The Shadow
RICHMOND — The Virginia WWI and WWII Profiles of Honor Tour will be in the area on Friday, May 31, and Saturday, June 1, as part of the Alleghany Highlands Heritage Day festivities.
The mobile museum, which is free and open to the public, features stories and artifacts from dozens of Virginians who served in World War I and World War II, as well as a full-scale model of an M5A1 Stuart tank.
The tour, which brings to life Virginia’s integral role in world history, is part of a statewide commemoration marking the 100th Anniversary of World War I and the 75th anniversary of World War II.
The Alleghany Highlands World War I and II Commemoration Committee applied to be part of the mobile tour and was honored to be selected to host the mobile over the Alleghany Highlands Heritage Day weekend.
The mobile will be located on Church Street in Clifton Forge on Friday, May 31, from noon to 6 p.m. and on Saturday, June 1, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The event is free and open to the public. Volunteers are needed so please contact the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism if you would be willing to serve as a greeter
Modeled on the highly successful Virginia Civil War 150 HistoryMobile, the Profiles of Honor Tour will bring an interactive exhibit, housed in a 36-foot trailer, to museums, schools, libraries, historical societies, and local events.
Milestone events at which the tour appeared in 2017 included the 100th anniversary of U.S. entry into World War I at the Carillon in Richmond, the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Midway in Norfolk, and the 100th anniversary of the 80th Division at Fort Lee.
The exhibit will also reach statewide audiences as it travels with the commission’s multi-museum state-wide teacher symposium taking place in various locations across the state.
“The Profiles of Honor Tour honors the Virginians who fought for our freedom and helps to ensure that their legacy remains for new generations as World War I and World War II slip further away from public memory,” said Del. M. Kirkland Cox, who serves as the chairman of the Virginia World War I and World War II Commemoration Commission. “Both wars were fought not only overseas, but from the shipyards, factories, military bases, and homes of Virginians. The Profiles of Honor Tour revitalizes that history, from the home front to the frontlines.”
The Profiles of Honor Tour will travel throughout Virginia and beyond for the remainder of 2019. An initiative of the Virginia World War I and World War II Commemoration Commission, which is a commission of the General Assembly, the Profiles of Honor Tour is managed in partnership with the Virginia Tourism Corporation and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. A number of Virginia’s noted museums and historical societies contributed to the exhibit.
For more information on the Profiles of Honor Tour and other initiatives of the Virginia World War I and World War II Commemoration Commission, visit www.VirginiaWorldWarI.org and www.VirginiaWorld WarII.org or call the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism at (540) 962-2178 to volunteer.
