DAYLIGHT TOURS: Talking Spirits XXV: Forest Hill Cemetery Tours

WISCONSIN VETERANS MUSEUM TALKING SPIRITS XXV – PUBLIC TOURS AT FOREST HILL CEMETERY 

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8TH  12:00 – 5:30 PM

Rain Date: October 15th

GENERAL ADMISSION: $15

TICKETS FOR WVM MEMBERS ONLY: CALL 608.576.2553 or email jennifer.carlson@wvmfoundation.com

Please join the Wisconsin Veterans Museum on October 8th for the return of our annual Talking Spirits Public Tours, held at the beautiful Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison. On this 90 minute, walking tour, local actors will portray important figures buried at Forest Hill.

Tours will depart every 20 minutes beginning at 12:00 pm and the last tour will leave at 4:00 pm. These tours are limited to 25 guests per group.

GET TICKETS NOW 

Sunday public tours will be available at the following times:

12:00 p.m. 12:20 p.m. 12:40 p.m. 1:00 p.m. 1:20 p.m. 1:40 p.m. 2:20 p.m. 2:40 p.m. 3:00 p.m. 3:20 p.m. 3:40 p.m. 4:00 p.m.

Don’t want to miss out? Click here  to join our mailing list to receive updates on Cemetery Tour 2023 and other Wisconsin Veterans Museum events.

Cancellation Policy: Cancellation for a full refund must be made two weeks prior to the reserved visit. Reservations cancelled after that date will not be refunded.

On March 29, 1973, the last American combat troops were withdrawn from Vietnam and Wisconsin was there in more ways than one. Join the Wisconsin Veterans Museum for their annual Talking Spirits: Forest Hill Cemetery Tours, now celebrating its 25th year, to see, hear, and experience how the Vietnam War changed the lives of thousands of Wisconsinites for decades to come. These tours will feature 4 vignettes along the tour route, as historical actors portray veterans’ experiences in Vietnam, as well as the policymakers who brought the war to conclusion, and the important mission of bringing our MIA’s home.

2023 Featured Stories:

GEORGE E. MANUEL: Born on July 5, 1917 in North Carolina. He was living there when he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1939, serving throughout World War II. He rejoined the U.S. Air Force in 1951. Interestingly, the U.S. military segregated African Americans during World War II, but had desegregated by the time Manuel rejoined in 1951, so he experienced both situations. He remained in the Air Force, serving at Truax Field in Madison for a time, until 1966, when he retired with 20 years of service.

RICHARD W. FISCHER: Vanished in Vietnam’s Quang Nam Province when he was part of a Marine ambush team. Military investigators started searching for Fischer’s body in the area where he disappeared in the 1990s. After tips from local residents, they excavated a burial site where they found his remains in 1994. Investigators initially failed to recover a DNA sequence from bone samples to prove it was Fischer. Technology improved over time, and they succeeded in obtaining a sequence in 2007. Fischer’s sister and niece gave DNA samples, which were matched to his DNA. Fischer’s remains were flown back to Wisconsin from a military base in Hawaii where they had been for more than a decade.

ANNETTE GRUNSETH was a freshman at UW-Madison when her brother, Peter Langlois , was drafted into the Army and sent to fight in Vietnam. Using letters she received from her brother about his experiences and her memories of what was happening in Madison during these turbulent years, Annette provides a unique view of the war from both the military and civilian perspective.

MELVIN ROBERT LAIRD JR: The story continues Laird Jr who was an American politician, writer, and statesman. He was a U.S. congressman from Wisconsin from 1953 to 1969 before serving as Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1973 under President Richard Nixon. Laird was instrumental in forming the administration’s policy of withdrawing U.S. soldiers from the Vietnam War; he coined the expression “Vietnamization,” referring to the process of transferring more responsibility for combat to the South Vietnamese forces.

Questions? Please direct any questions about this event to visitor.curator@dva.wisconsin.gov.

This event is suitable for all ages.

This event is sponsored by the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation and this project is supported by the Dane County Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation; The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times; the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation; and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.