Armed Forces Museum Opens at Camp Shelby
The 69th Infantry Division's proud history is honored in the new Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Plan a visit to see the interesting exhibits and patriotic memorials to the brave men of the Fighting 69th and other units that trained here before shipping off to World War II combat.
Veterans and their loved ones can honor their WWII
service by purchasing a commemorative brick -- see below. Members and friends of
the 69th have already purchased over $7,750 worth of these special bricks to
help support the museum.
Many VIPs were present at the opening festivities on October 27, 2001 (left to right):
Chaplain Travis Fulton (Camp Shelby - benediction)
Congressman (Retired) G. V. "Sonny" Montgomery (Mississippi)
Lieutenant General Russell C. Davis, Chief, National Guard Bureau
Congressman Ronnie Shows (Mississippi)
Senator Thad Cochran (Mississippi)
Governor Ronnie Musgrove (Mississippi)
Master of Ceremonies: General (Retired) E. H. "Mickey" Walker (former Chief, National Guard Bureau and President of the Armed Forces Museum Foundation)
Senator Daniel Inouye (Hawaii) who trained at Camp Shelby in the early part
of 1943 as an enlisted man in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a newly-formed unit
composed of Japanese Americans.
Congressman Gene Taylor (Mississippi)
Major General James H. Lipscomb III, Adjutant General (Mississippi)
Mayor Bobby Chain (former, Hattiesburg MS)
Judge Johnny Williams (Hattiesburg MS - opening prayer)
Mrs. Mildred Hong (Hattiesburg MS - special music)
While not on the speaker's platform, our 69th
Association President, Ray Sansoucy, attended and represented the 69th Infantry
Division at the opening.
The large museum includes a 38-foot-tall triangular copper monument with the names, photos and heroic tales of 70 servicemen; more than 17, 000 donated artifacts, from dress uniforms to a real "Mae West" tank; a simulated WWI trench complete with sounds of machine guns and explosions; and a history of every American war since the War of 1812.
Museum visitors can study exhibits explaining the Fighting 69th's heroic campaign through Europe, from the English Channel to the crucial battles for victory against the Third Reich in central Germany.
Veterans and their families will see photos and memorabilia of the 69th and other soldiers who survived the grueling training regimen in the hot, humid pine woods around the 136, 000-acre Camp Shelby military reserve. Camp Shelby is about 15 miles south of Hattiesburg, MS, on U. S. 49.
The Armed Forces Museum houses memorabilia from
the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and
the Persian Gulf War. Over 6,100 items are displayed from all branches
of the military. The museum also features a library. Open
Monday-Friday, 9 am-4 pm; and Saturday-Sunday, 1 pm-5 pm. Admission is free.
Joe Lipsius (center) donates a historic map
of the linkup sites between the 69th Infantry and the Russian Army to Chad
Daniels (right), Director of The Armed Forces Museum in Camp Shelby,
Mississippi. James K. Richardson is at left.
Lipsius finally met Richardson in person
at the museum on August 14, 2003
. Joe was formerly S-2 for
Regimental Headquarters, 272nd Infantry Regiment, and is the founder
and Co-Webmaster of the 69th Infantry Division's Website. Jim was a Communications
Sergeant for Company B of the 272nd Infantry Regiment, and is now
Co-Webmaster and Site Engineer of this Website. This
was the first meeting of the two who, along with Amy Rose, Editor and Website
Treasurer, have developed the 69th's Website.
The
meeting had two purposes: For Joe and Jim
finally to meet face to face after countless hours of e-mail messages developing
the Website; and for Joe to present the Armed Forces Museum an exact copy of the
situation maps of the 272nd Infantry Regiment's move across Europe from the
Belgium-German border on February 9, 1945, when it entered combat, until
May 9, 1945, VE Day.
The
13 maps (scale 1 to 100,000), show Regimental and Battalion Command Posts by
dates, plus some attached Unit locations. Also, two special maps
cover the phase lines of fighting in the City of Leipzig and the first meeting
of the American and Soviet Armies in WWII at the Elbe River on April 25,
1945.
Preserve
the Past
If you have 69th Infantry Division memorabilia or WWII artifacts of any
type that you would like to donate, please send them to The Armed Forces Museum.
This includes patches and military insignia, Unit Histories, diaries kept
or letters written during WWII, newspaper articles, photographs, uniforms,
souvenirs from Germany, or any item you think a visitor or researcher would like
to see.
Please include as much description as possible of each item separately,
the full name and address of the donor, and the full name, rank and Unit of the
69th member.
Send to:
Mississippi Armed Forces Museum
Building 850
Camp Shelby, MS 39407-5500
Chad Daniels, M.A., M.S., Museum Director
(601) 558-2303
Honor your service or the service
of a friend or loved one.
The purpose of the Camp Shelby Armed Forces Museum is to
honor all veterans, especially those who trained in this area. Buy a brick and
have your name or a loved one's name permanently recorded for posterity by being
placed in the walkway of the Museum area.
Bricks 4" X 8" @ $50.00 each. Each brick can
have 3 lines of up to 15 characters.
Bricks 8" X 8" @ $100.00 each. Each brick can
have 6 lines of up to 15 characters.
Special offer: 12" X 12" Granite Stone @ $250
each and/or a 24" X 24" Granite Stone
@ $1000 each.
Court
of Honor
In Bulletin 55 - 3, 69ers and family
members were given an
Opportunity to purchase one or more
24" X 24" ( 2 ft X 2 ft) Granite Stones, cost $1,000, to be placed in
the Court of Honor at The Armed Forces Museum, Camp Shelby, MS., to honor the
69th Inf Div.
Only $635 was raised.
It was decided to buy the next size,
$500 Granite Stone with different wording
and those donating were notified.
One of the donors was so disappointed, he agreed to make up the
difference if his name was kept anonymous and any money that might trickle in
should be reimbursed to him up to his extra gift.
This Is Photo
of The Granite Stone
Click here for ordering information form for bricks
Click here for ordering information form for granite
stones
When the forms above are displayed,
they may be printed out by selecting "file" above left hand corner, and selecting "print".
Mississippi Armed Forces Museum
Building 850
Camp Shelby, MS 39407-5500
Chad Daniels, M.A., M.S., Museum Director
(601) 558-2303
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