New exhibition “War Comes Home: The Legacy” Comes to the Greeley History Museum

Vietnam Wall. Photo courtesy of the City of Greeley.

A new exhibition called “War Comes Home: The Legacy” is opening Saturday, January 23 through Sunday, August 22, 2021, at the Greeley History Museum located at 714 8th St.

The new exhibition consists of correspondence that reveals how was changes lives, families, and communities. The dates it is set to run may change due to COVID-19.

“Those of us coming back…are not looking for sympathy,” wrote Staff Sergeant Parker Gyokeres. “We might be reluctant at first to talk about what we’ve been through…[but] your support has made this journey an incredible one…Thanks, above all, for listening,” Parker wrote.

The exhibition highlights private correspondence from nearly every major conflict within U.S. history in addition to local artifacts from the City of Greeley Museums’ collection. “War Comes Home: The Legacy” is a traveling exhibition that also features historical and contemporary letters that offer an intimate perspective into the thoughts and emotions of veterans as well as their families upon a soldier’s homecoming.

Sharon McBride. Photo courtesy of the City of Greeley.

The joys and hardships that returning soldiers and their families deal with during homecoming are also explored in the exhibition through private letters and email correspondence. The exhibition also explores shared themes of wartime separation, adjusting to life back at home, and war costs while spanning conflicts from the Civil War through the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq displayed on thirteen interpretive panels.

The exhibition is part of Cal Humanities’ current “War Comes Home” initiative, a thematic program designed to promote a better understanding of veterans and how it shapes a community, including an English and Spanish audio tour. It is based on the work of the Center for American War Letters (CAWL) and is presented by Exhibit Envoy.

“War Comes Home: The Legacy” comes as a partnership between Cal Humanities, the California State Library, and Exhibit Envoy. The exhibition has been curated by Andrew Carroll, the Director of CAWL and award-winning New York Times bestselling author, and John Benitz, Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre at Chapman University.


For more information regarding Greeley History Museum’s new exhibition, “War Comes Home: The Legacy,” visit: https://greeleymuseums.com

Support Northern Colorado Journalism

Show your support for North Forty News by helping us produce more content. It's a kind and simple gesture that will help us continue to bring more content to you.

BONUS - Donors get a link in their receipt to sign up for our once-per-week instant text messaging alert. Get your e-copy of North Forty News the moment it is released!

Click to Donate