The World War II exhibits of Red Oak’s Depot Museum, draws from the Ernie Pyle style of World War II reporting. Ernie Pyle, this country’s most beloved WWII correspondent, viewed his purpose was to describe what was happening from the standpoint of the individual.
Pyle didn’t focus on battles, strategies or numbers, nor did he spend time seeking to talk with Generals. Instead, Pyle focused on human interest stories about the daily lives and experiences of soldiers – survival on the front, living in foxholes, slogging through mud and snow, eating whatever was available, learning to sleep standing up, and trying to live one more day.
At the Red Oak World War II Museum, you’ll find stories of individuals; soldiers from Montgomery County who tell of their boredom and fears, triumphs and grief, doing so in letters, journals and memoirs. Come here not for the big picture (although that can be found as well) but rather for a sense of what life was for those who were there.