V-J Day at Local Museum

on 2 September, we attended a very interesting V-J Day Commemorative Event at the local museum - National Museum of the Pacific War. We were glad we had found out about it and were able to participate.

With the buffet treats and drinks, in a way, it was as if we had celebrated the end of the war 80 years ago (considering that, according to quantum physics, past, presence, and future happen at the same time, now).

The program of the commemoration, with the national Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance was quite patriotic.

The presence of the two WWII made it all quite special.

From the right (in white shirts) - Mr. Donald Graves and Mr. Ken Jones (USS Colorado veteran).

Introduction by Mr. David Shields, the Museum Director,

was followed by the lecture delivered by Mr. Jonathan Parshall.

During the event, I thought about my grandfather Józef, who was a POW and then a labor camp for five years of WW2.

We were honored to meet Mr. Donald Graves - Iwo Jima survivor.

Corporal Graves was a flamethrower of the 5th Marine Division, 28th Regiment, 2nd Battalion Dog Company. He was 17 when he joined the US Marine Corps in 1942.

An expected survival time of a flamethrower at Iwo Jima was 4 minutes. Miraculously, Mr. Graves lived through the battle with no harm to his body. You can learn more about the man from the interview with Mr. Graves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=N6naKvmyWAw

PS

Listening to the lecture mentioned above, I realized that at the history classes I had attended in my childhood (Easter European block), it was never mentioned  the Soviet entered Japan after the A bombs were dropped on the country by the US. I thought I might be wrong so asked my sister about that. She confirmed that she had not been taught about that either.

N for Nimitz Museum

 

Time for another entry in "My Texas Alphabet". In its second edition, the letter "N" is also for the National Museum of War on the Pacific (in other words, the Nimitz Museum).

We visited the museum on our wedding day, years ago. A weird thing to do on such a day? Not at all. Well, unusual, maybe.

from Pacific Combat Zone

Anyhow, at that time, the outside backyard area was part of the exhibition as well. You could visit the field hospital and, among others, see Japanese tanks in the Pacific Combat Zone area. Tickets were valid for 24 hours so we could watch the vast museum exhibition with no hurry.

Since then, we have come back to the Nimitz Museum many times. Some things have changed there. The reenactment theater was built in the backyard. Walking and sightseeing in that section is no longer possible, and a ticket is only good on the day of your visit.

Besides the permanent exposition, the museum offers many educational programs. 

 

One can learn a lot by attending the Outpost events, Campaign Briefings, taking part in Symposiums, and numerous various other events organized there. 

Veterans Day observance at the museum

 

Art lovers can also enjoy temporary art gallery presentations.

 

 

Have you ever been to the museum? It is worth visiting for sure.

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Other posts on the blog related to the Nimitz Museum:

Fredericksburg - National Museum of War on the Pacific

Presentation at National Museum of War on the Pacific

Jazz Band in Gazebo

Women in Uniforms

Museum Stories

F for Fiedler's Museum

 

Arkady Fiedler (1894/1985) was a Polish writer, traveler, and naturalist. During his life, the man took part in numerous expeditions to several countries on all continents. 

Some years ago, I happened to see the museum situated in Fiedler's family home in Puszczykowo (not far from Poznań, Poland), and I did enjoy watching all the exhibits there. The small items are on display in the house. Others, placed in the yard, are interesting reconstructions.

Some of the structures are:
a statue from Easter Island,
a monument to Crazy Horse, Lakota chief,
Sitting Bull statue,
and the Gate of the Sun (Lake Titicaca area, Bolivia).

The place is worth visiting, but probably not many people know about it.

Santa Maria - replica

Fiedler wrote 32 books. One of them, "303 Squadron" (about the WWII Battle of Britain fighting squadron), was on our school reading list. 

"The River of Singing Fish" ("Ryby Spiewają w Ukajali") about his trip to South America, bought by my sister, we had at home.

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"My Polish Alphabet" is related to things, places, and people that come to my mind when I think about Poland.

F for Fredericksburg

I am not going to write about the history and early beginnings of Fredericksburg here or what you can see in the town. I did that quite a few times in the posts written earlier. We do have our favorite spots in Fredericksburg and things we enjoy doing. Well, the town is changing and (in my opinion) gradually losing its original charm. More and more stores on Main Streets that have been there almost forever cease their existence, and more and more wine-tasting rooms and art galleries selling art pieces for N thousand dollars each come into being instead. The town is getting in the "all-about partying and drinking" direction more and more, becoming a weekend party gateway. Its traditional German spirit is, little by little, fading away.

Luckily, quite a lot of cultural events are still there. Most of them are run by the people of the older generations. Will the ones who are younger continue their work? Well, I am not sure. Enjoy till they last! I mean the events. Well, at least, we are going to.

Some things have already changed. For example, the lighting of the town's Christmas tree in December. It used to be a merry event with live music, hot chocolate, cookies, lots of cheer, and Christmas spirit. Not long ago, it all was replaced with a tape recording. You can listen to it daily at Christmastime. Now, it is as in any other city. You have heard the recording once, you do not need to listen to it again.

More and more people come to live in the town, bringing more and more traffic. My guess is that soon, Fredericksburg will become just like Gruene. It used to be a separate settlement, in the middle of nowhere. These days it is part of New Braunfels, with millions of cars around the place 24/7. 

Well, we do like Fredericksburg a lot. We just wish we had lived there 20+ years ago. 

During one of our visits to the town, some years ago

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More posts related to Fredericksburg, TX from the past:

• Fredericksburg - National Museum of The Pacific War 
• Fredericksburg - Side Streets & Roads 
• Fredericksburg, TX & Its Main Street

My Texas Alphabet is quite a particular and personal summary of our hitherto life and my blogging time in Texas.

Women in Uniforms

 Another Living History event at the Nimitz Museum was dedicated to WW2 servicewomen.

Do you know that women's uniforms at that time were designed and made by an American fashion house?  A curious detail: red lipstick was part of the uniform and was provided by the Army/Navy. How cool was that? Two lipstick shades were in use: Victory Red and another one which was manufactured by Elisabeth Arden.

To learn more - visit the museum on a Saturday and participate in Living History presentations.

 

I've checked on the Internet - Victory Red is still available.

Untold Stories at the Museum

 Saturday, 10 April

We enjoyed another presentation at the National Museum of the Pacific War - stories told by museum volunteers. Some of the stories were related to

• Survival in the jungle - survival kit and field hospitals.
  

• Can you imagine that the soldier who wore that helmet survived the shot that totally damaged the metal head cover?
  

• Nurses who refused to leave their patients and as a result of that became prisoners of a Japanese war camp. Their names were written on that piece of silk.
  

• Japanese WW2 soldier's kit and uniform.

• Women in decoding service.

•  Letters from the war front.

• An early email like system that made letter exchange faster and more efficient.
  

There was more and all very interesting!

Check on the schedule of the museum events to see and hear it all as well. The admission for the Saturday Living History presentations is free.