Browse Items (58 total)

Cloth overlaid and defined with charcoal to replicate the headstone of a Civil War Soldiers headstone located in Camp Butler Illinois. Veteran's headstone belongs to a Joseph Maxwell and was a member of the 29th United States Coloured Infantry. Piece…

This photo is a pre-fight photo of Roy Meyers (left) and Eugene Taylor (right). They boxed for the Marine Corps. Between the two boxers is Red Skelton, a famous performer of the era. Taylor would go on to win the fight. The announcement is the…

A group photo of young men from Pekin, Illinois, before joining the military in WWII. Euguene Taylor is 4th from the left in the back row. Taylor would go on to serve in the Marines during WWII. The photo is part of Taylor's wartime collection.

Eugene Taylor sent this letter home to his mother, apologizing for joining the marines during WWII. The letter is in cursive on lined notebook paper.

This multi-page letter was the last letter Eugene Taylor sent before being deployed during WWII. The letter was written over several days between April 2nd, 1944 and April 9th, 1944. The letter is in cursive. The stationery is from Cherry Point,…

This is Eugene Taylor's photo journal from his time in the Pacific theater during WWII. The pictures are mainly of his friends and the people he knew.

This postcard was sent by Eugene Taylor to his parents in Pekin, IL, after joining the Marines in WWII. The postcard was sent from Chicago and describes what he is doing there. This letter is the first item in the larger Taylor family scrapbook from…

This scrapbook contains letters and pictures from Eugene Taylor from before his deployment. Taylor served the marines in the Pacific theater in WWII. The letters are addressed to his mother, father, one woman who would not become his wife, and later,…

Newspaper article is about African American Robert Moore's career and life. The article talks about the exhibit that has been created on his life.

This button depicts the four Presidents of the United States-Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama-that have roots in the State of Illinois.