WISCONSIN VETERANS MUSEUM KICKS OFF 2014 WITH NEW EVENTS AND SPEAKERS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 28, 2014

WISCONSIN VETERANS MUSEUM KICKS OFF 2014 WITH NEW EVENTS AND SPEAKERS

WISCONSIN VETERANS MUSEUM KICKS OFF 2014 WITH NEW EVENTS AND SPEAKERS
Seasonal event listing for this spring at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison

MADISON, Wis. (Feb. 27, 2014) – From new art exhibits and prints, to guest lectures on the Civil War and Vietnam, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison has a large array of new events and happenings not to miss this spring. The best part – all museum programs are free and open to the public. Come for a night of history and storytelling to enrich your mind and learn something new. All programs are hosted in the Wisconsin Veterans Museum 2nd floor Education Center at 30 W. Mifflin St – unless otherwise noted below.

WHAT: “Not At Ease” Traveling Exhibit Program at the Neville Museum (panel discussion)

WHEN: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 – 7pm (Exhibit runs now through June 1, 2014)

WHERE: Neville Public Museum, 210 Museum Place, Green Bay, WI

Not at Ease: A Veteran Print Project, provides a forum for 20 female veterans form Wisconsin to share their stories by pairing them with 20 artists, who created an edition of prints inspired by the resulting dialogue. Join us on the evening of March 11 at the Neville Pubic Museum in Green Bay for a panel discussion with female veterans featured in this traveling exhibit. Stop by the Neville Museum and view this exhibit on display from Feb. 22- June 1, 2014.

WHAT: Evolution of U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan: Shaping Prospects for Afghanistan’s Future (lecture and discussion)

WHEN: Thursday, March 13, 2014 – 4pm

WHERE: Ingraham Hall, Room 206, 1155 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI

WHO: Christopher Kolenda, Senior Advisor, Department of Defense

Having just returned from Afghanistan as Senior Advisor to the Commander of the U.S. and Coalition forces, Christopher Kolenda will outline how the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan has evolved since 2001, asses its outcomes, and discuss strategic risks and opportunities as U.S., Afghan and regional actors look toward 2014 and beyond. A veteran of four tours in Afghanistan, Christopher led the team that produced the McChrystal assessment and has been instrumental in reforming U.S. and coalition strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is also the author of The Counterinsurgency Challenge: A Parable of Leadership and Decision-making in Modern Conflict. (In partnership with the Center for Russia, East Europe and Central Asia CREECA of the University of Wisconsin-Madison).

WHAT: Wisconsin Germans, the Question of Slavery, and the Civil War (lecture and discussion)

WHEN: Thursday, March 27, 2014 – 7pm

WHERE: Wisconsin Veterans Museum, 30. W. Mifflin St.

WHO: Dr. Alison Efford, Assistant Professor, Marquette University

Wisconsin’s large German population has always been a major feature in the state’s history. By exploring the Civil War career of one of their colorful leaders, the soldier, editor and Milwaukee’s most vocal German opponent of slavery, Bernhard Domschke, Alison Efford illuminates the role of Wisconsin Germans in the conflict and grapples with the issue of their attitudes towards slavery.

WHAT: Picturing Japanese American Incarceration during World War II (lecture and discussion)

WHEN: Thursday, April 3, 2014 – 7pm

WHERE: Wisconsin Veterans Museum, 30. W. Mifflin St.

WHO: Dr. Jasmine Alinder, Associate Professor and Coordinator of Public History, Department of History, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and Kevin Miyazaki, Artist, Camp Home Exhibit

Camp Home, a photograph series by artist Kevin Miyazaki, documents repurposed barracks used as internment camps for Japanese Americans (including some of Miyazaki’s own relatives) during WWII. Miyazaki’s images capture the experience of the Nisei as well as the barracks’ subsequent owners. Join Dr. Jasmine Alinder and Kevin Miyazaki for a discussion of Japanese American incarceration during WWII and a look at Miyazaki’s photographs of former internment camps. (In partnership with the Jerome Watrous Gallery of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts & Letters).

WHAT: The Boys of ‘67: Charlie Company’s War in Vietnam (lecture and book signing)

WHEN: Thursday, April 17, 2014 – 7pm

WHERE: Wisconsin Veterans Museum, 30. W. Mifflin St.

WHO: Dr. Andrew Wiest, Distinguished Professor of History and Founding Director of the Center for the Study of War and Society, the University of Southern Mississippi

Even though it is often remembered for battles like Khe Sanh or Hamburger Hill, at its heart, Vietnam was a brutal, small unit war. In The Boys of ’67: Charlie Company’s War in Vietnam, Dr. Wiest tells the story of one single company in the Vietnam War from its drafting, through its training, year of combat (in which 25 were killed and 105 were wounded), and reintegration into society. Vietnam irrevocably changed the lives of the men who fought in the war, a transformation that is at the heart of Wiest’s study. (A 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War series event).

The Wisconsin Veterans Museum is an educational activity of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs and is located at 30 W. Mifflin St., across from the State Capitol. For more information, visit www.wisvetsmuseum.com.

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201 West Washington Avenue | Madison, Wisconsin 53707
1-800-WIS-VETS | WisVets@dva.wisconsin.gov | WisVets.com