A new national treasure is set to open this fall in America’s Heartland. The Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, will play a role in preserving the history and service of all Iowa veterans, and serve as a national hub for research and genealogy studies.
The $11.5 million, state-of-the-art facility pays tribute at a time when the number of surviving World War II and Korea veterans is diminishing by the day. A Grand Opening event will be Nov. 15, to celebrate, and raise local and national awareness about its historic value.
The Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum is an expansion of the Grout Museum District, a private, not-for-profit entity that has grown into a regional and national cornerstone of history, culture and the sciences. The museum addition is already attracting attention beyond state lines. “It has both regional and national appeal because of the many veterans that have served with our Iowa veterans,” said Cyd McHone, Grout Museum District Director of Development and Marketing. “The museum will be a great place for veterans’ tours and reunions, many are already scheduled months in advance.”
The Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum is named after the five Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa. They lost their lives, along with 700 other crewmembers, when their ship, the USS Juneau, was sunk in the South Pacific on Nov. 13, 1942, in the Battle of Guadalcanal.
The 32,000-square-foot facility named in their honor consists of permanent and temporary exhibits, video histories, artifacts, plane and tank replicas, and a near life-size re-creation of the bow of the USS Juneau. Museum patrons will receive personalized veteran dog tags when they arrive, allowing them to experience an Iowan’s story. Interactive video exhibits also showcase hundreds of veterans’ stories, and a veteran registration program will serve as an important research tool.
“We want to be leaders in preserving this rich history of our veterans,” said Billie Bailey, Executive Director of the Grout Museum District. “This nation owes so much to veterans. We want to play our part in preserving that for generations.”
The Grand Opening celebration for the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum will be a daylong event. The Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Donald C. Winter, will lead the museum dedication, and the Parade Band of Navy Band Great Lakes also will perform.
‘With Love Stan’
Those who visit the museum in Waterloo, Iowa, should expect to see Sp4 Stanley D. Ross represented there as well as Iowa veterans from the Civil War through the current war in Iraq. A year ago, Bob Neymeyer, historian and project coordinator for the new addition, contacted Karen Ross Epp of Newton, after reading her book, “With Love Stan, A Soldier’s Letters From Vietnam To The World,” about her brother, Stan Ross.
