JULY 2020 VIRTUAL! DRINK & DRAW

Navy Week 2020 July 13-17, 2020 is Navy Week in Madison. This year, the programs will be hosted virtually. In honor of the celebration we have chosen images with a naval theme. #NavyWeek We would also like to welcome tonight’s guest artist, Hannah Sandvold. Please view Hannah’s work here: https://www.hcsandvold.com

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What’s It All For? a Reflection on Empathy and Our National Discourse

Written by Kevin Hampton, Curator of History This time of year, with patriotic holidays like Memorial Day, the anniversary of D-Day, Flag Day, Juneteenth, and the 4th of July, there is always a natural focus on the American historical identity. This interest usually comes in the form of a passive

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Part IV: Okinawa: Victory

  The remnants of Ushijima’s army, now reduced to 30,000 men, only 11,000 of whom were trained infantrymen, desperately dug in along a range of hills six miles south of Shuri. This position, which Ushijima ordered to be held to the death, centered on Kunishi Ridge and two hills named

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A Lesson in Resiliency From the Bataan Death March

At the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898, Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States. A Philippine insurrection against the United States began almost immediately and ended in 1902 with the United States controlling the territory until the Japanese invasion in December of 1941. Choosing deployment to the

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Gather Stories of Your Family’s Veterans with Research Resources from the Wisconsin Veterans Museum

Genealogy, or learning about one’s ancestors, has been growing in popularity lately with the addition of so many resources to the internet. It has never been easier to search census records, ship passenger lists, or burial records from the comfort of your own home. And with so many people staying

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Part III: Okinawa: Decision at Shuri

   One hundred feet below Shuri Castle, in the tunnel that functioned as Ushijima’s headquarters, debate raged over whether to launch an offensive or stay on defense. Ushijima decided to attack with his reserve units in an effort to push back the Americans past Kakazu Ridge. In addition to the

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Virtual Drink and Draw

Francis Brewster Elmer Homburg: B-24 Liberator     Roberta Wells     Norbert S. Szymczak Donald Kaiser     Martin Gutekunst       Roberta Wells Collection- VE Day Parade, Hawaii, 1945  

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Victory in Europe, 1945

By the last day of April 1945, it was clear that Allied victory over Nazi Germany was not far off. Russian armies were in Berlin, while American, British, and French armies slashed their way across Germany toward Austria, Denmark, and Czechoslovakia. This situation was the culmination of simultaneous attacks from

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Month of the Military Child: Augustus Patchin and Family

By Russell Horton, Reference & Outreach Archivist  The Wisconsin Veterans Museum focuses on preserving the stories of men and women who serve in the US military. But very often, in the letters, photographs, and objects from those veterans, we can learn much of the families and children who remained home,

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