Chehalis, WA — A machete gifted by Teddy Roosevelt. A catcher's mitt. A comic book. A pack of cigarettes. At the Veterans Memorial Museum in Chehalis, Washington, it's all about the personal touch.
“Nearly every artifact in here has a personal story behind it of the veteran,” says Pat Swanson who volunteers with the museum. “We have artifacts starting from the revolutionary war and going all the way through today's conflicts.”
There are more than a hundred display cases here. They contain the personal belongings and stories of nearly a thousand veterans.
Joann Kuehner donated her husband's things when Commander Bud Kuehner died a few years ago.
“This is my husband's dress uniform,” she points.
Commander Kuehner was a jet pilot. His bomb blew up a bridge in Korea.
The veterans who fought in the Korea conflict aren't young warriors anymore. Their strides are shorter and slower.
“They came home,” says executive director Chip Duncan. “They had a ticker-tape parade and the war seemed to have been forgotten.”
Every year it seems, there are fewer to pose on remembrance days. More that have joined Bud Kuehner in a place of peace.
“I am not a crier,” says Joann Kuehner. “I was trained to be a tough navy wife and navy wives never complain. They don't complain and they don't sniffle and they don't cry because we all have to survive together."
“But since he passed away I am getting older and maybe I am getting more emotional, I don't know.”
Every year, on her wedding anniversary, June 16, Joann Kuehner pays for everyone's admission to the museum.
They were all veterans but they were so much more. Sons and daughters. The love of someone's life. All among the thousands of stories told at the Veterans Memorial Museum in Chehalis.
“Every time I go through I will read the information on a display and I'm touched by it,” Swanson says. “It's just amazing that people will give that kind of service and sacrifice. Just amazing.”
Veterans Memorial Museum | 100 SW Veterans Way, Chehalis, WA 98532 | (360) 740-8875
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