Blog Archive for March, 2008

Only a few days left to check out “In the Belly of the Dragon: Life and Death in I Corps,” so be sure to stop by the museum. Components of the exhibit appear to be headed to our satellite institution, the Wisconsin National Guard Museum at Volk Field, about 75 miles north of Madison in Camp Douglas. The whole show is not going to make it up there, but a good part of it will. More on the installation and the scheduled opening when we find out what it might be!

While “Dragon” is coming down, “An Instinct for Light: The Photography of Robert Ellison” will remain on display until June 15, 2008. A new Vietnam-themed traveling show will debut in the Changing Exhibits Gallery on July 1 - more on this in the coming weeks - and an Iraq/Afghanistan photography exhibit will open in early September and run through the end of November. Following that show, we will begin installing our new semi-permanent show, “Faces in the Sand,” which opens in mid-February 2009. We have begun developing the narrative for the show, collecting items from recently returned vets, and setting up oral histories for the show, so things are progressing nicely.

Go Badgers!

As many of you know, our wonderful Vietnam exhibit, “In the Belly of the Dragon: Life and Death in I Corps” closes on March 31. I hope that you can make it in for the first or last time before then. All of us are going to miss having the show in the galleries - it is a living testament to the men and women that served during the Vietnam War and it has provided many vets a chance to reconnect with one another and find some closure to a trying time in their lives. As long as our visitors continue to support our Vietnam-themed exhibits and programs, we will keep doing them, so be on the lookout for more in the near future.

One Vietnam program already scheduled is “Echoes from Vietnam - The Literature of War” featuring author Alfredo Vea (Gods Go Begging) and poet W.D. Ehrhart. Both men served in the Vietnam War and are brilliant writers. We have been looking foward to this event all winter and I think it will prove to be fantastic. The program begins at 7pm; both writers will read from their respective works and then will answer audience questions. The Veterans Museum is proud to present this event in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Integrated Liberal Studies Program.

One final Vietnam-related tidbit…
Wisconsin Public Television has begun filming for its new documentary seriers, “Wisconsin Vietnam Stories,” which will hit the airwaves (in HD!) in early 2010. They have completed a handful of interviews to this point and have placed a sneak preview of the program on You Tube. Please pass this link along to anyone you think would be interested. The stories told in this 2:30 segment are incredibly moving.

Here is the link: Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories Sneak Preview

 In case you were wondering, my Final Four is North Carolina, WISCONSIN, UCLA, and Memphis, with Carolina knocking off UCLA in the final game. I will be happy if UW just  makes through the first weekend. Good luck Badgers!