Museum Plans Move Forward

Mr. George Wallace, chairman of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Museum Committee, reported as follows:

Wellsburg, W.Va., USA - (October 1, 2009) The American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Museum Committee, a tax exempt organization, has contracted with the Brooke County Public Library to seek funding for a 6,000 square foot addition to house the ADBC Museum and Research Center.

This week the library board will approve a contract for the first phase of a design/build contract which will include floor plans and elevations for architectural and civil site designs; including soils borings, property surveys, general arrangements and layout; and a final construction cost based upon preliminary work.

Hopefully, the national capital funds campaign can be initiated soon and ground breaking set for Spring of 2010.

As chairman of the Museum Committee, I have been fortunate in recruiting many well established members and will be asking members of the Descendants' Group to participate in planning and development of the museum.

Abie Abraham, Joe Vater, Ed Jackfert and another local POW, Alex Sabo, are POW representatives.

* Members of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor formally endorsed the ADBC Museum as their official repository.
 

The ADBC collection at the Brooke County Public Library donated by Ed Jackfert
 

            

         Former POW Ed Jackfert and his wife Henrietta in front of the ADBC display

Mr. Jackfert stated:

 "It is our wish that the traumatic events that we experienced in defending the freedoms of our great nation at the beginning of WWII should not be forgotten. This will be a great opportunity for people to examine these documents and judge for themselves how the total sacrifice of patriotic men and women such as those that defended the Philippines at the outbreak of WWII can be measured and comprehend that the freedoms that we now enjoy every day were made possible by their fires of self-sacrifice, loyalty, courage, and wisdom, dedicated to a United States of America, forever free."
 

               

Brooke County Public Library Cataloger Dorie Tenant and Program Coordinator Kim Harless are working full speed ahead to make the ADBC materials available to the general public.  Director Mary Kay Wallace (in right picture with former POW Joe Varter) extends her heartfelt appreciation to all the former ADBC POWs who sacrificed their lives in order to preserve our freedom her at home. She takes special pride in endorsing the digitization project that started in the fall of 2007. The Brooke County Public Library has the largest collection of documents, photos, and maps devoted exclusively to the ADBC membership.
 

The meeting of Wainwright and Homma (ADBC collection)
 

First parade of American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor 1946 (ADBC collection)
 

More than 10,000 items are already in the ADBC collection. Donations, such as this Japanese sword which had been presented to former POW Mr. Abie Abraham by a surrendering Japanese officer, keep coming in.
 

The visit by West Virginia Governor to the ADBC Museum was reported in the Quan, newsletter of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor.
 

* To learn more about the ADBC Museum visit http://philippine-defenders.lib.wv.us/