Exhibit honors World War I veterans

A new exhibit opened at the Museum of Idaho this week in honor of Veterans Day. It showcases flags collected by World War I veterans from Bonneville County.

Museum staff collected flags from all of the countries represented in FIDAC, an international organization created in the 1920s for people who fought in World War I from Allied countries.

There is also a small tribute to Bonneville County’s World War I vets. A wall of poppies represents the 24 local casualties.

Museum officials said this is a great way to commemorate people who fought in a war that is often overlooked.

“In many ways (World War I was) an inhumane war,” said curator Claire Smith. “There were a lot of mass killings that hadn’t really occurred before, so I thought it was a good opportunity to memorialize that conflict, especially with the 100-year anniversary, and to just promote awareness and acknowledge that the veterans who fought in it. They didn’t want war again — they wanted peace.”

Also included in the exhibit is a place for visitors to write letters to Idaho’s servicemen and women.