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Welcome to the Alabama Veterans
Museum and Archives
NAMED
2009 ATTRACTION OF THE YEAR
click photo to read story..
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Museum Membership Information!
Become a member of the Alabama
Veterans Museum Foundation.
The focus of our museum is to tell the stories of our nations
veterans through the eyes of Alabama locals who have served in
times of war and peace.
View membership levels
For more information contact the Museum with your monetary gift to ensure our
children will have a place to remember those who fought for our
freedom! Director Sandy Thompson 256.771.7578
email
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| Can you volunteer
at the Museum? If you
have a few hours per week and would like to help out, please
call the museum at 256.771.7578. Pick the days and hours you
would like to volunteer. |
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ABOUT THE MUSEUM:
The Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives, located in the old L&N
Freight Depot in Athens, was the brainchild of the late Limestone
County, Alabama, Veterans Service Officer Kenneth David. After
collecting artifacts for an exhibit to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of the end of World War II in 1995, Ken still had many
artifacts left after the exhibit closed that contributors didn’t
retrieve. He wanted a permanent place to display the artifacts to
honor the brave men and women from the Civil War to the present who
fought and died to keep our land free. |
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The Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives opened its doors in 2000
with a few primitive displays and much renovation work still to be
done. We had our Grand Opening and Dedication service on Nov. 10,
2002. Our guest speaker was Johnny Spann of Winfield, Ala., father
of Mike Spann, the first American killed in Afghanistan in the wake
of the terrorist attack on America. One week later, Ken David lost
his battle with cancer. |
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The museum is divided into three
areas: the Tyler Craig Memorial Library; the Bob McAbee Exhibit
Hall, and the Wendell Powers Auditorium to commemorate the untold
hours of volunteer labor these three museum board members gave, and
continue to give, to this building.
We have heard it commented by visitors who have seen military museum
throughout the U.S. that the charm of this museum is that it
celebrates the accomplishments and sacrifices of the local service
person and their family on the home front, rather than extolling the
oft-told glory of their commanders.
The Website is dedicated to Ken David and all the volunteers who
have made this endeavor possible. We are staffed with volunteers. We
welcome any assistance or donations.
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 Alabama
Veterans Museum Newsletter
September 2012 |
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Driver License Designation
Soon to be Available to Veterans - Alabama veterans
may have the option beginning May 1 of displaying
proof of military service on their driver licenses.
To establish proof of service, a veteran must visit
one of the Alabama Department of Public Safety’s
Driver License examining offices and present a
DD-214 form from the U.S. Department
of Defense that shows an “honorable” or “general
under honorable conditions” status. For more
information or to locate the nearest Driver License
examining office, visit the Driver License Division
page at
www.dps.alabama.gov
click
here
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Nov
9 -
Athens
Veterans
Day
Parade at
11:00
AM.
Grand
Marshalls are Ms. Alice Rogers and Ms. Carmen Montgomery and
Honorary Grand Marshall Ms. Louise Steel. If
you
would
like
to
participate
in
the
parade,
please
contact
Roxanne Haggermaker
at
256-374-2073
or
Sandy
Thompson
at
256-771-7578. |
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 KOREA:
The Forgotten War REMEMBERED
A Jackie Greenhaw Fundraising Production for the
Alabama Veterans Museum & Archives Sunday, October
20th, 2:00 Show will be held at Limestone County
Senior Center 912 W Pryor, Athens
Tickets for the show are $10.00 & on Sale now at the
Alabama Veterans Museum 100 W. Pryor St. Athens, AL
more...
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 Veterans
Museum Coffee Call - Pastor Logan
presented
Thompson and the Veterans
museum with a beautiful painting of "The Prayer
at Valley Forge" by Arnold Friberg, more...
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 The
Burial Detail performed the proper flag protocol
that is dictated for tattered and torn American
Flags, it should be destroyed by burning in a
dignified manner. On July 3rd the Athens-Limestone
County Burial Detail assembled at the Alabama
Veterans Museum and held a flag retirement ceremony
where members properly disposed of flags brought by
the community. more...
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 The
2nd annual Sam Gibbons memorial Tennessee Walking
Horse Show Results
more... |
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 AMVET Post 21, Athens,
Alabama, will be seeking donations from the
community during the White Clover drive this
July 4th, 2013. AMVET members will be
at the following locations; Hometown Foods,
K-Mart, Tractor Supply and Wal-Mart, and we
sincerely hope you will stop by.
more... |
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 July
3rd - 9AM, American Flag Retirement Ceremony at the
Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives. The public is
welcome to bring their frayed and worn out flags to
also be retired.
more... |
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 All of the veterans groups
from Limestone County would like to extend their
sincere gratitude to the many churches,
organizations, scouts, troops, school children
and individuals who participated in placing the
American flag at the graves of approximately
3000 deceased veterans in 200 + County
cemeteries for Memorial Day. more...
