Mural's New Home

When the U.S. Military Museum, formerly the Military Museum of Southern New England, closed its doors in 2017, many of the museum’s 10,000 artifacts were gifted to the Museum of American Armor in Bethpage, NY. The collection encompassed an M18 Hellcat tank destroyer, plus uniforms, military equipment, armored vehicles, uniforms, and photographs. But one of the items that remained behind was a wall mural painted by WWII veteran Earl Norem. The wall mural depicts American soldiers from the 10th Mountain Infantry Division returning from a reconnaissance patrol against a backdrop of the snowy peaks of the Apennines in northwest Italy.

The mural was part of an exhibit created by Bill Duncan, who served with 86th Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division in World War II. Duncan was an original member of the Military Museum of Southern New England, which was founded in 1986 and he donated his wartime gear to create the exhibit honoring the 10th Mountain Division.

Earl Norem saw military action in World War II with the 85th Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division. He trained in Colorado and Texas, and fought the Germans in the Northern Apennine Mountains of Italy. By age 20, Norem was a squad leader and staff sergeant who in the Italian Campaign fought alongside famed skier Torger Tokle, whom he had seen ski jumping at Bear Mountain, New York when Norem was 12. Upon Torkle's battlefield death on March 3, 1945, Norem was one of the men assigned to retrieve his body from the mountain. Norem received a battlefield promotion to Tech Sergeant during the assault on Mount Belvedere and he himself later was wounded going into the Po Valley, ending his military stint. Upon returning to the US, Norem embarked on an illustration career.

Andrea Norem-Thompson of New Milford, who is Norem’s daughter, was always curious as to what happened to the mural when the museum closed, but her attempts to find out about its whereabouts were unsuccessful. Norem-Thompson then turned to Danbury resident Lee Teicholz to see if he could help her.

“When Andrea contacted me, I told her that I would be more than willing to take on the task. I had met her dad once and he was an amazing individual. I have always admired the Greatest Generation,” Teicholz said, whose father also served during WWII in Europe.

Teicholz stated that he began sending emails and making phone calls many of which went unanswered. “At times, I became very discouraged, but I never gave up,” he said, “I did learn, however, that the mural was still located inside the old building and was never transferred to the Museum of American Armor.”

Teicholz stated that he eventually sent a letter to Lawrence Kadish, who is the founder of the Museum of American Armor. “I think that letter is what got the ball rolling because shortly afterwards, I was contacted by Alan Barto,” he stated, “Barto used to be on the board of the U.S. Military Museum and is now a volunteer with the Museum of American Armor.”

Barto was able to make contact with David Valluzzo, the son of John Valluzzo, who was the founder of the Military Museum of Southern New England. John Valluzzo passed away in 2013 and without his constant financial support, the museum went into a long, slow decline. They sold some vehicles to raise money, but it was never enough. They sought financial help from the state and city governments, but it never came.

Finding a location to display the large mural which measured 8 feet by 16 feet proved rather challenging, but after learning that Earl Norem was a long-time New Milford resident and a member of the local VFW Post 1672, Teicholz reached out to Peter Bass, the town's mayor. Bass stated that it would be an honor to accept the mural and locate it at New Milford Town Hall where it will be permanently displayed next to the E. Paul Martin Room on the Second Floor. 

Andrea Norem-Thompson stated that she is very excited that the public can once again view her father’s mural in the very town that he was part of for so many years and she hopes to have a rededication ceremony in the near future. 

“This was a long process, but I’m happy it all finally came together in the end for the Norem Family. I know from the bottom of my heart that Earl Norem is smiling down from the heavens,” Teicholz said.

10th Mountain Exhibit

TSgt. Earl Norem

Earl Norem saw military action in World War II with the 85th Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division. He trained in Colorado and Texas, and fought the Germans in the Northern Apennine Mountains of Italy.

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SSgt. Bill Duncan

Bill Duncan learned to ski at the age of 7 during visits to his aunts' home at Bear Mountain, and quit high school in the middle of his senior year in January 1943 to enlist in what later became the 10th Mountain Division.

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Mural's New Home

When the U.S. Military Museum, formerly the Military Museum of Southern New England, closed its doors in 2017, many of the museum’s 10,000 artifacts were gifted to the Museum of American Armor in Bethpage, NY.

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Museum of American Armor

In a move designed to further strengthen Nassau County’s destination tourism industry, while simultaneously providing a new source of revenue for the county’s park system, the 25,000-square-foot Museum of American Armor was born, just inside the grounds of the Old Bethpage Village Restoration.

The ability of the museum to create a military armored column among vintage farm houses and country roads, accurately replicating the sights and sounds of American forces during World War II, stands as one of the most compelling educational tools our region has at its disposal, in telling the seminal story of American courage, valor, and sacrifice—a virtual time machine, if you will.

Once visitors walk through the museum’s camouflaged front doors—which have been heavily sandbagged, similar to the way important bunkers were protected some 70 years ago—they are greeted by a stunning display of some 30 vehicles. Half a dozen times a year, in coordination with Old Bethpage Village Restoration programming, these vehicles are presented in the field, or on the village’s country roads, as living historians offer skilled demonstrations of WWII tactics.

Operational vehicles on public display include an iconic Sherman tank, a Stuart light tank used extensively by the Marines during their Pacific campaigns, a potent 155 mm howitzer, reconnaissance vehicles that acted as armored scouts for American forces, anti-aircraft guns, and similar weapons that broke the back of the Axis powers during World War II.

Other vehicles range from a classic LaSalle staff car in the markings of a Fleet Admiral, to jeeps, weapons carriers, and half-tracks. Multimedia displays augment this exhibition, as visitors young and old have the unique opportunity to view tanks under repair and restoration.