the veterans history musuem Archives - The 51��

75th Korean War Anniversary Ceremony

Commander — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 18:00:00 +0000

The 51�� and the Korea Center of Greenville will host a Korean War 75th Anniversary Ceremony in Brevard, NC.

The ceremony will honor the 1.8 million Americans who fought in Korea during that brutal three-year war, as well as the 2.5 million U.S. service members who have deployed to South Korea to keep the peace since the end of the war to today.

To learn more about this event click here

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Former Prisioner of War to Speak on POW/MIA Recognition Day

Michel Robertson — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 17:30:00 +0000

On Friday, September 15, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, the 51�� will host a presentation by Lt. Col. David B. Grant, USAF Retired, who will share the story and experiences of his nine-month captivity in North Vietnam. The public is invited to this event, free of charge, which will be held at 1:30 p.m. in the Transylvania County Library’s Rogow Room.

Loyal Forces: The American Animals of World War II

Commander — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 13:20:07 +0000

October 20 Program – Loyal Forces:
The American Animals of World War II

The Brevard College History Program and the 51�� are pleased to host Brevard College alumna Toni McCourt Kiser for a discussion of her book, Loyal Forces: The American Animals of World War II on October 20 at 2:00 p.m. in Ingram Auditorium on the Brevard College campus. Kiser, pictured here, works for the National WWII Museum in New Orleans and was a history major at the college.

“Toni had a passion for history that made her an excellent student,” says Dr. Margaret L. Brown, Coordinator of the History Program. “She wrote an outstanding senior project on the iconography of Catherine of Sienna.” Brown also recalls that she served as an organized and effective president of Pastimes, the History Club.

Toni McCourt Kiser

After Brevard College, Kiser earned a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies in Washington D.C. She served as an intern one summer at the Biltmore Estate, working with their rare book collection, cataloging and reporting on the condition of rare 19th century works. She also worked for the Freemasons at their headquarters and official archives in Washington D.C.

Working at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans has turned into a dream job for Kiser. “At first I really wanted to work at a historic house like the Biltmore or Allison Deaver. When the U.S. Navy stationed my husband in New Orleans, I applied for museum jobs there,” Kiser recounted. “I had an interest in World War II since my grandfather was a marine veteran of Guadalcanal.” Because of her wealth of internship experience, she got the job.

Kiser worked first as a registrar at the National WWII Museum, and today she is Senior Registrar & Director of Collections Management. “On the physical side, I am responsible for proper housing, tracking, and prepping for an exhibit, also noting what needs conservation. On the intellectual side, I make sure that donations and purchases meet all legal and ethical standards, proper cataloguing and standardized nomenclature, and setting the standards for our cataloguing manual and database.”

The idea for Loyal Forces came out of her work as a curator of exhibits. Her colleague and co-author, Lindsey Barnes, and Kiser convinced the Director to let them put together an exhibit on the service animals. Dogs served as mascots for many individual units; horses took part in the last mounted cavalry charge in U.S. Army history; and 36,000 homing pigeons helped deliver messages. The exhibit was a huge hit with visitors, and Louisiana State University press contacted Barnes and Kiser to turn their project into a book.

This free program is provided jointly by Brevard College and the 51��. It will be livestreamed on Facebook starting at 2:00 p.m. on October 20 and will be posted subsequently on YouTube. Copies of the book Loyal Forces will be available for purchase and signing by the author at the event. Students, alumni, and anyone in the community interested in the history of World War II or the important role of service animals are invited to attend. “In the frightening and uncharted world of war, servicemen and women could count on the transport given by horses and mules, the protection offered by dogs, the communication delivered by pigeons, and the solace provided by mascots and pets,” write Kiser and Barnes.

Watch the presentation by Toni McCourt

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U.S. Navy Careers: Nursing and Medical Officer

Commander — Sat, 09 Nov 2019 18:47:54 +0000

On November 14 at 2:00 pm at the 51��, LT Barbara Sterrenberg, U.S. Navy Medical Officer Recruiter, will present the free program, “U.S. Navy Careers and Recruiting”. LT Sterrenberg will use pictures and stories to demonstrate how women from many different walks of life have received professional support, recognition, and financial help to continue and complete their medical degrees in the U.S. Navy.

Some of the recruits’ stories she will share are: a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, a Pharmacist, a Registered Nurse, and a Physician Assistant. LT Sterrenberg had a somewhat unusual career path herself, coming into the Navy at age 47. She stresses that age is not so much an issue in certain specialty areas of the military as is having the qualifications, experience and competence to take care of the medical needs of our country’s sailors. Sterrenberg says, “It is not all about being on the front line. It also includes those providing for the medical needs of our service members.”

LT Sterrenberg is a native of Bath, North Carolina, is a registered nurse, and 2001 graduate of Pitt Community College, receiving Masters of Science in Nursing from in 2014 from Walden University in Minneapolis, and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Grand Canyon University in 2017.

She worked in the clinical areas of medical/surgery and oncology during her years as a civilian nurse. She worked as an Education Nurse Specialist for Vidant Medical Center from 2014 until she received active duty orders in 2017. In this role, she actively covered the education and competency requirements for 12 clinical units (over 800 nurses, nursing assistants, and techs) within the medicine division.

Sterrenberg began her Navy Reserve career as a direct commissioned officer, drilled at Navy Operational Support Center in Wilmington, NC, and performed her annual training at Balboa Naval Medical Center in San Diego. In 2017, she went on active duty orders to Knoxville, TN., as a Medical Officer Recruiter, to assist in fulfilling quotas for a much needed and vital area of medical in the United States Navy.

Sterrenberg received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (2015) for her role as the CME nurse planner for the Operational Medical Symposium held at Marine Corps Base Camp LeJeune. Sterrenberg was awarded Medical Officer Recruiter of the quarter for three quarters for FY 2019 and is in the final running for Medical Officer Recruiter of the year. This accomplishment has put Sterrenberg as a top medical recruiter with Navy Talent Acquisition Group Nashville. Along with Sterrenberg’s active duty commitment, she also continues to provide nursing education and training as a Clinical Nurse Instructor for a BSN program and is an adjunct professor for the Nurse Practitioner program at Carson Newman University.

Her November 14 program is part of the museum’s month-long program to honor women in the military. For more information, please call 828-884-2141.

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