More than 250,000 Maryland men and women served in World War II. More than 6,400 didn’t come home. The Maryland Historical Society honors the fallen soldiers and veterans in its current exhibit, “Maryland Veterans of World War II: Our Arsenal of Democracy,” running through December 2009. The exhibition displays the uniforms, arms and equipment of Maryland’s combat veterans and materials from the home front.
Items on display include a pair of Army boots that belonged to Maj. Douglas Stone, a surgeon who operated on fallen soldiers during battle; the pilot’s logbook of Lt. James Clark Barrett, who won the Distinguished Flying Cross; and the personal photo albums of former Gov. William Donald Schaefer, who served from 1942 to 1945 in the Hospital Corps.
Home-front items include models of the Liberty ships built at the Port of Baltimore, models of aircraft produced by the Glenn L. Martin Company, and posters encouraging support for the war effort.
The Maryland Historical Society is located at 201 W. Monument St. in Baltimore. Admission is $4 (free to all veterans and active military throughout the run of the exhibition). Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. For information, call 410-685-3750, ext. 319.
