State archives previews revamped military gallery, plans Second Floor closure for renovations

The Alabama Department of Archives and History presented the committee with plans to renovate the military gallery on the Second Floor, describing new exhibits, artifacts and a construction timeline that will close the Second Floor after the school tour season and reopen in early October.

Steve Bernie (identified in the transcript as the director presenting to the committee) said the project will refresh exhibits on military service and will introduce a new children’s gallery, updated technology in existing displays and rotating collections that highlight three core themes: service, community and legacy. He told the committee, “We’re making several updates to our proven exhibits in the Museum of Alabama on the Second Floor.”

Bernie outlined specific items and cases planned for the gallery: a main intro wall built around a collage of Alabamians who served; a map constructed from pieces of the original teak deck of the USS Alabama; a case focused on a single family’s World War II story including a quilt documenting a sailor’s service; an Army aviation/Vietnam-era case featuring loaned items such as a uniform and a Medal of Honor (referenced in the presentation as Chief Warrant Officer Michael Novicell); and displays on medical and chaplaincy services, memorialization and veterans' community roles. Several objects the presenter cited are already conserved or being treated for return to the exhibit.

Bernie said some display cases being removed from the Second Floor will be donated to other institutions, including the USS Alabama, the Alabama Military Institute and the Hall of Heroes in Talladega. He described plans to rotate material over time to address topical anniversaries — for example, the Air Force anniversary and a forthcoming Coast Guard history effort — and to use oral-history interviews in an audiovisual film to introduce the gallery.

Schedule and public access The archives plans to close the Second Floor after the school tour season ends in May for about four months of construction and expects to reopen the galleries in early October, with a public opening event the week before Veterans Day (scheduled in the transcript for Thursday, Nov. 6) to lead into Veterans Day weekend. Committee members and the presenter framed the project as part of broader efforts to make the state veteran-friendly and preserve Alabama military history for public audiences.

The presentation concluded with committee appreciation and an offer to answer follow-up questions; the transcript records no committee motion or formal vote tied to the exhibit presentation.