Gettysburg National Military Park and the Gettysburg Foundation are pleased to announce a special Veterans Appreciation Day at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2023. To honor our U.S. military veterans for their service, veterans are invited to enjoy a special discount and receive free admission to the Film, Cyclorama & Museum Experience at the Museum & Visitor Center. U.S. military veterans should show proof of veteran status to obtain free admission tickets and are encouraged to arrive early.
“We are forever grateful to our veterans for their service to our country,” said Wayne E. Motts, president and CEO of the Gettysburg Foundation. “While U.S. military active-duty personnel receive free admission to the Film, Cyclorama & Museum Experience daily, we are glad to offer the Veterans Appreciation Day special for veterans to enjoy free admission to these experiences. Our visiting veterans are encouraged to view the special temporary exhibit and the traveling exhibition in the museum, as well as drive to the nearby Eisenhower National Historic Site for a tour of the Eisenhower home during their Gettysburg visit Gettysburg,” added Motts.
Guests will start with a film presentation of A New Birth of Freedom, immediately followed by the light and sound show on the iconic Gettysburg Cyclorama painting of Pickett’s Charge. Visitors can then explore the 12-gallery Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War at their leisure throughout the day.
Veterans can view free of charge the special temporary exhibit in the Gilder Lehrman Institute Special Exhibits Gallery titled A Rough Coarse Life: The World of the Civil War Soldier. This exhibit features artifacts, documents and works of art – many related to Gettysburg – that offer a window into the lives, experiences and memories of those who struggled, suffered and survived a century and a half ago. The exhibit complements the museum galleries by exploring more deeply the experiences of soldiers on both sides during the war.
Veterans have the opportunity to view the traveling exhibition also in the Gilder Lehrman Institute Special Exhibits Gallery Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad opening Nov. 10, 2023. This exhibition features beautifully dramatic color photographs, ephemera and narratives that together tell the story of the Underground Railroad. The exhibition was organized by ExhibitsUSA, a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance.
On Veterans Day, Eisenhower National Historic Site will offer free tours of the Eisenhower home, which is the only date in November on which regularly scheduled home tour programs are available. Veterans Day tours will take place at 11 a.m., Noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. tours are limited to the first 40 visitors and are first-come, first-served. Home tour schedules and updates are available at nps.gov/eise/planyourvisit/rangerprograms.htm.
The Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center is located at 1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg, Pa. Veterans Dayhours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The last film and cyclorama show will begin at 4:15 p.m.
Charles (Chuck) Stangor is Gettysburg Connection's Owner, Publisher, and Editor in Chief. I would like to hear from you. Please contact me at cstangor@gettysburgconnection.org.