Tennessee State Museum Salute to Liberty: Benefit Concert at War Memorial

The Tennessee State Museum (TSM) and the Ft. Campbell Historical Foundation are collaborating to present a benefit performance concert, Salute to Liberty. Concert proceeds will jointly support both the Tennessee State Museum Foundation (TSMF) and Ft. Campbell's proposed Wings of Liberty Military Museum. Scheduled for Thursday, September 17, 2015, the VIP exhibition reception will be at 6:00 p.m. In the State Museum's Military Branch at the War Memorial, with the concert beginning in the War Memorial Auditorium at 7:15 p.m.
There will be performances by such celebrated talents as Phil Vassar, Jason D. Williams, Deborah Allen, Sarah Davidson, and the Mishaw Family Singers. The evening will also include a video salute from actor Tom Hanks, along with a special presentation to Kingsport native and longtime Middle Tennessee attorney Sam Bartholomew, a decorated Airborne Ranger Officer with the 3/4 Armed Cavalry Squadron in Vietnam, and a 1984 recipient of the Governor's Outstanding Tennessean Award for his service as chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program. Evening co-hosts will include Douglas Henry State Museum Commission Chairman State Representative Steve McDaniel and TN Commissioner of Veterans Affairs Many-Bears Grinder. Ajax Turner is the Presenting Sponsor of Salute to Liberty. Carla & Paul McCombs are Co-chairs of the event along with Honorary Co-chairs Marty & Betty Dickens.
In 2014, as a tribute to the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, the State Museum collaborated with Ft. Campbell's Pratt Museum, which honors the 101st Airborne's “Screaming Eagles” have to present the commemorative exhibition, Rendezvous with Destiny: the 101st Airborne and D-Day. On display at the Military History Branch at the War Memorial Building, the highlights of the exhibition are the personal belongings of Major “Dick” Winters, now among the renowned members of Easy Company, 506th regiment, 101st, depicted in HBO’s Band of Brothers miniseries. Through a private collector, Major Winters’ uniform coat, Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star, dog tags and model 1911 Colt are among his personal items on temporary display. The exhibit, which is free of charge, is on view through Saturday 26, 2015.
About the Tennessee State Museum: In 1937, the Tennessee General Assembly created a state museum to care for World War I artifacts and other collections from the state and other groups. The museum was located in the lower level of the War Memorial Building until it was moved into the new James K. Polk Cultural Center in 1981. The Tennessee State Museum currently occupies three floors, covering approximately 120,000 square feet with more than 60,000 square feet devoted to exhibits. The museum’s Civil War holdings of uniforms, battle flags and weapons are among the finest in the nation. For more information please visit: www.tnmuseum.org.
About the Wings of Liberty Museum: The Wings of Liberty Museum is being built at Ft. Campbell, KY to honor the 101st Airborne Division “Band of Brothers.” The new institution will celebrate the men and women of Ft. Campbell, both past and present, many of whom have made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of others.