Vancouver, WA

Wednesday-Sunday May 3-7, 2017

Hilton Hotel

Military History Conference in Vancouver

May 3 – 7, 2017

As many people from Vancouver know, the Vancouver Barracks was established in 1849, when Washington and Oregon were the Old West; this was a generation before people called Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado the Old West.  It was part of the proving ground for lieutenants to become generals in the Civil War.  The Vancouver Barracks were the jumping off point for soldiers headed across the Pacific during the Spanish American War and afterward.  It was the training ground for soldiers heading to fight, milling spruce wood during World War I.  In World War II, the Vancouver Barracks was a training center and transshipment point for all services, fighting in World War II.

Unfortunately, many people outside of the Pacific Northwest are unaware of our military heritage and history.  That will change in 2017.  From May 3 – 7, the Council on America’s Military Past (CAMP) will hold their 51st Annual Military History Conference in Vancouver, Washington.  This conference is open to the public, as well as CAMP members. The VBMA are partners with CAMP, as well as many other  local military history preservation organizations.  In brief,

Conference attendees will spend one day at the Vancouver Barracks, attending various talks on military history, followed by a tour of Officer’s Row, and visits to the Pearson Air Museum, and the replica Fort Vancouver Stockade.  They will also visit the nearby VA museum, and the Vancouver Barracks Post Cemetery.

They will spend another day visiting the Washington/Oregon Coast, where they will visit sites associated with Lewis and Clark, as well as viewing the Coast Artillery posts of Fort Stevens and Fort Columbia.

The next day, conference attendees will visit the the only surviving World War II  PT Boat in restored-original condition.  They will also see a World War II Landing Craft Infantry, the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, and displays on the Oregon National Guard, at Camp Withycombe.

On the final day of the conference, attendees will travel north, visiting the Lewis Military Museum, the McChord Air Force Base Museum, the Buffalo Soldiers Museum in Tacoma, WA, and historic Fort Steilacoom.

Please follow this link to their website for full details of the conference itinerary.  Please check back as the conference date approaches.  There will be more information on attendance prices and changes to the itinerary.  The VBMA looks forward to everyone’s attendance!