DNR
Home PageMISSOURI VETERANS GALLERY OPENS AT MISSOURI STATE MUSEUM
JEFFERSON CITY, MO., DEC. 3, 2007 -- The Department of Natural Resources will host the opening of a Missouri Veterans Gallery in the Missouri State Museum in the Capitol on Dec. 7. The opening ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. in the rotunda of the first floor of the Capitol with Governor and Mrs. Blunt attending.
Speaking at the ceremony will be Brig. Gen. Larry Kay, assistant adjutant general and deputy commission of the Missouri Veterans Commission and Sen. Carl Vogel of Jefferson City. The welcome will be provided by Doyle Childers, director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, which operates the Missouri State Museum.
Following the ceremony, Wilburn Rowden of Maries County will present a program relating his experiences during World War II, his time as a prisoner of war, and his 35 years in the Missouri National Guard. Missouri's veterans are invited to attend the opening. The opening date also marks the anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day.
The Missouri Veterans Gallery is dedicated to the Missourians that have answered the call to protect home and family since statehood in 1821 and will tell the stories of the key role of Missouri veterans in the history of the state. The centerpiece of the gallery is a 19-foot brass model of the USS Missouri built by the U.S. Navy for research after World War II. The exhibit will also include artifacts and images donated by or related to Missouri veterans and their service.
The gallery will remain at the east end of the History Hall in the Capitol indefinitely with different artifacts being rotated into the exhibit. The Capitol is open to the public free of charge from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
For more information, contact the Missouri State Museum office at 573-751-2854 or the Department of Natural Resources toll free at 800-334-6946 (voice) or 800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf). For information on state parks and historic sites, visit the Web at www.mostateparks.com.
