“A Tribute to Service and Sacrifice,” a veterans exhibit at the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum this month, is a stroll through the mementos of heroes––some gone, some still walking unsung among us today.
The starting point for the exhibit is the museum lobby in the Covington Building. A few steps away, the Walker House is filled with additional photos, documents, uniforms, swords, helmets, dog tags, books and more.
Tina McCloud
Three veterans are honored in the museum lobby, including Tracy Friday (now Ciuffo). Her Army uniforms and memorabilia from her White House service are on display. The museum lobby is located in the Covington Building.
As a token of appreciation, admission is free to veterans this month. Admission is always free for active-duty military.
“As a mother of an active duty Marine, I certainly appreciate the service of all men and women who have protected our liberty and freedom through the years,” said Shauna McCranie, Executive Director of the museum. “We are happy to honor them and thank them with this special exhibit.”
Tina McCloud
Air Force Col. (ret.) Frank DiGiovanni loaned his Desert Storm flight suit, helmet, gloves and F-15 check list. On display now in the Walker House.
Veterans honored in the museum lobby include Tracy Friday (now Ciuffo), her husband Bryan Ciuffo, and the late Iona “Onie” Bliss Robertson.
T. Ciuffo served in the Army, active and inactive ready reserve, 1982-88. She was selected for the White House Communications Agency, which provided communications support for the president stateside and during overseas travel. She served President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush.
Her collection includes uniforms, cocktail napkins from Air Force 1 and Air Force 2, a Camp David commemorative plate, and business cards from places she traveled with the president.
B. Ciuffo served in the Army, active and inactive ready reserve, 1985-89. He was a track vehicle mechanic with an additional qualifier as a track vehicle recovery specialist. Two jackets are on display.
Robertson was an Army nurse who served overseas in World War II. Her jacket and cape and a collection of photographs are on display. The collection is on loan from her niece, Dottie Robertson Longest.
Just a few of the 20-plus displays in the Walker House: Air Force Col. (ret.) Frank DiGiovanni’s Desert Storm flight suit, helmet, gloves and F-15 check list and a Coast Guard uniform with a “Dixie Cup” hat from Wray Dudley.
B-17 pilot Capt. George Bill’s World War II European Theater memorabilia is also on display. It includes a letter sent to his parents in St. Louis, Mo., with the news that he had returned to Italy safely after being missing in action for 28 days. His memorabilia is on loan from his daughter, Wylia Holbrooks.
Tina McCloud
Jack Stem received these cards while in the service. On display now in the Walker House.
Exhibit co-organizer Gayle Sterrett loaned photos of her father, the late Wendell G. Haynie, who was in the Army 1952-54 during the Korean War era, and her father-in-law, the late Clyde Sterrett Jr., who served in the Army 1943-45 in the European Theater.
“We would like to thank all of the community members that lent items for our veterans exhibit...We really appreciate their willingness to share their history with visitors to the museum,” said Sterrett.
A small oak desk holds a vignette of memorabilia from the late Jack Stem, father of exhibit co-organizer LeeAnn Scanlon.
In one photo, Stem, at an Army base in Florida during World War II, is writing a letter to his sweetie, Betty Brewen, at home in Pennsylvania. The photo shows a portrait of her on his desk as he writes. That same portrait of her is on the desk at the museum. (Scanlon said he later proposed to Brewen in a letter from overseas and sent money to her mother to buy an engagement ring. She said yes.)
Tina McCloud
At a base in Florida in the 1940s, Jack Stem writes a letter to his sweetie, Betty Brewen, whose portrait is on his desk. Both photos are on display in the Walker House.
Scanlon, whose daughter is an active Army JAG officer, also researched and decorated what is known in the military as a “missing man table,” retitled the “missing hero table” in this instance. Each item on the table represents a specific symbol of their sacrifices.
“This exhibit is dedicated to all veterans for their many sacrifices and commitments to serve our country,” said Scanlon. “Their service has protected our safety and freedoms. No thank you is big enough!”
Tina McCloud
On the “missing hero table” each item (and the chair) represents a specific symbol of their sacrifice. On display now in the Walker House.
The museum is at 504 Main Street, Reedville. “Service and Sacrifice” will be on display through November during regular museum hours, 11am-4pm Thursdays-Saturdays, except closed November 14, 15 and 27.
Admission this month, which includes entrance to all museum exhibits, is $10 for adults, $5 for seniors 65 and above, and free for children 17 and under, active military members and veterans.
For information, call 804-453-6529 or e-mail office@rfmuseum.org.
