The staff at the First Division Museum at Cantigny, located just outside Chicago in Wheaton, Illinois, have long made it their mission to preserve, interpret and present to the public the history of the "Big Red One," the U.S. Army's first division. Now, following a multimillion-dollar renovation which saw museum doors close for 10 months, the educational center has reopened with expanded displays and a new exhibit covering the division's activities from 1970 through today.
Leaders and Soldiers from the 1st Inf. Div. attended the Grand Reopening ceremony of the First Division Museum at Cantigny, Aug. 26. Maj. Gen. Joseph Martin, 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley commanding general, spoke during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
"Our division is blessed to have such an amazing facility, and after 100 years of victory, we're looking forward to the next 100," Martin said. "I'm blessed to serve as Danger 6 at this time, and it is my honor to be standing before you today at this great event."
The Commanding General's Mounted Color Guard presented the American flag at the ceremony, and Soldiers from the 1st Inf. Div. Artillery treated the crowd to a volley of fire to start the event.
"Over the last year, we've celebrated a long and storied history - the impressive heritage of our division," Martin said. "We recognize the massive sacrifices that the pioneers of this organization have made for our great nation. Our present-day Big Red One Soldiers have been asked to bear a heavy burden though. Many of them have multiple deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations across the world. These brave Soldiers have placed themselves in harm's way, committing themselves to the defense of the nation."
The museum now tells the 100 years of Big Red One history in two parts. The existing exhibit, First in War, takes visitors from the division's earliest days in 1917 through World War I, World War II and Vietnam. This area was expanded and refreshed over the past 10 months and includes artifacts and recreations from the division's first five decades.
The division's story continues in the new exhibit, Duty First, which tells the division's story since Vietnam. The exhibit uses electronic displays featuring Big Red One veterans telling their stories and virtual reality to put visitors into the boots of a 1st Inf. Div. Soldier.
"The museum we had only told the story up through Vietnam," said Paul Herbert, executive director of the First Division Museum, discussing what prompted the renovation efforts that began three years ago. "That's half the division's history. And the centennial is approaching. So are we going to celebrate the centennial with half the division's history?"
Herbert said another reason for the expansion was for the Soldiers who have served with the Big Red One since Vietnam.
"Their service needs to be told," he said. "And they're at an age where they're becoming conscious of their status as veterans, conscious of their place in history, and it's important to them."
Through video displays, visitors to the museum will be able to hear firsthand accounts from Big Red One veterans like Capt. Casey Wolfe, an observer controller/trainer for the U.S. Army Reserves and former commander of the Commanding General's Mounted Color Guard. Wolfe and other veterans flew to the museum last fall to speak with historians and record the video used in the exhibit.
"It was a surreal experience," Wolfe said about seeing his role in the exhibit for the first time. "I haven't talked a lot about Afghanistan with my family - not because I'm trying to hide anything, just not wanting toot my own horn or anything."
Wolfe said his recording session took longer than expected because he had much to share.
"I made a remark to one of the film people that I talked more about Afghanistan in that afternoon than I had with my family," he said. "It's something I'm passionate about, and I want to make sure people who come here in 15 years that may not really know anything about Afghanistan get the right story."
While serving as a platoon leader for Troop C, 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div., Dec. 18, 2011, in Afghanistan, Wolfe was wounded by a roadside bomb. He spent 11 months recovering from severe wounds at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
"I've got a two-and-a-half month old daughter," he said. "My hope is that I can bring her here in 15 years and she can grasp and understand these things; show her my deal, but show her the rest of the exhibit too and also show her the other side of the museum, the World War II side and where her great grandfather was with the division.
"Not a whole lot of people can show off their family history in a museum."
While the museum tells the story of the Big Red One and its Soldiers, Herbert said there's a broad lesson it can impart to visitors.
"It's important that our country understands what we're still asking our Soldiers to do," the executive director said.
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