Summer Week 7

 Hello, readers!

Welcome back to my summer internship blog at the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center (BVMC). It’s hard to believe we’re already in week seven! The summer semester is moving along quickly. 

This week, Eric and I continued our 3D digitization efforts, focusing on some fascinating smaller artifacts from the collection. We spent time scanning a painted helmet and a vintage can of Dr. Lyons toothpaste. I can’t wait to see what our own Dr. Lyons thinks of that! We also scanned a modern Kevlar helmet and a few other artifacts. 

Perhaps the most unexpected turn of the week came from a bit of historical detective work. While working with the collection, I noticed a set of ration tins labeled as being from World War I. However, I had a hunch that based on their design they were from much later in the century. After a closer look and some research, we were able to confirm they were actually from the Cold War era.

With the staff's permission, we carefully opened the tins to examine their contents. The older tin, dated 1959, was unfortunately soiled inside. To our surprise, the second tin from 1972 was remarkably well-preserved. This led to an impromptu taste test of some 50-year-old rations! The crackers were surprisingly still crisp and tasted fine. The chocolate, on the other hand, was awful. One of the museum staff, who was a Vietnam veteran, who was with us assured me that it tasted just as bad back in the 70s, which gave us all a good laugh.

It was a rewarding experience to not only assist the museum staff in correctly identifying an artifact but also to have such a direct, tangible connection to the past. It was probably the most direct link to the Vietnam War I’ve had so far. 


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