Fort Campbell, KY – Hundreds attended the recent long-awaited opening of the Tennessee Wings of Liberty Museum, a decades-long endeavor that has brought one of the top military museums in the nation to life, featuring a 51,000 square-foot facility on a 33-acre campus.
The Fort Campbell Historical Foundation made it happen, and they share their hopes for what can be achieved by this one-of-a-kind museum that is focused on “vertical envelopment” – the history of Airborne Forces, Army Aviation, and Special Operations.
According to their website, the museum primarily honors the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the 5th Special Forces Group, and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Night Stalkers).
Many members of the community can remember being invited to discuss the possibility of this museum as far back as the 1990s.
Sammy Stuard became one of the first trustees when the Foundation reorganized its Board a couple of years ago. He was on hand for the grand opening celebration.
“This thing has really come together, and what a venue for Clarksville,” Stuard said. “For the active military and the men and women who have served in the past, they will have something to come to and really be proud of. I’m bursting at the seams for what this will mean to Clarksville-Montgomery County in the future.
“This has been in the works for 25 – 30 years, long before I got involved. Jack Turner and many others have been working on this. The last two years has really been an effort, with a lot of hard work from the team led by General Winski, which involved lots of coordination, fundraising, etc.”
Stuard pointed out that part of the reason this project got over the finish line was that the state of Tennessee recently stepped up with a $20 million investment. That was coupled with hefty donations from the City of Clarksville and Montgomery County.
“Thanks to those donations, we’re opening with no debt,” Stuard continued. “The overall investment will be north of $20 million. There are some things still needed to be done but it is, and will be an incredible project.
“When you go through it you will see how incredible these exhibits are. And, it’s free, so I encourage everyone to come out. There are things here that are surprising, interactive, and very cool.”
Jack Turner goes back almost to the beginning of the museum project. “I’ve been working on this for 25 years,” Turner said. “Ted Crozier and Bob Jones, both retired Colonels, had the idea to build this museum, and they came to me early-on. It’s hard work to raise the necessary funds for a project of this size.”
The Center of Military History will be operating the facility. General Winski is the head of the Fort Campbell Historical Foundation. They are just two of the scores of individuals who have been working hard to make this happen.
“It is great to see,” Turner continued. “In 25 years of my life that I’ve been involved in this project, it has never left my thoughts for a single day. My passion has always been to build this to honor the past Fort Campbell soldiers and their families who have called Fort Campbell home, to make sure we have the greatest Post in the country for the people who are here now, and to bring inspiration to those yet to come. That is what this museum represents.”
Maj. Gen (Ret.) Brian Winski gets a lot of credit for bringing this project across the finish line. He was one of several speakers who stood at the podium on opening day, thanking so many for their ongoing support, donations, volunteer hours, and efforts in bringing the Wings of Liberty project to life.
After the ribbon cutting, He shared his thoughts. “How do I feel right now, in a word, euphoric,” Winski said. “It’s great to have this thing finally come to fruition, and be able to share the history of the great units that call Ft. Campbell home, with the public, this community, and the broader region. It’s a nice, easily-accessible museum, and we’re really just proud.
“I’ve been involved for about four years, since right after I retired in 2021. However, I was on meetings about this project when I was a Major back in the early 1990’s. Things got really busy for everybody after 9/11. As of today, there are about fifteen completed exhibits that have a tableau, a display case, a chronology wall, and lots of artifacts. Then, there are some smaller ones for all the war-fighting functions.
“A lot of the funding came from a federal grant in the 2008 time-frame. They didn’t have enough to build the museum, so they purchased some of the exhibits. But, we’ve created a lot of history since 2008. It didn’t really cover 5th Special Forces and the 160th , so we’ve expanded that in a significant way. When you go to the end, you will see a lot of the more tech-enhanced exhibits, which allow a lot of content in a really small package.
“I’m excited about seeing Veterans, more than anything else. They have been watching this thing progress over the decades. Now, they get to see it open, finally. I just saw four of my soldiers from my platoon in Desert Storm, here for the opening. They’re taking it in, enjoying it, and reliving the history that they made.”
Several of the project’s leaders credited Curtis Johnson for his work on getting the funding that was needed to finally make this dream a reality. Johnson spent two decades in the Tennessee House of Representatives, becoming Deputy Speaker in 2020. He retired in 2024. He, humble as ever, spoke to his efforts in procuring key financing from state and local governments.
“When we went through the budget process four or five years ago, Senator Bill Powers and I worked together to include funding for this project,” Johnson said.
Pete Kinney is now the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Fort Campbell Historical Foundation. He interjected to give Johnson the credit he deserved. “Curtis was instrumental in getting funds focused in the House of Representatives, and with TN Governor Bill Lee,” Kinney said. “That Tennessee donation came after Curtis took us around the State House one day, and persuaded people to get on board with this project.
“I’ve been involved since December 2019. I’m an old 101st guy. My good friend Mike Oates called me and got me in. Sammy Stuard introduced me to Curtis – I said, nice to meet you. I would like to ask your support in approaching Governor Bill Lee for a $2 million donation to sustain the Foundation. He gave me a 1-word answer – ‘no’.
“’Not $2 million, $10 million. I’ll be in touch’. He was in and out in 30 seconds. Literally, I looked at Oates and said, ” He said $10 million, and Oates said, Yeah, he said $10 million. About an hour later I got a call, ‘Pete Kinney, this is Curtis. I said $10 mil, I meant $20 million.
“Next morning, another phone call, Curtis said, ‘Remember last night I said 20. It’s going to be 22. Clarksville and Montgomery County are going to kick in $1 million each. We’re going to make this happen’.
“Once this guy pulled those levers, that grant from the State, County, and City all came in, all these donors started coming in with money. Jennifer Pritzker in Chicago came in with $5 million. Now, we get a major donation every week, and it all started with Curtis.”
Johnson added, “Just today, I think HCA TriStar donated $100k.”
Kinney continued, “Money is still coming in. People call this a museum, but really it’s an educational institution. Our whole intent – we’re about to hire an education director. School children in Tennessee have to have a civics course in order to graduate from high school. We want to facilitate that. Our motto is ‘Educate, Honor, and Inspire’.
“It’s not just about dusty old glass booths with old military stuff in it. We want to bring young Americans in here, to learn about our history, and get the feeling that they are here to do something more than just for themselves, whether it’s about their family, church, community, state, or country. Everyone doesn’t have to be a soldier. This life is about more than just you. Do something for someone else. Start with your family. We want to get the ball rolling. That’s what we are here for.
“There is already talk about an expansion. The Senator from the great state of Kentucky wants to contribute to the Bluegrass Education Center Foundation, which will include offices, an auditorium, and classrooms. So, hopefully, our education programs will be based right next door.”
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