destinations: camp shelby

MISSISSIPPI ARMED FORCES MUSEUM

a tribute to those who serve

STORY BY ROBYN JACKSON

PHOTOS BY LAYLA ESSARY

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W With gas prices rising, many
families are cutting back on
vacation travel these days, but a
trip to the Mississippi Armed
Forces Museum at Camp Shelby
can transport you not only
around the world, but even
back in time.
The museum includes 16,000
square feet in exhibit space
housed in an imposing building
which opened in 2001 atop a
small hill at Camp Shelby.
There is a theater, gift shop,
Medal of Honor tower, library
and archive, and monuments
dedicated to units that have
trained at the camp about 12
miles south of Hattiesburg. The
museum holds more than
17,000 artifacts that range from
small medals to large military
vehicles and weapons.
The museum is a popular site
for veterans association
reunions, but people of all ages
visit the museum, including
many school groups.
“For three years, over 40,000
have visited the museum each
year,” said Chad Daniels, the
museum’s director. “We placed
billboards in Gulfport, Jackson
and in Hattiesburg in February.
Visitation has climbed signifi-
cantly over the spring.”
Wendy Stockton, educational
services officer, said that an
average of 25 school groups
tour the museum each month,
an equal mix of elementary and
high school students.
“I recently accepted the
Educational Services Officer
position at the museum, and
with all of the new programs I
am developing, I anticipate an
increase in student tours,”
Stockton said.
A tour of the museum is not
just a dry history lesson. There
are interactive exhibits which
mimic the sights, sounds and
even smells of combat.
“Their two favorite exhibits
are usually the walk-through
World War I trench, which ends
with a No Man’s Land scene,
and the Vietnam Medivac
exhibit, which includes an actu-
al helicopter in the museum,”
Stockton said.
Daniels said several new
exhibits were installed in June.
“This includes a redeveloped
Medal of Honor tower honoring
Mississippi’s 27 Medal of
Honor recipients. We also
added a ‘walk on’ warship
bridge in the Second World
War Gallery and several other
minor exhibits and upgrades.’
It’s those interactive, state of
the art exhibits that make tour-
ing the museum so interesting.
“Students of all ages always
have a wonderful time at the
museum,” Stockton said. “I
have yet to encounter a student
who wasn’t glad he/she came.
They walk away proud that
they learned so much about our
nation’s military history. On
several occasions we have had
students bring their families
back with them on Saturday
after they toured the museum
with their school.”
The museum includes gal-
leries on each of the wars or
conflicts America has been
involved in, starting with the
War of 1812 and ending with
the ongoing War on Terrorism.
“It is a common mispercep-
tion that the museum is solely
dedicated to Camp Shelby’s his-
tory,” Daniels said. “In fact, the
museum is the State of
Mississippi’s military history
museum. Although the history
of Camp Shelby is deservedly
well-represented in the muse-
um’s galleries, the scope of the
Mississippi Armed Forces
Museum includes all
Mississippi veterans of all
branches of service of service.”
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Here’s what you’ll find in
each gallery:
- Nineteenth Century
Conflicts: The War of 1812,
Mexican War, American Civil
War and the Spanish-American
War are covered in this gallery.
Visitors can learn about the mil-
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itary service of Mississippians
such as Thomas Hinds (War of
1812), Jefferson Davis (Mexican
War) and Earl Van Dorn
(American Civil War).
- World War I Gallery:
Exhibits on how America
entered the war, the establish-
ment of Camp Shelby and arti-
facts from the war at sea, in the
air and on land are part of this
gallery. It features the walk-
through “Trench Experience,” a
life-sized diorama which allows
visitors to experience what
American soldiers went
through in “the Great War.”
- World War II Gallery: The
largest gallery in the museum
covers the immense scope of
the war, presented in chrono-
logical order. Exhibits include
activation and expansion of
Camp Shelby, Pearl Harbor and
the fall of the Philippines,
women in World War II,
Nazism, German prisoner of
war camps in Mississippi, the
air war, weapons and equip-
ment, the atomic bomb, and the
war’s end.
- Korean War Gallery: This
gallery about “The Forgotten
War” features special exhibits
about the breakout of the war
from the Chosin Reservoir, Mig
Alley and the U.S. Air Force in
Korea and weapons and equip-
ment from the conflict. More
than 57,000 Americans died
defending South Korea from the
communist forces of North
Korea and China.
- Vietnam War Gallery: The
war is traced from its origins in
the 1950s to the fall of Saigon in
1975, and includes weapons
and equipment, a life-sized dio-
rama of a medical evacuation
scene and a prisoner of war cell
from the infamous Hanoi
Hilton. Special exhibits include
the 199th Light Infantry
Brigade’s training at Camp
Shelby and service in Vietnam.
- Gulf War Gallery: Exhibits
include weapons and equip-
ment of the Gulf War
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(Operations Desert Shield and
Desert Storm), a miniature dio-
rama of air and ground force
coordination, and a life-sized
diorama of Iraqis surrendering
to American forces.
Special exhibits include the
War Against Terrorism, Camp
Shelby and the Mississippi
National Guard Today, The
Purple Heart and The
Congressional Medal of Honor,
which is housed separately in a
copper-skinned tower in the
museum’s central courtyard.
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The displays honor
Mississippi’s 26 Medal of
Honor recipients and 44 Medal
of Honor recipients who served
or trained at Camp Shelby since
1917.
While the exhibits are educa-
tional for those too young to
have lived through the various
wars, the museum holds special
meaning for the many veterans
who tour it each year.
“Veterans are generally very
complimentary of the museum
and offer additional material to
the museum’s artifact and
archival collections,” Daniels
said. “The most important
measure of the museum’s suc-
cess is serving our veterans and
having them satisfied with the
institution.”
The Mississippi Military
Museum is open on all major
patriotic holidays, including the
Fourth of July and Veterans
Day, but it is closed for other
state and federal holidays.
Hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday through Saturday, and
other hours by prior arrangement.
Admission is free.
The public is welcome on Camp
Shelby. Entry requirements are photo
identification only, but drivers will
also need proof of insurance and valid
vehicle registration.