FROM FRONTIER TO DESRT STORM; `A CALL TO ARMS' EXAMINES AMERICA'S FIGHTING SOLDIERS

How did the American soldier survive the frontier of the 1870's, the heat and disease of Cuba in 1898 and the trench warfare of World War I? A new, semi-permanent exhibit at the Southeast Missouri State University Museum examines the soldier's ingenuity, ability to adapt and willingness to survive.

Opening April 5, "A Call To Arms: American Soldiers from Trooper to Doughboy" is a look at American military history, specifically from 1866 to 1919.

The exhibit has been put together by the students of historic preservation, specifically those in the spring Museum Studies class at Southeast, who have made the exhibit a semester project.

It will become a semi-permanent part of the museum's display, lasting for about a year and a half, said Karen Heege, one of the students involved in setting up the exhibit.

Heege explained that the exhibit contains more than 100 pieces, all which help visualize life as a soldier during the Indian War era, the Spanish-American War and World War I.

"They will understand a little better how a soldier lived during the three specific time periods we're representing," Heege said of museum spectators.

The class has worked on the display since mid-January. Heege said 98 percent of the items are part of a collection of military-issued equipment, personal possessions and souvenirs from the collection of the late Robert Young of Cape Girardeau. Young's family donated the collection to the university a year after his death in 1979.

"We had to first discover what was in the collection, then decide on the theme for the exhibit and how it would be displayed," Heege said. "(Young's) collection focuses on the Indian Wars and the Spanish-American wars."

Jeff Shrader, also a student in historic preservation, said the collection is heavy with unique war souvenirs. But included are various important war artifacts.

"One of the best pieces is a model of an 1874 experimental infantry brace system," Shrader said. "It's a suspender and belt arrangement designed to carry ammunition, cartridge boxes and personal equipment, and it's actually the great-grandfather of equipment that was later used in Vietnam."

In fact, Shrader said, Desert Storm troops used a very similar apparatus. "It's made out of nylon now," he noted.

Shrader stressed that the exhibit displays the human side of each war.

"We're not trying to interpret the conflicts themselves," he explained. "We're focusing on the human-interest; the daily lives of American soldiers."

A few pieces in the exhibit are part of students' own collections, Shrader said.

It also shows how the military has grown and advanced since its beginning.

"As we went through all these terrible wars, we learned lessons and applied them in order to be better prepared the next time," he said. "We're still doing that today."

The exhibit is open to the public at no cost. Museum hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m.

The museum is situated in Memorial Hall on the Southeast campus.