Later this week, the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center willhost a screeningof the documentary, Mettle & Honor: The Greatest Generation, followed by a forum featuring some local veterans of World War II. The forum is co-sponsored by WUWM and Milwaukee Public Television, and will be moderated by Lake Effect's Bonnie North.
It’s also the latest in a series of public events playing out at the near 60-year old center, which leaders are trying to return to a place of prominence in civic life. "The war memorial is a place of remembrance, right? There's a lot of history in there, it's an iconic building, but it's also a place for the present," says Cream Pepito, one of the members of the Center's board of directors.
There's a common misconception that a war memorial is really more of a monument, something static instead of a living organization. "We realized that we had to explain the war memorial differently and to broaden its service to the community," says George Gaspar, formerly the long time chairman and now member of the Center's board of directors.
The screening is part of this larger outreach effort, which the board hopes will make the War Memorial's role in Milwaukee more visible.
George Gaspar is the chairman of the board of directors of the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center; Cream Pepito is a member of the board and leads its education committee. The War Memorial is hosting a screening of the documentary, Mettle & Honor: The Greatest Generation, followed by a forum featuring some local veterans of World War II on Wednesday, October 19.
