The Greatest Generation exhibit at capitol

Secretary of State Mark Martin invites the public to view the Capitol’s fall exhibit, The Greatest Generation – and More: Honoring Service Over a Century.

This collection of uniforms, accoutrements and memorabilia from America’s wars of the last 100 years is on loan from Mr. Harold Steelman of Little Rock.

“I’m very grateful to Coach Steelman for loaning these artifacts to us,” Martin said. “This is a valuable display to remind all of us of the cost of freedom.”

Steelman works during legislative sessions for the state Senate but is better known to Arkansans for his athletic background as a UA football player from 1954-55 and a high school and college coach before becoming manager of War Memorial Stadium. He also led the AETN World War II veterans oral history project, interviewing over 100 veterans.

The collection emphasizes World War II but includes items from World War I, the Korean War, Vietnam and more recent conflicts – a century, or close to it, of uniformed Americans going overseas. “This isn’t a comprehensive archive of every uniform for every service,” Martin said. “Rather, this exhibit serves to provoke discussion, to rekindle memories and to build interest in preserving them. “

Souvenir pillows from training bases around the country conjure images of recruits shipped far from home after donning Uncle Sam’s suit. A pocket missal prepared for Catholic soldiers is displayed next to an Army songbook, a 1942 training camp Christmas program souvenir and a home-front morale-building event leaflet. Alongside various unit histories, published during or just after the war, is a 1948 letter inviting demobilized “alumni” of an armored unit to join the division association. A vintage copy of the wartime classic, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, is opened to a picture of an American pilot captured by Japanese troops. Under it, the pictured pilot and onetime prisoner inscribed the book to Steelman with the wry comment, “not my best day.”

The Greatest Generation – and More opened on Sept. 11 and will be on display through the first week of November.

After leaving the Capitol, the exhibit will be used to raise money to speed the development of the Arkansas Veterans' Hall of Fame.