Images: #TBT Gallery looks back at Wheaton's First Division Museum

This Saturday, the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park in Wheaton will reopen its doors after a 10-month redesign, part of Cantigny's ongoing Project New Leaf. The updated museum includes a new gallery showcasing the post-Vietnam history of the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division and the unit's current activities around the globe. The iconic tanks outside the museum are reopening, too.

The original museum, then called the Cantigny War Memorial Museum of the First Division, opened in 1960 inside a repurposed horse stable - the building that's now the Cantigny Park Visitors Center. Tanks and other military artifacts were displayed outside along the entry drive. Back then, as today, park visitors were free to climb on the tanks if they wished.

Cantigny is home to the First Division Museum because of Col. Robert R. McCormick, a World War I veteran who served in the First Division. His experience at the successful Battle of Cantigny in 1918 made such an impression that he renamed his Wheaton estate upon returning from Europe. Previously, the property was known as Red Oaks Farm. Through the years, until his death in 1955, the Colonel hosted military reunions on the Cantigny grounds for his "Big Red One" colleagues.

Twenty-five years ago this month, in 1992, the First Division Museum opened in its much larger current home. While the "footprint" of the museum was not altered during the current renovation, big changes await visitors inside. Guests will enjoy a more engaging and interactive experience, with greater emphasis on what it's like to be a soldier in today's military. For more information, visit fdmuseum.org.