Veterans Memorial Museum volunteers teach visitors about the past

By-Bryan Welch

The Fresno Memorial Auditorium in downtown Fresno is home to the Veterans Memorial Museum. When you walk inside, you are transported to another time with different pieces of history.
Volunteer docents, like Derek Robinson, who served in the U.S. Army, take you through history.

“Preservation of our history. You know what America has been through the Revolutionary War to Desert Storm, Iraq, Afghanistan,” said Robinson.

Another docent, Tom Schindler says visiting the museum is an emotional experience for some of the visitors.

“We have one woman who is local. She comes in, walks around and she’ll leave and she will be crying. She does it once or twice a month,” said Schindler.

You can see an actual piece of sand from the island of Iwo Jima. The big part is educating the future generations of the past.

“We have families that bring their children in now,” said museum volunteer Jim Jones. “Because the children want to learn. And trying to read some of the things in here and remember is overwhelming. So we tell them to come in for an hour. We’re free. Come in for an hour. Come back later. Learn the section.”

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday.