OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Honoring our heroes with a Nebraska connection. That's the purpose of an exhibit at the Revive Center in Omaha hosted by the Great Plains Black History Museum.
It focuses on 150 fallen veterans from Nebraska who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It's been traveling the state since January of 2011, been seen by thousands," Exhibit Co-Creator Bill Williams said.
Williams had a vision: to maintain the heart and spirit of Gold Star families.
"The biggest concern of Gold Star family members is that their loved ones are not going to be forgotten, that was the reason we created it, we want them to not be forgotten," Williams said.
Great Plains Black History Museum Executive Director Eric Ewing wants to shine a light on the service and contributions of African-Americans.
"The military as a whole gets unrecognized. I'm retired military myself. And I say if the military as a whole gets unrecognized, people of color who have serves tend to go more unrecognized," Ewing said.
Williams hopes personal touches in the exhibit like notes and photos bring some humanity to the fallen.
"A lot of the personal items that are on the display have been put there by family members, by friends, there's personal notes, there's clothing items, it's a pretty emotional experience to see it and read the notes left by loved ones and friends," Williams said.
The fight for freedom falling on the shoulders of a small slice of the population. Williams says this gesture is the least we could do.
"Some of these items have been here since the very beginning, first time we took it out, January 2nd of '11, and so, we feel if somebody went to the effort to put something out on it, we want to continue on," Williams said.
It's paying respects to our very own.
There's also an exhibit on the Tuskegee Airmen at the Great Plains Black History Museum on display until Jan. 29.
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