A northern Illinois museum is using local soldier memorabilia to celebrate Veterans Day.
This is the 17th year that the Little White School Museum in Oswego is celebrating Veterans Day with an exhibition. The display honors servicemen who are connected to the village.
Annie Jordan is the museum’s manager. She said when choosing which veteran to highlight, the museum looks for those whose story is easier to tell.
“Sometimes all we have is their name, and you know, maybe their rank and their branch," she said. "And it's harder to tell those stories. And other people, we have either passed down stories from the family letters, diaries, firsthand accounts.”
She said some of the veteran belongings also dictate who they choose to be a part of the exhibition.
“And then we also look at what kind of artifacts we have available for those veterans,” she said. “So, it's easier to tell a story when we have the uniform available, or at least photos, artifacts, discharge papers, metals. So, we kind of combine all those things.”
Jordan said not all the veterans were born in Oswego, but they did live in the town at one point or another. The wall of honor showcases over 270 veterans from the area ranging from those who served in civil war to modern day soldiers.
The “Remembering Our Veterans” exhibit opens on Thursday Nov. 9 and continues through Nov. 26.
