Exhibit tells stories of soldiers who served in Big Red One
What do a drummer from New York, a chaplain from Texas and a nurse from Wisconsin have in common? They all served in the U.S. Army’s famed 1st Infantry Division, known as the Big Red One.
“Faces of the 1st,” a summer exhibit at the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park, tells their stories, plus those of 14 other soldiers who served with the division.
Veterans profiled in the exhibit have served our nation in every major conflict since World War I. More than a year in the making, the free exhibit runs through Sept. 2.
The stories are told through the eyes of soldiers such as Marlin Burns. After enlisting in May 1917, Burns fought with the then-First Division in the Toul, Montdidier, Marne, St. Mihel and Meuse-Argonne offensives during World War I.
Throughout the battles, he saw nearly all of his comrades captured, wounded or killed. In fact, he was the only man in his squad to go unharmed during the war. Burns dealt with the stress of war by expressing his emotions through drawing and writing in a journal, which will be on display.
Christopher Stone, also featured in “Faces of the 1st,” endured a different kind of stress. While on patrol in Macedonia on March 31, 1999, he was taken prisoner by Serbian forces and held for 32 days.
“I became a better person because of it,” Stone says, “and I’ll be able to deal with adversity in my life in a better way, using that as a reference. For the rest of my life, I’ll be able to say that no matter what hardships I face, if I had the strength to go through that, I can certainly deal with this.”
The uniform Stone wore during his captivity is one of many artifacts on exhibit at the First Division Museum.
Visitors also will see the burned boots and belt worn by Richard Trapp when his vehicle ran over an IED in Afghanistan; the helmet of Ron Campsey, which shows a close call with an enemy shot; and the 20-pound medical bag nurse Jody Schroeder carried when treating injured soldiers in Iraq.
Artifacts are just part of the “Faces of the 1st” experience. The exhibit also includes four iPads, enriching the visitor experience with additional photographs and videos.
A preview is online at firstdivisionmuseum.org. Admission to “Faces of the 1st” and to all First Division Museum exhibits is free. Parking at Cantigny is $5.
If you go
What: Faces of the 1st exhibit
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday through Sept. 2
Where: First Division Museum at Cantigny Park, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton
Cost: $5 parking
Info: www.firstdivisionmuseum.org