Abe Appreciation: Veterans Day

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will thank military veterans for their service to the country by offering them free admission on Veterans Day. 

Visitors on November 11 will also find a memorial flame burning outside the museum and a new exhibit highlighting military service by people with Illinois roots. 

Military veterans and active-duty personnel who want to take advantage of free admission on November 11 should bring some form of military ID. They will be allowed to bring one guest at no charge.

The new exhibit, “Heroes in Our Homes,” highlights extraordinary sacrifices made by ordinary people. A bomber jacket reminds us of a young flyer’s service over Italy. A victory pin and an obituary tell the story of a mother’s broken heart. Side-by-side photos of soldiers – one in Civil War garb and the other in modern uniform – shows a family’s service across generations.

ALPLM volunteer provided many of the artifacts in the exhibit, which can be found in the lobby of the museum’s popular “Ghosts of the Library” exhibit for the next six months.

The memorial flame outside the museum features the emblems of America’s military branches and quotes from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: “… that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.”