APRIL 2019

SIJAN SCREENING AND
COMMUNITY TOUR

The War Memorial Center invites you to join us for two special events honoring local Medal of Honor recipient Capt. Lance P. Sijan.

Saturday, May 4 - 9 AM
Visit Sijan Milwaukee Landmarks

Thursday, May 9 - 6PM
View The Film At War Memorial Center

HONOR ROLL RESEARCH
& DONATION DAY

On March 16 we hosted the first Honor Roll Research and Donation Day. Many volunteers did research onsite, took photos of our WWII scrapbook and organized data. Families also donated items related to their relatives on the Honor Roll. Pat Heinritz donated letters and photos from her uncle, John R. Mackett, a tail gunner who was killed in WWII. Pat also donated a doll that John bought for her in France. Thanks to Mission BBQ for donating lunch for all the participants. We hope to schedule another one of these events in the fall. 

ANNUAL REPORT

Our 2018 Annual Report is now available. You can download a copy here. You may notice a new look to this annual report. We believe it reflects the energy and mission-focused excitement happening at the War Memorial Center these days. Throughout this report, you will see how your support of the War Memorial Center is allowing us to reach the high ideals of our founding mission: Honor the Dead — Serve the Living. It is a mission without end. In the words of President Ronald Reagan, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction … It must be fought for, protected and handed on for [our children] to do the same.” 

FIRST FRIDAY TOUR

Join us for this month's free public tour this Friday, April 5, at 11 am. Meet in Veterans Gallery on the 2nd floor and mention the tour to the parking attendant.

 FLAG OF HONOR AT MILLER PARK 

The War Memorial Center is once again working with the Milwaukee Brewers to honor Milwaukee County families during the pregame of select Brewers games. 

FLAG OF HONOR - the traditional practice in the rites of military funerals is the ceremonial folding and presentation of the flag as a tribute to a veteran’s family. This Flag of Honor is a treasured keepsake to honor the memory of the veterans’ military service.

Flag of Honor families will receive 4 complimentary tickets to the game with the opportunity to purchase additional tickets.  
During the pregame, 4 family members will be allowed on the field to be honored as their family member's service image is shown on the scoreboard. 

If you or someone you know would like the opportunity to be honored please contact Vicki Chappell at vchappell@warmemorialcenter.org.

There are a few Sunday dates left for this season. They are assigned on a first come, first served basis.

 MENTAL HEALTH MONTH AT WMC

In May, Mental Health Awareness Month, the War Memorial Center is partnering with local organizations to present programming related to mental health and veteran suicide. 

-May 1, 5:30-8:30 pm: Latinx Mental Health Forum, in partnership with the Vet Center, GI Forum and UW-Milwaukee Military and Veteran Resource Center. Learn more and register: warmemorialcenter.org/healthforum

-May 5, 9-11 am: Project 22 Walk/Run/Ride, in partnership with UW-Milwaukee MAVRC, to raise awareness for veteran suicide. Learn more and register:  bit.ly/2DYej2g

CHAIRMAN'S LETTER

• At the recent Veterans Light Up the Arts event, I was introduced to the new Wisconsin Secretary of Veterans Affairs Mary Kolar. Secretary Kolar is a 28-year veteran of the Navy who retired as a captain. We wish her well in her new role!

• President Trump announced that Air Force General Tod Wolters will be the next NATO Commander. With a diverse resume, Gen. Wolters has flown the F-15, the F-22, and the A-10 as he served in Desert Storm, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He also served as Deputy Commander for Political-Military Affairs. He appears to be well prepared for this new challenge that is critical to world security.

• The Army has announced that its new five year plan will eliminate 186 existing programs and put that money into new systems that will help prepare our forces for future challenges. Also, the President’s proposed budget calls for $104 billion in research and development – the most ever. 

• In an effort to curb Russian aggression in Europe, the U.S. is considering adding a permanent division-sized base in Poland. Poland has sweetened the deal by adding $2 billion to the offer.  

• While the President has stated that ISIS is all but done, they still have some life - and a plan. General Joseph Vogel, the Commander of Central Command, which oversees that part of the world for our military, says ISIS is laying low for now and that they still have tens of thousands of committed fighters willing to wait until the right time to resurrect their efforts. He added that this will be a “generational problem for America.” The territory ISIS once controlled has been reduced to less than a single square mile, and it has lost every major battle over the past year or so, so it is easy to see how one might presume they have been defeated. 

• Did You Know?  In 2016, the number of Gulf War vets (7.1 million) surpassed the number of Vietnam vets (6.8 million).  

— Peter P. Pochowski, WMC Board Chairman 

 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS LEARN
ABOUT LANCE SIJAN

The War Memorial Center education program ran a Lance Sijan tour for 20 Bay View High School AP U.S. History students on March 13. Lance Sijan, a Medal of Honor recipient from Bay View, died in a Vietnamese prison in January 1968. Lance's sister, Janine Sijan Rozina (pictured above), led the tour, which passed through the neighborhood he grew up in and the park that now bears his name before stopping at the Mitchell Gallery of Flight at the airport, where a replica of Lance Sijan's Medal of Honor is on display. From there, the group visited the Lance P. Sijan Memorial Plaza, which has an F-4 like the one Sijan flew in Vietnam; Arlington Park Cemetery where Sijan is buried; and finished at the War Memorial Center, where the group saw all the memorials that are connected to Lance Sijan. The War Memorial Center is pleased to sponsor this tour again for the public on May 4. Details in first story of this newsletter. 

SUPPORT OUR MISSION TO HONOR THE DEAD – SERVE THE LIVING