The 'Bringing War Home' traveling exhibition is currently on display at the Museum of Uynth County in Vernal, part of a statewide initiative to use wartime objects and personal stories to explore the legacies of armed conflict. The exhibit, which runs through July 31, 2026, serves as a cornerstone for a larger project led by Utah State University faculty members from the departments of history and anthropology.
Preserving Personal Histories
Established through a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) sponsored program grant, the project seeks to bridge the gap between physical artifacts and the human experiences they represent. According as the Mountain West Center at USU stated, while many people are familiar with wartime souvenirs, these objects often serve as essential personal memorials that help families recount how relatives contributed to 20th-century wars.
The initiative focuses on collecting 'objects, artifacts, [and] heirlooms' alongside the narratives that accompany them. By documenting these items, the project aims to make sense of the personal stories that might otherwise remain unrecorded, ensuring that the experiences of veterans and military families are preserved for future generations.
Digital Archive Development
A central component of the project involves creating a permanent digital archive. Students and volunteers are working to document special items for a planned community archive that will be housed within the USU libraries. This public history, preserved in a digital format, is intended to allow students, educators, and the general public to engage with these primary sources.
In addition to the physical collection of objects, the project is collaborating with USU Digital Initiatives to develop an accessible exhibition titled 'Effects of War: Stories and Objects from Utah.' This effort will utilize the materials gathered during various roadshows and exhibits to create a lasting record of the long-term impacts of war on the community.
Media Partnerships
Utah Public Radio (UPR) is a key partner in the project, providing the audio component of the historical record. According to UPR, the station is working with the USU College of Humanities and Social Sciences’ Mountain West Center for Regional Studies and the USU Museum of Anthropology to record stories from military veterans, their families, and friends during project roadshows.
These recorded interviews and accompanying photographs will be integrated into the digital archive. The goal of this partnership is to provide the tools necessary for the general public to understand the journey of objects that travel from battlefields—such as those in Vietnam—to rural Utah homes.
2026 Exhibition Schedule
The project's 2026 schedule includes several stops across the state. Following its time in Vernal, the exhibition is scheduled to move to the USU Library in Price during August and September. The traveling circuit will conclude for the year at the Wendover Airfield Museum in Wendover during November and December.
Previous stops in 2026 included the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City from January through March, and the Hyrum City Museum from April through May. A recent roadshow event also took place on July 11 at the Museum of Idaho in Idaho Falls.
Educational Opportunities
The project also functions as a laboratory for undergraduate learning. Through the 'Objects of War' course (ANTH 3390/HIST 3390), students engage in public digital humanities and research, honing skills in primary source evaluation, oral communication, and interpretation. Students have the opportunity to work one-on-one with project directors and use the digital archive to design their own research and engagement projects.
Beyond student involvement, the project seeks community volunteers to assist with archiving object stories, documenting new items, creating educational materials, and hosting documentation events.
Project Support
Funding for the 'Bringing War Home' project is provided by Utah Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The initiative continues to invite community members, including both military and civilian populations, to share their stories and artifacts to ensure the shared history of America's wars is fully documented.
