Event Graphic

Distinguished Lecture Series: An Army Afire

Beth Bailey of the University of Kansas will lecture on her book, “An Army Afire: How the U.S. Army Confronted Its Racial Crisis in the Vietnam Era” Thursday, April 4th at 4:00 pm Pyle Center Room 232 on the UW-Madison Campus Even as US troops fought in Vietnam, Black and

Continue reading
Vietnam War image

50th Anniversary of End of Vietnam War Marked at Wisconsin Veterans Museum

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Madison, Wis. (March 24, 2023) - On March 29, 1973, U.S. ground forces withdrew from South Vietnam. The withdrawal officially ended years of war that forever marked a generation. To mark the 50th anniversary of the official end of the Vietnam War, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum will

Continue reading

Mess Night

Please join us for our quarterly dinner series with guest Gregory A. Daddis, who is the Director of the Center for War and Society and the USS Midway Chair in Modern U.S. Military History. He will be speaking on his 2020 book, Pulp Vietnam : War and Gender in Cold

Continue reading
Ho-Chunk Nation Warrior Owen C. Mike

Ho-Chunk Warrior Owen C. Mike

This is the story of Ho-Chunk warrior, Owen C. Mike, known as Jąąpwakącąk in the Hoocąk language. A leader of the Buffalo Clan, Ho-Chunk Nation, Mike served in the Vietnam War and received the Silver Star Medal and Bronze Star Medal with valor device for his actions while under fire

Continue reading

FOX VALLEY VETERANS TELL THEIR STORIES

The Wisconsin Veterans Museum (WVM) collects and publishes a substantial number of veteran interviews from the Fox Valley and the surrounding area. Additionally, we act as the dark archives for several interviews from that region of Wisconsin. These Fox Valley oral history interviews range from the current day back to World

Continue reading

GUEST BLOG BY RICK BERRY, VIETNAM VETERAN AND WVM VOLUNTEER

“…AND WHEN CHARLIE HAS THE GROUND UNIT SURROUNDED, WE USE WHAT WE CALL THE HIGH-OVERHEAD APPROACH.” My Mom included the cartoon on the right in a scrapbook she complied regarding my military service. Portions of the scrapbook are exhibited on a touch screen display in the “Souvenirs of Service” exhibit

Continue reading

Book Talk with Michael Hankins – Flying Camelot: The F-15, the F-16, and the Weaponization of Fighter Pilot Nostalgia

Michael Hankins will be joining us to talk about his newest work, Flying Camelot: The F-15, the F-16, and the Weaponization of Fighter Pilot Nostalgia, which explores the post-Vietnam era, when the US Air Force launched two new, state-of-the art fighter aircraft: the F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Continue reading

Coulee Region Veteran Gary Castona Remembers

This blog post features extracts from an oral history interview with a Wisconsin veteran Gary Castona from La Farge, Wisconsin, in the Coulee region. He relates his experiences of Vietnam combat service and later Cold War Germany. Like many veterans, Castona’s military service affected the rest of his life. His

Continue reading

William L. Sims: A Lifetime of Service

William L. Sims calm smile and collected manner belies a man whose herculean efforts empowering veterans in Wisconsin are almost without equal. He continues shaping veterans organizations, mentoring fellow veterans, and implementing programs. There is a reason why Sims has a statue featured on the main floor of the War

Continue reading

Honoring LGBTQ+ Veterans of Wisconsin

In honor of LGBTQ+ History Month, we are featuring the story of United States Naval Officer Larry A. Reed. Reed served in the United States Navy from 1961 to 1966 during the Vietnam War. Reed was the weapons and air control officer on the destroyer escort USS Wilhoite (DER-397) from

Continue reading