Graphic novel reading group | Wisconsin Veterans Museum

From the Wisconsin Veterans Museum:


The Wisconsin Veterans Museum, in partnership with Jessica Gross, a Public Humanities Exchange Scholar with the UW-Madison Center for the Humanities, is launching a graphic novel reading group for veterans.  Participants will meet twice a month (evenings) in downtown Madison to discuss readings from war-themed graphic novels.

Through both true-to-life and fictional stories of combat, Jessica hopes to open up a dialogue on war and power among veterans. All veterans are welcome to participate, but combat veterans and those with recent service in Iraq and Afghanistan are encouraged to attend. All books will be provided by a grant received from the UW-Madison Center for the Humanities.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Curator of Education Jennifer Kollath at Jennifer.kollath@dva.wisconsin.gov.

Soviet Propaganda at Vets Museum

Twenty-two Cold War era posters will be on display as part of a "special evening with David Olien," according to the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. Olien is senior vice president emeritus of the UW System.
The event takes place 5-9 p.m. Friday at the museum, 30 W. Mifflin, Madison, WI. The event is free and open to the public. For more information:  Call Jennifer Kollath at 608.264.7663. The posters -- "From Revolution to Reform" -- are up now and will remain on display through Dec. 31.

WDVA offices moving Feb. 11

Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs announced today that its offices will move to 201 W. Washington on Feb. 11.

Veterans Museum stays where it is on Mifflin on the Square, but big changes may be on tap. Here's more on the master plan for

... a $75 million joint Wisconsin Historical and Veterans museum that could be part of a larger private project with private offices, retail space and parking in Downtown Madison.
No site has been selected, but the state has studied the current Historical Museum property on Capitol Square coupled with private holdings behind it at the corner of North Fairchild and West Mifflin streets.
The development could provide 200,000 square feet of space for the museums, state documents say.
State Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch has convened a task force of community leaders, interested parties and experts — including Mayor Paul Soglin — to explore sites, financing and other issues. The task force had an initial meeting on Jan. 23 and will meet through the year.

Flying Tigers ace from Wisconsin featured in new exhibit

Flying Tigers ace Fritz Wolf of Shawano, Wisconsin, is the focus of an exhibit opening  Jan. 31 at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison. 

Wolf was a naval aviator who flew in Burma and China in 1941-42, and from  the decks of the USS Hornet and USS Yorktown in 1944-45. According to a museum description of the exhibit:

During World War II, Wolf shot down five enemy aircraft, including two Japanese bombers on December 20, 1941. This new exhibit features numerous artifacts, including a scarf given to him and his fellow “Flying Tigers” by Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, photographs and mementos from his service, and a short film detailing Wolf’s homecoming parade in July 1942.

The museum is  located at 30 W. Mifflin St., across the street from the State Capitol. 

Closed Mondays

Wisconsin Veterans Museum galleries in Madison will close Mondays beginning Jan. 30 to allow employees to safely move and maintain exhibits, the state Department of Veterans Affairs announced today.

The press release says it's a common practice for museums to close Mondays. I have a call in to find out how much money is saved.

Last chance to see Wisconsin exhibit on Iraq and Afghanistan fallen

Here's the word from the Wisconsin Veterans Museum:

The Wisconsin Veterans Museum will be closing “Faces in the Sand” and “The Rise of the Fallen” exhibits which honor the men and women who fought and fell in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, on Saturday, October 30, 2010.

The Museum needs to make room for the upcoming Civil War Sesquicentennial in 2011. Exhibits featuring some of the Museum’s rarest and most historically significant Civil War artifacts will replace “Faces in the Sand” and “The Rise of the Fallen.” A portion of “Faces in the Sand” will relocate permanently to the Museum’s 20^th Century Gallery and “The Rise of the Fallen” will travel the state in 2011.

For more information, contact Jeff Kollath, Curator of Programs and Exhibitions, at (608) 261-0541. The Wisconsin Veterans Museum is a free public educational activity of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs and is located at 30 W. Mifflin St., across the street from the State Capitol. For more information go to www.museum.dva.state.wi.us.