Similarly so...the African American Officers’ Training School was at the Fort Des Monies during 1917... was the first training of African American officers for any of the military services. So...all African American officers... their history or their lineage...reaches back to Fort Des Moines. Celeste: Likewise, how may Iowans and others access this history? Matthew: We very much want to significantly increase the number of Iowans who are accessing this history. We aspire to make sure that there is no Iowa high school graduate who...when they are studying about World War l and World War ll in history...knows that significant things happened at Fort Des Moines...here in the center of Iowa...to support the war effort during World War l by the training of the Black (male) officers... and during World War ll by the training of women. We want to increase that access. Like I said before, right now we have tour groups...school groups that visit the museum...and we want to do more of that in the future...we have community groups that have toured the museum, and we want to do more of that...and of course we want to create that virtual presence so that anybody...not just in Iowa...but anybody in the country can learn about the significance of both the ethnic and gender diversity and inclusion activity that occurred at Fort Des Moines. Closing: Gary: Would you like to make a closing statement that you feel is relevant to the preceding questions? Matthew: The history of Fort Des Moines is important and interwoven into our country’s history because when you are talking about the integration of the military...that started because of what happened here at the Fort Des Moines...when you talk about allowing women to serve in the military... that started here at the Fort Des Moines...those are important things and significant issues for our country...that all started here at the Fort Des Moines. I think that we cannot only learn from that, but we can also be proud of that..for those of us who are Iowans...that these historical things happened here...and we should work to educate people about it and celebrate that history more because it made our country better. The sacrifice and service of those who were trained and/or stationed at the Fort Des Moines have permeated our country’s history... and in many ways outside of it...way beyond the wars...to include what they did in their everyday lives. We should celebrate that and honor them.
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