by Randy Kambic

Tom Brokaw called them “the greatest generation.” The late writer Studs Terkel said they exhibited “fear, jubilance, misery, hope, and comradeship.” Both are apt descriptions of veterans of World War II, and judging by the wealth of personal artifacts at the Military Heritage Museum in Punta Gorda, they were and are extremely proud and generous as well.

Nearly all of the thirty-thousand-plus items at the 2,500-square-foot facility in Fishermen’s Village have been donated by servicemen or their descendents from Charlotte, DeSoto, Lee, Collier, and Sarasota counties who “didn’t want them showing up on eBay,” says Kim Lovejoy, the museum’s executive director. “These possessions meant and mean so much to them, and we’re so grateful we can educate and inform visitors now and for generations to come of their courage and sacrifice.”

She estimates approximately 40 percent of the museum’s artifacts?including medals, weapons, insignia, maps, photos, uniforms, mess kits, letters, and ship and plane models?are from World War II. It’s the conflict with the most representation by far at the museum, and the items on display cover all branches of service and theaters of combat along with life on the home front.

Hundreds of thousands of World War II–era servicemen trained in the Sunshine State, including at air bases in our region. Fond memories of the experience led many veterans to settle here after the war, while others moved here upon retirement. The Florida World War II Heritage Trail guidebook estimated that more than five hundred thousand veterans of the conflict resided in Florida as of two years ago.

But there are items at the museum from all American conflicts, from the Civil War through Operation Iraqi Freedom. Recently, Lovejoy has been seeing a steady increase in donations from Korean War veterans and their families.

Contributions of materials arrive almost every day, says Lovejoy, who recently retired from twenty-five years in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army and Air National Guard. Some exhibit cases are carefully constructed to chronicle the entire military career of a specific serviceman, like the section put together last year devoted to Herb Brough of North Port. His display follows his entrance in the service to the Battle of the Bulge and includes a helmet and liner with holes where shrapnel penetrated and injured him. In another exhibit, a map of Europe is marked with the target sites of each mission that a bomber crewman flew on. “We basically tell their stories,” says Lovejoy, simply and poignantly.

Along with personal memories, the items on view cover momentous incidents, moments, and figures. The front page of the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper, dated a week before December 7, 1941, warns of an attack. Photos depict the Enola Gay plane and its crew, which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, as well as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower. A commemorative plate features General George S. Patton’s proud visage.

Trained volunteers help enhance the displays, while videos add to the educational experience. Special receptions featuring veterans and local historians are held regularly, and a well-stocked gift shop is also on site.

The many photos of young, smiling servicemen taken prior to going overseas are captivating. They lead one to wonder how many of them survived, and for those who did, how the war changed them. And the sheer volume of medals speaks profoundly of the concentration of courage that is showcased here. Just as memorable: a setup at the entrance of a “Missing Dinner Guest” table setting, which serves as a touching, symbolic salute to POWs and MIAs. Amidst all of the museum’s tangible proof of valor and sacrifice, this display sadly and poignantly reminds us that war also yields such open-ended, heartbreaking, incomplete situations.

The Military Heritage Museum is located at 1200 West Retta Esplanade, Unit 48 at Fishermen’s Village in Punta Gorda. For more information, call 941-575-9002 or visit www.mhaam.org.

Randy Kambic is an editor for Times of the Islands, RSW Living, and Bonita Living.