Veterans Memorial Museum of Terre Haute

03/31/2026

You are viewing a 360‑degree video from the special "Welcome Home" event honoring our Vietnam War veterans, held on March 28.

This immersive video allows you to look all around and experience the event as if you were there in person. To explore, simply click and drag on your screen, or move your phone or tablet to look left, right, up, and down.

We invite you to take your time, look around, and share in this meaningful moment of remembrance, gratitude, and community.

03/29/2026

I’m still on a high from last night’s Welcome Home dinner for Vietnam Veterans. It was a complete team effort of various volunteers coming together to honor men and women who should have gotten this honor 50-60 years ago! From the Jeep Junkies and their patriotic line of Jeeps, to the TH Fire Department ladder truck proudly displaying the U.S. Flag, and about 60) people outside the entrance clapping, cheering, hugging, and shaking the Veterans’ hands, it was a very warm and impressive reception!

A huge thank you to Jon Vaughn, whose very generous monetary donation paid for well more than half of the total expenses for the party with the rest of the expenses covered by several other donors, all of which were totally unsolicited by me, showing how much love there is for our Vietnam Veterans!

We also presented all of the Veterans a new Vietnam Veteran T-shirt (pictured) that was inspired by something I heard Dave Runyan say when talking to some other Veterans. (I personally think this shirt could be a big hit!)

It was a great night and we plan to do it again next year!
God bless our Veterans!

03/21/2026

Vietnam Veterans!
Just a reminder, next Saturday, March 28th is the 3rd annual “Welcome Home” dinner to be held at the American Legion Post 104 (2690 Ft. Harrison, Terre Haute) at 5pm for anyone who served in Vietnam…As of today, we’ve had 124) Vietnam Veterans RSVP.

It’s not too late to RSVP! Please message me, text, or call my cell phone at 812-208-1396 if interested in coming so we know how much food to prepare.

Parking for the Veterans will be on the west side of the building (on the 25th St side) and we will use that west entrance as well.
Parking for ALL volunteers will be on the very east part of the parking lot down by the shelters so prepare to walk to the west entrance. Do not use the east entrance, please walk around! The only folks who should be parking in the west lot should be the Veterans.
I’m guessing most Veterans will show up between 445-515 and we will plan to eat around 615, give or take.
For those family members, friends, and supporters who are interested in helping us “welcome” these men and women, please be there between 4-415 and expect to leave around 545-6. It should be a great night!

Welcome home Warriors!

03/16/2026

With our “Welcome Home” dinner for Vietnam Veterans happening on Saturday, March 28th, we wanted to lead up to it by sharing this short video...a heartfelt “welcome home” and “thank you” from all of us at the museum and from our community

02/28/2026

Vietnam Veterans!
Just a reminder, 4) weeks from today is the 3rd annual “Welcome Home” dinner to be held at the American Legion Post 104 (2690 Ft. Harrison, Terre Haute) on Saturday, March 28th at 5pm for anyone who served in Vietnam…This FREE dinner is for Vietnam Veterans only, not spouses nor their children. It is intended for the men and women who set foot in Vietnam, flew over Vietnam, or served on a ship outside of Vietnam. It Is open to ALL Vietnam Vets no matter what county they live in!
As of today, we’ve had 62) Veterans RSVP.
If you don’t have transportation or can’t drive, we will come get you and take you home.
PLEASE message, text, or call my cell phone at 812-208-1396 if interested in coming so we know how much food to prepare.
Social Hour starts at 5 (or earlier fo some😁) with a pulled pork and sides dinner around 6…Please feel free to share this post to get the word out…the more the merrier!

And thank you to the folks who have already dropped off restaurant gift cards for the door prizes! If you feel the urge to donate, please let me know.

You Vietnam Veterans need to be honored!
Welcome home Warriors!

02/03/2026

Vietnam Veterans!
We have set the date for the 3rd annual “Welcome Home” dinner! Because of the large number in attendance last year, we are moving it to the American Legion Post 104 (2690 Ft. Harrison, Terre Haute) on Saturday, March 28th at 5pm for anyone who served in Vietnam…This FREE dinner is for Vietnam Veterans only, not spouses nor their children. It is intended for the men and women who set foot in Vietnam, flew over Vietnam, or served on a ship outside of Vietnam.
There is no hidden agenda, just a room full of Vietnam Veterans enjoying each other’s company with at least one thing in common, your service and sacrifice in Vietnam.
From Brazil, Marshall, Paris, Sullivan, Linton, Crawfordsville, Clinton, and the Terre Haute area, the first year we had 55) Vietnam Veterans, last year we had 110) Vietnam Veterans…We also had a Vietnam Veteran Nurse in attendance so please don’t think this is only for men! If you don’t have transportation or can’t drive, we will come get you and take you home! If you’re apprehensive because you don’t think you’ll know anyone else, just remember…you didn’t know anyone at bootcamp either, but made friends quickly!
Please message me, text, or call my cell phone at 812-208-1396 if interested in coming so we know how much food to prepare.
Social Hour starts at 5 with a pulled pork and sides dinner around 6…and will last until you all stop telling stories…😁 Please feel free to share this post to get the word out…the more the merrier!
You Vietnam Veterans need to be honored! Welcome home Warriors!

I’m also looking for individuals or businesses willing to contribute a $25 or $50 restaurant gift card to be given away as door prizes…
Thank you to last year’s gift card donors: Servpro, Quality Fence, Dillon Armory, Suzi and Mark Unger, Kevin Norman, Dan Smiddy, Gary Gottardi, Jay Dorhman, Sackrider Accounting, and Jim Davis Restoration.
And a HUGE thank you to Jon Vaughn for his financial support of this dinner the last 2) years!

