Evansville Wartime Museum

05/25/2026

Today, on Memorial Day, we pause to remember the brave men and women from our community and across the nation who gave their lives in service to the United States.

At the Evansville Wartime Museum, the stories of local veterans are at the heart of what we preserve and share. Behind every uniform, photograph, and artifact is a person who answered the call to serve, and for some, made the ultimate sacrifice.

Their courage and dedication will never be forgotten. As we reflect on their service today, we invite our community to join us in honoring their memory and ensuring their stories continue to be told for generations to come.

We remember. We honor. We thank them. 🇺🇸

05/23/2026

This Memorial Day, we invite you to visit the Evansville Wartime Museum as we honor and remember the men and women who served our country. 🇺🇸

We will be OPEN on Memorial Day and hope you will spend part of the holiday reflecting on the sacrifices made by generations of service members. Our exhibits help preserve and share the stories of those who answered the call to serve. 🪖

Memorial Day is more than the start of summer, it is a time to remember, honor, and learn. We look forward to welcoming you. ❤️🤍💙

05/22/2026

Did you hear the news this morning? BOTH B-29 "DOC" and P-51 Mustang "Gunfighter" are flying into Evansville this summer, stopping here July 30th-August 2nd! Both will be available for rides and ground tours. Get more info here: https://www.b29doc.com/events/evansville-in-b-29-doc-p-51-gunfighter/

05/21/2026

📣 📻
We have a special, HUGE announcement, tomorrow morning (5/22)on the Wiky 104.1 Fm morning show! Make sure to tune in!

05/21/2026

05/15/2026

Dear Educators and Stakeholders,

As we conclude our first year of Holocaust Education Outreach, I want to share an overview of our program’s progress, key learnings, and the data gathered from student feedback. Your partnership has been essential in helping us strengthen the educational experience for students across our region.

Program Reach & Participation
During the 2025–2026 school year, our outreach team presented at 21 venues, reaching over 1,280 students and community members across high schools and retirement communities. These numbers reflect both the growing demand for accurate Holocaust education and the trust you place in our program.

Student Feedback & Survey Data
Following each school presentation, students were invited to complete an online survey via QR code. Note: These statistics do not include manual surveys collected from retirement homes.

Key findings from the QR‑code survey include:

High engagement: Students consistently rated the presentation as clear, relevant, and emotionally impactful.

Increased understanding: A majority reported a stronger grasp of how individual stories connect to broader historical events.

Positive behavioral indicators: Many students expressed a heightened awareness of prejudice, discrimination, and the importance of speaking out against hate.

These insights have directly shaped our ongoing improvements.

Instructional Revisions Based on Data
Beginning with our presentation at Tecumseh High School, we implemented several changes that produced the strongest positive responses to date.

1. Greater emphasis on personal stories Students responded most deeply when we centered the presentation on:

The Rechnic family’s experiences

My own family’s history

Personal stories from my childhood and upbringing

This narrative‑driven approach helped students connect emotionally and intellectually with the material.

2. Clearer integration of the Pyramid of Hate Following the personal stories, Don Pitchers now leads a focused discussion on the Pyramid of Hate, illustrating how the Holocaust corresponds to each level. This structure has helped students better understand how everyday bias can escalate into systemic violence.

3. Increased student interaction These revisions have resulted in:

More thoughtful questions

Stronger participation during discussion

Higher survey ratings for relevance and clarity

More teachers requesting return visits or expanded programming

Looking Ahead
Your feedback and collaboration continue to guide our work. As we prepare for the next school year—and pursue additional grants to expand our offerings—we remain committed to delivering historically grounded, emotionally resonant, and developmentally appropriate Holocaust education.

Thank you for welcoming us into your classrooms and for your dedication to teaching difficult history with compassion and integrity.

Warm regards, Kirk Rinella Holocaust Education Outreach Program

05/08/2026

Today marks the 81st anniversary of VE Day, the day victory was declared in Europe at the end of World War II. 🇺🇸✨

Steve Grannan, a current EWM volunteer, is pictured here holding two incredible pieces of local history: his father John Grannan’s Servel employee ID badge and a VE Day timesheet signed by Servel employees celebrating the end of the war in Europe.

John Grannan worked as a wing inspector on P-47 Thunderbolts at Servel during World War II. His ID badge, generously on loan from Steve, is currently on display at the museum alongside the VE Day time card originally belonging to William C. Piercy.

What makes this story even more remarkable is that while looking at the timesheet last year, Steve recognized his father’s signature among the many celebratory signatures left by fellow employees on VE Day in 1945. 🖊️

You never know what you might discover when visiting the Evansville Wartime Museum. Our mission is not only to preserve artifacts, but to tell the local stories behind them, stories of the men and women from our community whose work helped shape history. ❤️💪

05/04/2026

Projects are under way!

We will be closed on Saturday, May 9th as the incredible West Side Nut Club helps us around the museum with several projects! Due to the work going on over heads and under feet, we will be closed for the safety of all in our community who come to visit us. We look forward to welcoming you out again soon!

04/29/2026

Share with friends, neighbors, family, and fellow music lovers! This is going to be a great concert series, and we hope to have a wonderful crowd to share it with!