VETERANS MUSEUM BROOMFIELD to Host MEMORIAL DAY TRIBUTE Recapping Successful Year

By Kristen Beckman

May is an important month for the Veterans Museum Broomfield as it joins with the community to honor those who served and died for our country.

The holiday, which will be observed this year on May 29, dates back to the post-Civil War era when citizens would place spring flower memorials on the graves of fallen soldiers. The practice of decorating veterans’ graves with flowers became known as Decoration Day. The federal government officially changed the day’s name to Memorial Day in 1967.

The museum’s annual Memorial Day event presented in conjunction with the City and County of Broomfield will take place from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Broomfield County Commons Park off of Sheridan Boulevard between Midway Avenue and 136th Avenue. Access to the event will be through the Paul Derda Recreation Center parking lot.

The event will feature the North Metro and BPD Honor Guard, honoring of Gold Star families, remarks from Broomfield Mayor Guyleen Castriotta, a speech from Colonel Michael J. Bruno, patriotic music from the Broomfield Civic Chorus and Rocky Mountain Brassworks, activities and displays from local reenactor groups, and a flyover. This event is an opportunity for the community to come together to remember those who served and died for our country.

The event is one of several activities the Veterans Museum engages in throughout the year, in addition to its core on-site offerings. On June 10, the museum will host a Flag Day event consisting of a ceremony followed by a respectful retirement of old or damaged American flags. Flags made with natural fibers are retired by ceremonial burning. For flags made with synthetic materials that should not be burned, volunteers guide Boy Scout and Girl Scout groups in cutting the stars from the stripes, which are then donated to the nonprofit group Stars for Our Troops to reuse to honor veterans and first responders.

The museum’s mission is to preserve the memories of America’s military history and strengthen the bonds to the community by facilitating the stories of veterans through displays and artifacts for the benefit and education of generations to come. More than 3,000 people visited the Veterans Museum in 2022, and the museum made 10 outreach visits to schools, special events, and talks.

The museum offers no-cost resources for area teachers when addressing WWII or the Vietnam War. The traveling trunks can be brought into the classroom for student and teacher use. Artifacts included in the trunks deal with the Home Front, soldier’s daily life, and the technology of the day. While they do not require a docent’s explanation, the museum can also assist with speakers on topics from the Civil War through modern conflicts.

According to its annual report, the museum runs on nearly 6,400 hours of volunteer support, including those needed to put on its flag retirement ceremony in June, man Broomfield Days activities in September, and offer Coffee & Conversation sessions throughout the year. Last year, the museum hosted 23 speakers, bringing its total speaker count to 239 since it launched the series in 2012.

While still navigating the difficulties of re-opening following the pandemic, the museum added an additional open day during 2022 and is now open Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The Collections Committee and archival team cataloged 1,111 items in 2022 alone, which are available to the public via its online collection database at broomfieldveterans.pastperfectonline.com. It also is digitizing and cataloging more than 600 photos and a dozen scrapbooks. A major ongoing project for the museum is transcribing a large cache of letters from 1919-1920 from a Fort Collins veteran.

The museum noted it increased its collection of women’s items with six individual women’s uniforms, photographs, and stories of being in the military, almost all with a connection to WWII. The museum is actively seeking stories and items from women who served overseas during Vietnam.

The museum also distributed five grants for rent assistance and one for temporary housing during 2022, totaling more than $5,500 to veterans living in Broomfield through the Robert Davenport, Sr. Fund. The fund helps address emergency financial needs of honorably discharged or retired military veterans and their immediate families.

For more information, visit www. broomfieldveterans.org, visit the museum at 12 Garden Center or call 303-460-6801.