WAUSAU — In a break from its typical pattern, the Marathon County Historical Society will open on Memorial Day this year, in honor of the “Wisconsin Remembers: A Face for Every Name” traveling exhibit.
There will be a Name Reading Ceremony at 2 p.m. on May 27 to honor the veterans listed on the exhibit.
“Wisconsin Remembers: A Face for Every Name” features a photo for each of the 1,161 Wisconsinites officially listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It will be on display at the Woodson History Center, 410 McIndoe St., Wausau, through June 2.
The exhibit includes additional photos for names that are listed on The Highground Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Neillsville. Wisconsin Remembers is a tribute to lost life and lost potential. It is a project of Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television and the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.
On Memorial Day, May 27, MCHS will be open from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Name Reading Ceremony at 2 p.m. will feature volunteers reading each name included in the exhibit.
Another special event during the exhibit will be a History Speaks talk by Mort McBain on the topic “Guilt, Survivorship, and the Trauma of War.” His presentation will be at 2 p.m. June 1 at the Woodson History Center.
To create the exhibit, students, teachers, and other volunteers from throughout Wisconsin collected photos from friends and families of those who were killed in the war. The images they found will help tell the story of the Wisconsinites behind the names on The Wall and become part of a permanent education center being built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
More information on “Wisconsin Remembers: A Face for Every Name” is available at wpr.org/veterans.
Photo courtesy Marathon County Historical Society.
