EXPLORING THE HONOR GALLERY
THE WISCONSIN MEDAL OF HONOR EXHIBIT
WELCOME TO THE HONOR GALLERY
The 64 men whose names are inscribed here and whose stories we tell have received our nation’s highest military decoration. The Medal of Honor. These heroes embody those five words that welcome you to our exhibit:
PATRIOTISM. SACRIFICE. COURAGE. CITIZENSHIP. INTEGRITY.
EMBLEMS
& FLAGS
Hanging above the Honor Gallery are the six emblems of the branches of the United States armed forces: from left to right – U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Displayed on the wall above the plaques are replicas of the Medal of Honor Flag and the Regimental Flag of the 14th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment from the Civil War. (The actual battle flag is in the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.) The 14th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army. Four of its members received the Medal of Honor for service in the Second Battle of Corinth, October 3 and 4, 1862; among them the Color-Sergeant Denis Murphy (Green Bay), Wisconsin’s first recipient, who, though wounded 3 times, continued bearing the colors throughout the battle.
The Medal of Honor Flags bear 13 white stars on a light blue field in a configuration as on the Medal of Honor ribbon. The flag commemorates the sacrifice and blood shed for our freedoms and gives emphasis to the Medal of Honor being the highest award for valor by an individual serving in the Armed Forces of the United States. The Medal of Honor is flag presented to those who have been bestowed the US decoration of the same name.
THE HUB OF THE HONOR GALLERY
The focal point of this exhibit is the video wall. From the kiosk in the center of the Gallery, you can choose from a touchscreen menu the programs you’d like to view. These include descriptions of the recipients’ Medal of Honor actions; the involvement of Wisconsin service people in conflicts from the Civil War through the Vietnam War, as well as videos of recipients, and background on the War Memorial Center.
The Honor Gallery is a permanent exhibit that supports the mission of the War Memorial Center “To Honor The Dead. Serve The Living.” The exhibit itself is a living memorial that will continue to evolve with rotating displays and new items to feature.