Military History Index
STARS AND STRIPES OPENS MUSEUM/LIBRARY
by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG
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THE STARS AND STRIPES -- read by millions who served in the Armed
Forces of the United States and their families during the past
137 years -- flourished during each of the five major wars the
USA has fought. First produced by 10 Illinois Union soldiers
who used the vacated press of THE BLOOMFIELD HERALD, in Stoddard
County, Missouri, it was named after the American flag.
Several former "Stripers" and various war veterans have donated
personal letters, unpublished behind-the-scenes reports, back
issues of the newspapers, and other war-related items to the new
Stars and Stripes Museum/Library in Bloomfield, Missouri. Founded
in 1991 this museum/library association has raised sufficient
funds to construct its first building. The complete complex will
cost about $3 million.
"We really need Vietnam-era artifacts and copies of the STARS AND
STRIPES," Deloris May, the archivist and office manager of the
museum/library said. The formal opening of the Stars and Stripes
Museum/Library will take place on October 16, 1999. It will be
in conjunction with the annual reunion of the Stars and Stripes
Association. The museum/library houses a print shop display, has
a reading-research-display room, and showcases some of its most
important artifacts. In addition to an authentic period print
shop, which includes an 1866 printing press and a military
Teletype machine, there are more than 5,000 copies of the
newspaper, including an original November 9, 1861 edition, and
several complete sets of the 71 issues from World War I.
Many famous people have been connected with "Stripes," as it is
affectionately called by staff members and readers. Andy Rooney
and Steve Kroft of "Sixty Minutes" are former Stripers, as was
columnist Jack Anderson, Harold K. Ross, founder of the NEW
YORKER magazine, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Bill Mauldin,
and Shelby "Shel" Silverstein, cartoonist, playwright, song
writer, and poet. Walter Cronkite and Ernie Pyle were among the
war correspondents who contributed to the newspaper.
Other well-known personalities who worked for STARS AND STRIPES
include:
o Grantland Rice, the New York sportswriter, who wrote for
Stripes During World War I;
o Ken Zumwalt, editor of EUROPEAN STARS AND STRIPES from
1946-1955 and author of the book, STARS AND STRIPES;
o Jerry Siegal, author of SUPERMAN; and
o David Stern, creator of "Francis the Talking Mule."
The museum/library, a 10-year project, is being developed in five
phases at a cost of about $500,000 each. The association is a
501(c)3 corporation and additional information about it is on the
Web at:
Names and biographical information about the first Stripers can be found at:
http://www.sheltonbbs.com/stripes/stripers1.html
and at
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~gormleym/stripes.htm.
You might discover an ancestor
or relative among this group.
PERMISSION TO REPRINT articles from MISSING LINKS is granted unless specifically stated
otherwise, PROVIDED: (1) the reprint is used for non-commercial, educational purposes; and
(2) a copy of this notice appears at the end of the article:
Written by
[Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG]
[Homepage].
Previously published by Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG, Missing Links:
RootsWeb's Genealogy Journal, Vol. 4, No. 28, 7 July 1999.
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