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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Welcome to the Walldogs and Summer Bash June 25 - 28



The War Museum will have many veterans on hand to welcome our guests to the Summer Bash Festival in Pontiac June 25 - 28.
Come see a hands-on, living history museum in action!

World War II Vets - TV interview at Museum


Several of our World War II vets were interviewed in March at the museum. This all day long project was filmed by Illinois Valley Television Productions and will be offered to the History Channel when completed. Each veteran spoke from 45 minutes to over an hour about their experiences in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Corps, and Marines during World War II. Each veteran will receive their own personal copy of their interview for their family thanks to Dan Kenny, Executive Producer, and the IVTV team. The veterans showed stamina during this long day of filming. Not surprising. They are World War II vets. Thanks, guys. You did a great job!

Our Museum Honors Veterans!

Flanagan-Cornell High School Visits



It was a pleasure to welcome Flanagan-Cornell High School history students and their teacher, Bev Hart, to our museum once again!

Lexington Home Educators Visit

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Heritage Manor of Dwight visits

Thanks to the ladies and gentlemen of Dwight's Heritage Manor for your visit! You were an interesting and curious group. We hope you will come back often.

Erica Gerwin

Thank You Erica Gerwin!

The War Museum has been blessed with the volunteer help of many, but one who has helped us organize and list items in the museum and explain ribbons and decorations on the uniforms has been Erica Gerwin of Pontiac. Erica is a senior at the University of Notre Dame. Her help at the War Museum has been invaluable. Everyone has enjoyed her being here and all of us greatly appreciate her help. We wish Erica the best in her final year at Notre Dame and in her life.
Jack Murphy and the Staff

A REMINDER...

PLEASE CLICK on all photos and articles to enlarge them!

ASTA Care of Pontiac visits museum

Thanks to Kathy Finkenbinder and the residents of ASTA Care for their visit! We appreciate the contribution of vintage models of World War II planes and ships. Residents worked four to five months to make the wooden models and then decided to donate them to our museum. Thanks, Kathy and ASTA Care residents, for your contribution to our museum!

ASTA Care 2



Memorial Day 2009






The Memorial Day week was exciting with many school visits, positive articles in local papers about our museum.We are also including a thoughtful speech by museum member and combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, Juan Ruiz, reminding us of the true meaning of the day. Please take the time to read it!

Pontiac Township High School Field Trip



Pontiac High School junior history classes visited us in May - about 150 students! They were led by their teachers, Gene Burnett, a museum member, and Megan Bozarth. During their visit, they had the opportunity to interact with veterans from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Grenada, and peacetime veteranss. This was truly a living history experience and greatly enhanced their understanding of history.

Cornell Grade School Field Trip


Our museum welcomed the Cornell Grade School in May. A great group! In this photo, they are standing next to the uniform of Walter R. Cornell, a World War I veteran. The town of Cornell IL was named after his son, Walter B. Cornell.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

D-Day: We Remember


Today, the 65th anniversary of the greatest invasion in history, we honor the "Greatest Generation" of World War II and thank them for the freedom that those soldiers, sailors and airmen brought to Europe and the world. Please visit our museum, enjoy the exhibits, and take the opportunity to thank personally the World War II combat veterans who work here.