Hello Everyone,

I am sending this out as a WI item, though the building is in Milwaukee on the VA grounds. This Chapel that this is about is part of the encampment built after the civil war as idea pushed by President Lincoln. Our encampment was the first "village" built in country to give soldiers recovering a place that was closer to their homes. It is the last intact site in the country today. If you have never been around the grounds, it it the buildings between the cemetary and the hospital, with the pond. Some say it is a spiritual area, and having just attended an event to commemorate black veterans there, I would agree with the spiritual accessment.

With everything wrong today does this matter? It is a brick in our history, a moment in time, a place that has given solace and comfort to the wounded and still does today. For me, from this area, it has become an area I walk in for peace. I am asking if not for donations( all information is included below) then if you could send this around and post it. For many, this site has become a symbol of the forgotten, forsaken veterans, as we dismantle the VA.

*SOLDIERS HOME FOUNDATION NEWS SERVICES
Media Contact:
Kristin Gilpatrick
(608) 347-7430
kristin@heronextdoor.com

For immediate release: July 10, 2005

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*Time Running Out to Save Historic Chapel
Soldiers Home Foundation Issues Urgent Appeal

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MILWAUKEE—Built with the meager resources of Civil War soldiers, silent sentinel over the 37,000 veteran graves of Wood National Cemetery for over 100 years, site of veteran funerals and religious services for the Greater Milwaukee community, the historic *1889 Soldiers Home Chapel* may not survive another Wisconsin winter and the prospects of commercial development.

The Soldiers Home Foundation recently announced that the Chapel — along with other historic buildings and grounds — has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Now the Foundation is rallying the community to make donations and long-term pledges to fund the* estimated $2.5 million* in critical repairs, restoration and operating costs to reopen the Chapel for use by the VA chaplaincy, veterans and the public.

*VA Chaplain Rev. Norman Oswald* supports the Foundation’s effort. “Before the Chapel had to be closed,” he said, “as Chaplain and Chief of Chaplain Services, I presided at over 250 funerals of our Honored Veterans. It would serve to honor their memories and sacrifices by restoring this Chapel for use as a Chapel. To do anything less or to use it for any other purpose would be a disservice.”

*Putting the Chapel back in service
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Soldiers Home Foundation plans for the restored Chapel include religious services including veteran funerals and military weddings; priority use by VA chaplains and veteran groups; services and special events for the general public; public access to the Foundation’s Lest We Forget Project, an effort to tell the stories of the men and women buried in Wood National Cemetery; and permanent and seasonal exhibits, including a historical display honoring Purple Heart recipients buried in Wood National Cemetery.

The Foundation is asking for *one-time donations and three-year pledges* to support its plan. It is hopeful that it can save the Chapel before the VA issues a Request for Proposals later this summer for commercial development of six buildings, including the Chapel, in the National Soldiers Home Historic District.

Donation/pledge forms are available by calling (414) 389-4135 or by printing the form available at Soldiershome.org. For information, call Kristin Gilpatrick at (608) 347-7340 or visit Soldiershome.org.

The Soldiers Home Foundation is a 501c3 non-government public charity.