfield, who served in the 1st Army’s Intelligence Division in France.
Souvenirs of Service
A partially consumed World War I-era bottle of cognac brought home by soldiers in the 4th Wisconsin Infantry is displayed in the "Souvenirs of Service" exhibit at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. The bottle wasn't opened until 1986 when only five members of the company remained.
Souvenirs of Service
Wisconsin Veterans Museum director Christopher Kolakowski views photographs of donated lighters from the Vietnam War included in the museum’s "Souvenirs of Service" exhibit. In the foreground at right is a parka worn by a U.S. Navy chaplain Harold Baar, of Oshkosh, who in 1968 and 1969 spent 15 months at McMurdo Station in Antarctica as part of Operation Deep Freeze.
"Souvenirs of War: The Things They Kept" opened Friday at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum and will run at least for the next 18 months.
Veterans remember the sacrifices of their fellow soldiers this Veterans Day, but there's a lingering anger over the way the war ended.
The existing Wisconsin Veterans Museum opened in 1993 at 30 W. Mifflin Street on the Capitol Square in Madison, but the space leaves no ability to expand.
