Special Exhibits for Feb 28-April 1: Canines and Cartoonists
Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum in Carrabelle is presenting two special exhibits throughout the month of March – one to honor our country’s canine military veterans and the other to recognize the role of cartoonists in WWII. These exhibits will open Tuesday, February 28 and will be on display at the museum until Saturday, April 1. The museum is open every Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm. There is no charge for admission but donations are gladly accepted.
National K9 Veterans Day, March 13, is a day set aside to honor commemorate the service and sacrifices of American military and working dogs throughout history. Dogs served in many capacities in wartime, including in WWII, as messengers and sentry dogs, but did you know that they were also trained for mine and explosive detection, finding injured soldiers and flushing enemy troops from hidden spaces? Dogs’ keen sense of smell and acute hearing made them valuable assets in war and today for national security. This exhibit will recognize the important service that they loyally performed during WWII.
During WWII, the press was essential for keeping the public informed in wartime, but cartoonists and cartoons played a unique role in bringing the war to citizens. The cartoon figure and possibly America’s earliest meme, Kilroy, is actually engraved on the WWII Memorial in the National Mall in Washington DC. Camp Gordon Johnston Museum will share images of familiar characters like Private Snafu, Donald Duck, Willie and Joe, and Kilroy who all play a prominent part in WWII history. The exhibit will also present the works of cartoonists like Bill Maudlin and Dave Breger, as well as the animated works by Disney and Warner Brothers that served as both propaganda for citizens and training for servicemen.
Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum is located in Carrabelle, directly across from Carrabelle Public Beach Park at 1873 Hwy 98 West. For more information, contact the museum at (850) 697-8575 or museum@campgordonjohnston.com. Funded in part by the Franklin County Tourist Development Council.
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Special Exhibit for April 4-29: Remembering the Holocaust
Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum in Carrabelle is presenting an exhibit to remember the Holocaust, Hitler’s program to commit genocide against those he deemed unworthy, especially Europe’s Jews. This exhibit will open Tuesday, April 4 and will be on display at the museum until Saturday, April 29. The museum is open every Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm. There is no charge for admission, but donations are gladly accepted.
Beginning in 1933, the German Government established prison, labor, concentration, and extermination camps throughout their territories, including in countries they occupied before and during the war. Groups that were arrested and detained included Roma, Communists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, the disabled and especially Jews. Some 12 million people perished in the more than 44,000 facilities, ghettos and killing fields across Europe, including 6 million Jews. The Museum acknowledges the need for all citizens to understand this dark period of history, what caused it, who perpetrated it, and how some resisted and fought their captors. Eyewitnesses such as survivors and the soldiers that liberated these camps are aging and dying, but many have told their stories. Visitors are invited to come see this sobering exhibit, and help our society remember those that were victims of atrocity, prejudice, and hate.
The internationally recognized date for Holocaust Remembrance Day corresponds to the 27th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. It marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. And this year will be remembered on Wed, Apr 19, 2023.
Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum is located in Carrabelle, directly across from Carrabelle Public Beach Park at 1873 Hwy 98 West. For more information, contact the museum at (850) 697-8575 or museum@campgordonjohnston.com. Funded in part by the Franklin County Tourist Development Council.
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Past Events
Inaugural Camp Gordon Johnston Benefit Golf Tournament Honors Pearl Harbor Day
Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum and St. James Bay Golf Club hosted an Inaugural Camp Gordon Johnston Benefit Golf Tournament on the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. This tournament was held on Pearl Harbor Day to honor the brave men and women who responded to our country’s need and served in the armed forces at home and abroad on Saturday, December 7, 2019 at St. James Bay Golf Club in Carrabelle, FL. The Camp Gordon Johnston Museum displayed vehicles and artifacts on site during the tournament. There was be a buffet at the Crooked River Grill in the St. James Bay Clubhouse following the tournament.
All proceeds are earmarked to help fund a new building to house Camp Gordon Johnston’s three historical military vehicles, including the famous WWII DUKW. These historical military vehicles are still operable and because of the lack of space onsite at the museum, currently they must be kept at a separate location.
Sidney A. Winchester Building Dedication at Camp Gordon Johnston Museum
The Camp Gordon Johnston Association and WWII Museum was honored to dedicate our museum building on September 21, 2019 to the late Sidney A. Winchester, a Carrabelle native, U. S. Army veteran and key supporter of Camp Gordon Johnston Museum. We were joined by U.S. Congressman Neal Dunn, M.D. (FL-02) who made two very special presentations during the ceremony. Congressman Dunn presented a container of sand from Utah Beach, Normandy, France to the Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum and then presented an American Flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C. to Sidney Winchester’s wife, Bobbye, who accepted the flag on behalf of the Museum in honor of Sidney’s service both as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne and as a charter member and champion of the Camp Gordon Johnston Association. The sand from Utah Beach and the flag will be on display at the Museum. Also on this day, Camp Gordon Johnston Museum celebrated Smithsonian magazine’s 15th annual Museum Day. This national celebration honors museums that follow the example of the Smithsonian with free admission.
Click Here to see the Video of the Dedication Ceremony and Congressman Neal Dunn’s special presentations. Thanks to Mayor Brenda La Paz for this video! Click here to learn more about these events.