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 Each month at the Alabama
Veterans Museum we are so glad to see each and everyone of our
Veterans. Especially our WWII veterans at Coffee Call. With the greatest generation
dying at a rate of 600 per day, Alabama is project to have 3,286
to die in 2013, and nation wide a total of 225,530 by the end of
2013 according to
www.nationalww2museum.org/honor/wwii-veterans-statistics.html
more...
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 Honoring
Seaman Thomas Belue Box.
He passed away with 73 other
crewmen on June 3, 1969, when an Australian aircraft
carrier named the Melbourne collided into the USS
Frank E. Evans slicing it in half. more...
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 American
Flags For Veterans on Memorial Day - Flags on
Veterans' Graves is a project that is echoed across
the country in order to recognize those who once
served in the US military. Bob Borden, is the local
coordinator
more... |
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 Limestone
County Memorial Day Ceremony Hosted and Sponsored
this year by the Alabama Veterans Museum with over
350 guests and speaker Major General Lynn Collyar
Commanding General U.S. Army Aviation & Missile
Command
more... |
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 Alabama
Veterans Museum receives check from Legislators and
guest author Forrest Bruner "Pearl Harbor to Tokyo"
more...
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 Public
Service of the Year award to Sandy Thompson Alabama
Veterans Museum and Archives by Camden Kent.
Business Person of the Year award was presented to
Sarah Wallace by Jackie Jackson.
more...
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 At the April 6th Alabama Veterans
Museum Coffee Call, one of Athens’ own sons will
be attending and performing. SSG Jason Sanders,
Trumpeter, with The US Army Band "Pershing's Own"
will be performing our ‘National Anthem’ & ‘Taps.’
more... |
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 March
is Women's History Month at the Alabama Veterans
Museum The theme selected for this year's programs
is: "Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination:
Celebrating Women in Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics. Honoree is Miss Mattye
Murray with Mary Scott Hunter
Representative to the Alabama Board of Education as
the guest speaker. more...
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 Looking
for students from Tanner High School who graduated
from 1970s-1990s who were taught by Miss Mattye
Murray. more...
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 French
Honors Awarded to WWII Veterans; now they are
Knights! Sir
Cal Bonner, Sir Theo Calvin, Sir Jack
Hunter and Sir Clifford Wilford
more... |
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Read stories of these Veterans and many others in
Jerry Barksdale "When Duty Called" and
"Duty" on sale at the
Alabama Veterans Museum &
Pablos On Market read more @
www.JerryBarksdale.com & on facebook.
email
books@jerrybarksdale.com
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 The
Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives
celebrated its 10 year Anniversary
on Saturday November 10th, 2012.
Representative Dan Williams was the
quest speaker
more...
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 This
year's Grand Marshal was WWII
Veteran Dempsey McLemore. McLemore
was part
of the 82nd Airborne and one of
Company A more...
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 Theo
Calvin 89 yrs old of Athens, has waited 68 years to
have an error made by the Army corrected. General
Richard Formica, Commanding General, USASMDC/ARSTRAT
was proud to place the long awaited medals on Sgt.
Theo Calvin's uniform. more... |
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| The Museum's Cookbook
'Veterans Vittles on sale NOW! Price is only $12. available
in the Gift Shop of the Museum. Thank you to everyone who submitted to our
cookbook. |
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Flags Over Athens
- The American
Flags will be flying on Highway 31 & Hobbs Street on all the
observed Military Holidays.
If you would like to have a flag flown in honor or in memory of your
Veteran contact the Museum to purchase your flag!
more information click here |
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Our
library is now open for business, Come by and see the
collection we have of books, videos and
 magazines. We would like
to thank Carol Hamilton & Linda Wilson for the dedication of
seeing this enormous project thru. The Library is located
upstairs. |
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Bill Legg and Sam Gibbons will be forever missed!
Would you like to honor the men and women who
have served our country? Many ask "what they can do"?
By helping to preserve their
memories here in the Museum you can do more than honor those who
served, you can help us teach our children and our neighbors of the
price that is paid for our freedom.
We invite you to tour
our facility free of charge, (donations are cheerfully accepted) anytime
you are in history-rich North Alabama. But until you can plan a trip
our way, please take a moment to see a few of our exhibits on this
Website. |
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For more information, or to volunteer, call the Museum at
256-771-7578 or
email
Hours Monday thru Saturday from 9:00AM -
3:00PM - Scheduled
group tours available.
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