Osyka Veterans Park & Museum

08/27/2026

Five years ago, 13 American heroes made the ultimate sacrifice at Abbey Gate in Afghanistan. America will never forget their courage and sacrifice.

08/16/2026

Happy 105th birthday to James Bollich,
the last living American survivor of the Bataan Death March in which 12,000 lives were lost during WW2. He survived three and one-half years of imprisonment by the Japanese. He lives in Louisiana and is the author of 12 books, including Bataan Death March: A Soldier’s Story.

08/16/2026

08/07/2026

National Purple Heart Day honors the brave U.S. service members who have been wounded or killed in combat while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. General George Washington created the original award on August 7, 1782. It stands as the oldest military decoration still given to U.S. service members.

08/06/2026

Wreaths Across America 2014
honored the memory of Captain Fred Clay “Potlick” Cutrer, Jr. (1935-1964) from Osyka. His son, Don Cutrer, USAF Reserve, attended the ceremony in Osyka and laid a wreath in his memory. Fred was the first USAF pilot recorded killed in Vietnam. On a mission out of Clark AFB in Philippines, he came under heavy enemy fire and crashed. Search teams were unable to reach the site until 1992. In 2001, his remains were identified and the next year he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Each year, the Osyka Veterans Military Park & Museum, located in Os...

07/20/2026

Mississippi Armed Forces Museum:

In July 1917, Camp Shelby was established near Hattiesburg, Mississippi, as a training site for World War I.

As the U.S. rapidly expanded its forces, Mississippi was selected as the location for one of more than 30 mobilization camps nationwide. The base was named in honor of Revolutionary War hero and former Kentucky Governor Isaac Shelby, and the 38th Infantry Division, composed largely of National Guard units from Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia, was the first division to train at the new post.

Over the next two years, Camp Shelby trained soldiers from numerous divisions and processed returning troops as they demobilized after the war. Though originally designed to hold 36,000 troops, the camp ultimately trained or processed more than 50,000 soldiers by war's end.

From the collection: Scenes from Camp Shelby, circa 1917–1919 [2003.051]

07/04/2026

4th of July— the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, marking the birth of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!