I had an interesting experience this week on Monday morning, one that involved a wide panorama of Midwestern history.

I was part of a bus tour group that went to the Gold Star Military Museum at Camp Dodge west of Des Moines, Iowa. The stop was the last segment of a three-day mystery tour trip to Des Moines, one that also included a Saturday night musical and a Sunday visit to a downtown arts center.

The museum is one of the best I’ve ever seen. It tells the complete story of Iowa’s role in our nation’s wars, from frontier days to Afghanistan.

The exhibit hall starts with displays about Lewis and Clark and then the Mexican War of the late 1840s. The Mexican War occurred shortly after Iowa became a state. The Civil War was next, with a large exhibit featuring Union soldiers on a battlefield.

A Spanish American War display was followed by a large exhibit area that covered World War I. It included a walk-in replica of a trench with lights and sound effects that highlighted shots fired above the trench barricade.

World War II was next. Some of the highlights were a D-Day display with a mural of soldiers coming ashore, a Code Talkers exhibit and a section depicting the air war. A centerpiece provided a life sized look at island warfare in the South Pacific.

The Korean War section included a M.A.S.H. surgical hospital replica. The Vietnam area was anchored by a life sized exhibit of search and destroy military tactics along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

A new Cold War exhibit is under construction. Sections of the most modern part of the museum include Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraq, and lastly the Afghan War. Visitors have the opportunity to try out a simulator resembling a modern military aircraft.

The Gold Star Museum reminds me of our local Fagen Fighters World War II Museum at the Granite Falls Airport. The Fagen museum highlights World War II aviation with a collection of antique planes that can still fly. It also has a large collection of vehicles and World War II era memorabilia.

A military museum visit leads to a better appreciation of the sacrifices made by our veterans. We remember those who were killed in action. We also think about the survivors whose lives were affected by war experiences.

Camp Dodge was officially on high alert during our visit because of the war in Iran. We were told that guards might check the IDs of every passenger, but they allowed us to proceed after verifying that we were the Southwest Tours bus that was expected.

It’s hard to know where the situation in Iran will lead. We’re seeing signs that war won’t be popular if it drags out and casualties add up.

Hopefully there will at least be continued respect for the individual soldiers who are simply doing their duty. They don’t question the morality of the war situation. They just respond when their country needs them.

I’ve never served in the military. I’ve never lived with the daily self discipline that’s expected of every rank and file soldier.

I’m basically a pacifist. I think problems whenever possible should be solved through diplomacy. The United Nations should play a stronger role, more of the type of role that was first envisioned after World War II.

I think everyone still agrees that World War II needed to be fought. Nazi Germany took over Europe country by country and needed to be stopped. It more than likely would never have been possible to share the Pacific with the Empire of Japan, certainly not after Pearl Harbor.

There’s a larger amount of disagreement when it comes to more recent wars. Things are better than they were during Vietnam, when soldiers who returned home were often treated like pariahs.

The 911 terrorist attacks in 2001 led to a huge outpouring of patriotism. For the most part we’re still riding that wave a quarter century later. A large majority of the public have a good opinion of the military.

The problem today is that many people don’t feel a connection to overseas conflict. We go about our busy daily lives and don’t give much thought to what our soldiers experience. Many of them feel an impact when they come home, when they have to transition back to civilian life.

We need military museums. We need Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day. Our veterans are the reason the United States has existed for 250 years. They give us a reason to believe our country can exist for at least 250 more.

— Jim Muchlilnski is a longtime reporter and contributor to the Marshall Independent