First Division Museum at Cantigny

Last fall we made a visit to Wheaton, Illinois in order to visit Cantigny Estate.  I wrote a blog post about it here.

Also on the Cantigny grounds is the First Division Museum and I was really looking forward to going through it.  The First Infantry Division was literally America's first division and was formed during WW1.

In the main lobby are statues and displays honoring the regiments from earlier American wars, beginning with the Revolutionary War,  that would eventually form the First Division.   The First Division has played major roles since WW1 in conflicts that include WW2, The Cold War, Viet Nam and Desert Storm.

The displays are life size, very detailed and interactive.  I thought it was interesting to get an inside view of battle scenes, meeting rooms, and military hospitals.  They had a huge and diverse collection of memorabilia.  As we walked from room to room, we transitioned from year to year.

 

Also on display is a steel beam from the Twin Towers of 9/11.  Last year I saw several different monuments in different areas of Illinois that commemorated the destruction of 9/11. I also reviewed The Stories They Tell which was a fascinating book detailing the events and people involved and affected on that fateful day.

 

After walking through the museum we went outside....

And did a little phoning....

Another cool thing they have on the grounds of Cantigny is their tank collection.  They have 11 authentic tanks on display from WW1 through Desert Storm.  And the best part of it is that they let you climb all over them!

Afterwards we continued walking around the beautiful grounds of Cantigny.  Cantigny is a gorgeous 500 acre public park donated to the area by Colonel Robert McCormick.  If you're in the area, I highly recommend visiting.  Plan on making a day of it!

Cantigny Estate

Last month we made a visit to Cantigny Estate in Wheaton, Illinois. 

Cantigny was the farm and estate of Colonel Robert McCormick.  Colonel McCormick was an important man in the history of Chicago and was the editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune for 44 years.  Colonel McCormick was a full colonel in the US army during the first World War.  He took part in the capture of Cantigny during the war and he named his estate in honor of the battle.

We have an interesting connection to Colonel McCormick.  My dad's uncle, William Bockelman, was a tough ex-cop who was McCormick's personal driver and body guard.  My dad said he remembers being at Uncle Bill's house when he was a small boy and finding William's hand gun stuffed behind a pillow on the sofa.  Uncle Bill usually drove McCormick to work each day in a bulletproof automobile and one day he brought the car home and took the family, including my dad, for a ride.

When McCormick died, his charitable trust established Cantigny as a public park and over the years 29 acres of his property have been transformed into 22 individual spectacular gardens and his home is now a museum.

The house itself is massive and impressive looking.  I would have loved to take a tour but we had just missed the starting time and couldn't wait around for the next tour to start.  Maybe next time.  We wandered around with our jaws hanging at the size of this house.  Can you imagine living here???

 

 

 

Also on the grounds is The First Division Museum.  I'll be doing another post about that soon.