Sgt. Cyril Leuelling visited the Museum with two of his daughters on Veterans Day, 2013. |
Cyril came to visit the Museum on Veterans Day with two of his daughters to see the flag. After lunch and a tour, the Museum had a special reception to listen to Cyril's story and see the unveiling of a new shadowbox addition to the area.
Cyril shared his memories of the flag and the war, including going ashore on D-Day and being soaked to the bone. He thought they would get a fresh pair of clothes shortly after they landed, but the troops didn't see that kind of luxury for months. He also talked about saving a man's life and seeing the freed prisoners of war. "Skin and bones," he said. "That's all they had."
Cyril spoke about his time in the war and told the story behind the signed Nazi flag. |
While he was speaking, the signed Nazi flag was in the background.
Next to it, a US Army flag covered a section of the exhibit. Volunteer Ron Bogard, who was instrumental in getting Cyril to the Museum and doing research on his military history, told Cyril we
had a surprise for him and took the US Army flag off the wall. He handed it to
Cyril and revealed a surprise shadowbox with duplicates of all of
Cyril's medals and honors.
From left: Sgt. Cyril Leuelling, MOWT President Mike Noller, Volunteer Ron Bogard. |
Over the past year, Ron spent a great deal of time locating and researching each medal Cyril received and acquired duplicates to hang in the museum. The medals and honors were donated by collectors, different
branches of the military, and Ron himself. After the box was unveiled, Cyril was surprised and full of emotion.
Sgt. Cyril Leuelling and volunteer Ron Bogard admire the new shadowbox addition to the exhibit. |
"This is a good day," he said to the crowd. His daughter agreed. "One of the best days," she said. He shook his
head yes and looked again at his medals, his honors, his flag, all there on the
wall in our small Museum. His story has already been shared with thousands of school children on guided tours, and thousands more will hear about when he visited to see it on Veterans Day.
For more information on the signed flag, please visit our first blog post about his visit, or the Musuem's Education Director's blog about the day.
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