From Liberator to Educator
Towards the end of WWII, an exhausted, war weary young infantryman of the 409th Infantry Regiment in the 103rd Infantry Division was anxiously awaiting and looking forward to the day the most destructive war in human history would end. Little did he know that before this conflict would finally grind to a halt, that he would catch a horrific glimpse of some of the worst atrocities imaginable. A thoughtful and literate young man - he would later turn this experience into an opportunity to educate others about what he saw, both to keep alive the memory of what happened, and to ensure that something like this never happened again.
Dr. Roy Arthur Swanson was born and educated in Minnesota on April 17, 1925. An accomplished academic, he earned B.A., B.S., and M.A. degrees from the University of Minnesota,and later became a tenured professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. It was while he was at the UW-M that he founded the Holocaust Research and Information Project.
Dr. Swanson passed away on December 15, 2020. The Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum was the recipient of a major collection of his materials compiled on the Holocaust-including his original wartime diary and other notes on his experiences during the war.
Museum News
Little Falls, Minn. – On Sunday the Minnesota Military & Veterans Museum held a ceremonial groundbreaking on its new site at Camp Ripley in Little Falls, Minn. Located on more than 30 acres just off Highway 371, and adjacent to the Little Falls State Veterans Cemetery, the future site of the Museum will ensure easy access by the public.
Staff Sgt. Mahsima Alkamooneh, Spec. Ashley Barber, 1st Sgt. Jessica Stiffarm, Capt. Takeisha Hunt, and Capt. Katie Morsch are depicted in a large painting, just completed, by Charles Kapsner and developed in partnership with the MN National Guard & Air National Guard. It will be displayed in the State Capitol in May 2023, and will become part of the museum’s permanent collection, and remain on-view in the museum.
The Minnesota Military & Veterans Museum released detailed plans for a new facility, with a grand opening tentatively set for the spring of 2025. More than 100 leaders of the veteran community, museum members and National Guardsmen gathered for a “Mission Brief” event, held at the 34th Infantry Division Headquarters in Arden Hills, Minn.
The USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul is home. The decommissioned nuclear-powered fast attack submarine’s towering sail and rudder have been transported to the Minnesota Military & Veterans Museum in Little Falls from the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington.
DULUTH, Minnesota (May 21, 2021) – Members of the town-based Civil War-era militia, the New Ulm Battery, render honors by firing the Saluting Battery during the commissioning ceremony of USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS 21) in Duluth, Minnesota. LCS 21 is the second U.S. Navy warship to honor Minneapolis-Saint Paul. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sonja Wickard /Released)
Towards the end of WWII, an exhausted, war weary young infantryman of the 409th Infantry Regiment in the 103rd Infantry Division was anxiously awaiting and looking forward to the day the most destructive war in human history would end.
In allocating $13 million for a new Military Museum, state legislators ensured construction of a facility befitting the service and sacrifice of Minnesota Veterans.