Nearly every historical era of the United States has impacted Carlisle. At its beginning in 1751, Carlisle was a place for traders and travelers to start their voyages west over the mountains. The seed of Carlisle Barracks was planted by the British in 1757 with Colonel, later Lieutenant General, John Stanwix establishing a post, which supported British operations in the French and Indian War. The next year, British Brigadier General John Forbes and his troops made a stop at Carlisle as their expedition worked west to the forks of the Ohio River.

Within weeks of the United States entering the First World War in 1917, President Woodrow Wilson knew that national support of the American people would be essential to winning the war.

The Society of Illustrators in New York City was tasked to find a way that artists might assist in the war effort. Under the leadership of Charles Dana Gibson, its members launched what became the Division of Pictorial Publicity. It was part of the Committee on Public Information, created by President Wilson and charged with designing posters that would encourage patriotism and sacrifice on the home front. More than three hundred of America's foremost designers, illustrators, painters, and cartoonists worked for the division. They had the responsibility to illustrate for the people the demands of the Great War and to place on every wall in America the call to patriotism and service by showing the stories of courage, suffering, heroism, and, most importantly, confidence for victory.

This exhibit highlights the joint archival/artifact holdings of the Army Heritage and Education Center as found in the World War I Veterans Survey Collection. The soldiers stories, told through their documents, artifacts and memories, are set against a backdrop of the campaigns in which they fought. Europe had been set ablaze in 1914. Americans officially joined the Great War in 1917, fighting alongside the forces of France, Great Britain, Italy and the other Allied nations until the armistices of October and November 1918.

Whatever their branch of service, their experiences on foreign shores formed a significant part of the American national character, and served as role models for the men and women who would follow them in their nation's uniform in the pursuit of freedom and democracy in the decades to come.

The exhibition presents an overview of the five campaigns: Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe, highlighted with images and artifacts used by Soldiers in each campaign. Among the artifacts are General Omar Bradley's Colt pistol used in the Normandy Campaign and a posthumous Purple Heart Medal presented to the family of a Soldier killed on the first day of the Northern France Campaign. Another section provides a comparison of the uniforms and arms of American and German Soldiers who fought in the ETO.

The universal interest in war souvenirs is explored through a selection of captured German arms, decorations, personal items and several poignant concentration camp artifacts. The exhibit also includes images by renowned photographer Tony Vaccaro taken as a Soldier with the 83rd Infantry Division. The exhibit concludes with a selection of fine art and photographs selected from the extensive collections of the Army Heritage and Education Center.