Stars and Stripes Historic Region Foundation seeks stories for new publication

The Stars and Stripes Historic Region Foundation is seeking stories from veterans and military personnel for a new print publication.

Foundation members have plans to print and distribute the monthly magazine, Stars and Stripes Region, beginning in May.

Foundation facilitator Jim Martin — a retired educator and Vietnam War veteran — said he is looking for stories focusing on “service and informed citizenship”.

“The content is going to be stories of the history and heritage and attractions of the region with a particular focus on service and informed citizenship,” Martin said. “Right now, it’s a process of going through the folks who live in those counties and asking them to put together articles and photos, or other visual media, to support those stories.”

According to Martin, officials hope the publication will help attract attention to the Stars and Stripes Historic Region and help the foundation host educational exhibitions in the future.

“We think if we make the papers available, that they will be utilized, they’ll attract attention and they will encourage awareness of history and heritage,” Martin said. “We think and hope that they will contribute to the strategy for which is the creation of, offering and setting up Stars and Stripes Region school exhibitions/celebrations.”

Currently, the foundation has plans to host a one-week exhibition starting Monday, April 8, at Hillsboro High School in Hillsboro.

“They will be the core district, and they are going to be inviting, apparently, five surrounding districts to send students to the exhibition,” Martin said.

The foundation has made plans with multiple newspapers in the region to include the monthly publication as an insert. Martin hopes to be able to reach more publications in the area, and to distribute the magazine to local businesses and government buildings to be picked up free of charge.

“We would hope that county commissioners would be willing to have us place some in courthouses, grocery stores, veterans organizations, club rooms and that type of thing,” Martin said. “Just wherever we can make them available to encourage their use.”

While the magazine may publish occasional articles focusing on non-military subjects, the main group Martin hopes to reach is former members of the military.

“One of the core audiences would be veterans organizations and veterans populations, and those folks that are focused on the county’s history, heritage and culture,” Martin said. “We may also have more general attraction stories focused on iconic restaurants or iconic natural attractions.”

The Stars and Stripes Historic Region was established in 2023 to honor the original Stars and Stripes newspaper, which was first published during the Civil War in Bloomfield, where the Stars and Stripes National Museum is located. After three years of lobbying in Jefferson City, the state Legislature passed a bill recognizing it as a historic region.

“About three years ago (we) began working with legislators in Jefferson City about designation of Southeast Missouri broadly as the Stars and Stripes Historic Region because of a focus on military history, heritage and just the culture of the region,” Martin said. “(We chose) Stars and Stripes because of the Stars and Stripes newspaper, but also because Stars and Stripes stands for our country and our patriotic values.”

The foundation is seeking stories approximately 800 words in length and encourages those who submit their stories to include photos or other visual materials. Those interested in submitting an article for publication may email Martin directly at martin.jim429@gmail.com. For more information on the Stars and Stripes Historic Region, visit www.starsstripesregional.com.