11/23/2025

November 11, 2025 was truly special as we celebrated the official opening of our Bruce Whipple Vietnam Room.

We’re thrilled to share this milestone with you through a video of the opening ceremony. This achievement wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible guidance, hard work, and generous financial support we received over the past year.

Thank you for helping turn this vision into reality!

11/08/2025

After a year of hard work, we are ready to open the Bruce Whipple Vietnam Room, a 1000 sq ft addition to the Museum honoring Vietnam Veterans with over 100) named mostly local Vietnam Veterans’ displays!

The room is named for Sgt Bruce Whipple who donated his huge collection of Vietnam era items that we have interspersed throughout the museum.
In addition to Bruce’s donation, I’ve also had a lot of help with this project, most notably Vietnam Veterans Jerome Trierweiler and Dave Runyan…these guys have unselfishly donated HOURS, I mean many many HOURS to helping! The camaradarie between us and being able to listen to these two share some stories from their experiences in Vietnam alone has made this project worth it!
Another major contributor was Billy Southard, who funded the new HVAC, hardwood floor refinishing, paint, and electrical work. Billy, not a Veteran, has the utmost respect for Veterans and has gone above and beyond for the museum!
Thompson/Thrift also helped immensely by supplying manpower for framing, floor repairs, and drywall work!
Duke Energy donated $5500 at the beginning of the project which has helped pay for display cases and many other things.
Others who have contributed:
Grayless Heating & Cooling
Precision Painting
Hardwood Renovations
Jeff Smith
Duane Funk
Adam Meyer
George and Sandy Childress
Dot Lewis
Loyal Veterans Battalion
Family of Sgt Jeff Strange (Suzanne Marts)
Jeff Bose with Ace Sign
I’ve probably forgotten someone but as you can see, this has been a community effort!

The Museum will be open on Veterans Day from 9am-4pm…stop by and take a look and try to absorb the sacrifices that our Veterans have made for you and I.

10/26/2025

Pretty cool to have 3) Vietnam Veterans in the Museum today: Jerome Trierweiler, Dave Runyan, and Paul Mason, all Terre Haute boys! I told my wife tonight that 10-years from now I’m going to look back on days like today and think about how lucky I was!

The picture that Paul Mason is holding is a picture of Paul and 4-friends shortly before going to Vietnam. 2 of the 5-guys in this picture died in Vietnam…(Mike Ash and Mike Chaney). Let that sink in…2) Terre Haute boys out of the 5) Terre Haute boys in the picture died in Vietnam!

09/06/2025

It’s definitely a team effort here at the Museum…
This F-4U Corsair was donated by Mark Roman and used to hang from the ceiling in the bar at his restaurant, Carosi’s. After the restaurant closed, Mark was kind enough to donate it. I wasn’t really sure how I was going to use it at first until the Bitzegaio family donated their Father’s WWII U.S. Navy uniform. Lt Cmdr Harold Bitzegaio was a Corsair pilot from Terre Haute and earned 2) Distinguished Flying Crosses. Then the light went off and we decided to use the model as a way to honor Lt Cmdr Bitzegaio as “his” plane so my buddy, David Felstein, used his modeling skills to restore the Corsair and he did a great job!
Thank you Mark Roman and David Felstein!
And thank you Bitzegaio family!
May we never forget Harold Bitzegaio’s service!

08/09/2025

This is a very cool post!
Dave Runyan posted about this rice pot a couple of days ago and brought it into the Museum today (the pictures were taken today)…the following was his post and it’s better than what I could relay to you because it’s in his words:

Pam's had flowers planted in this for 30 years...A little history on it: I found it in a cave complex we were searching in Vietnam...I got ready to check it out, then stopped...The Viet Cong liked to booby-trap stuff like this...I told our interpreter to check it out...(Better him than me...) It wasn't...He said it was a North Vienamese rice pot used to cook rice for a company sized unit... I strapped it on top of my ruck sack (what's 20 extra pounds)...Carried it on my back for 2 weeks...Had a Cobra gunship fire a warning shot that sent splinters all over us, blowing up a tree....We were in 7 ft tall elephant grass, he saw the rice pot, and thought we were the bad guys...I refused to throw it off, and faced problems when we got back, but it got here....Anyway, I'm taking it into the Veteran's Museum at 12th and Wabash...They have a whole new room dedicated to the Vietnam War and its' veterans, along with displays from WW1 thru Iraq and Afganistan...It's open from noon to 4:30 on Saturdays....I volunteer there from 9 til noon working on the displays...Stop in a little early and catch up to me....GUARANTEE you'll be impressed...

Thank you Dave (and Pam) for sharing this with the Museum! It’s stories and items like this that give the Museum character!

By the way, it’s heavy and I can’t imagine packing that around for 2-weeks!

07/13/2025

This is a great event at the military museum in Vincennes this coming weekend, July 19th and 20th.

Reminder - our Vietnam Veterans Appreciation Days is coming up in a few weeks on July 19th & 20th. A full schedule of events will be posted soon, but pertinent information at this time is, "What time are the battles?" 1 pm, both days. That's what the people want to know. The museum grounds are open from 9 to 5 both days. All outside events are free admission. Vietnam veterans have free admittance to the museum both days, with their spouses. Standard museum pricing applies otherwise. Opening Colors is at 10 o'clock in the morning. Vietnam reenactors, please register in the link below. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vietnam-veterens-appreciation-days-tickets-1370000451229?aff=oddtdtcreator