Gunn Museum honored with national award for WWII nurse exhibit

The Gunn Museum in Washington, Connecticut, has earned national recognition for its moving exhibit, Letters Home: The Experiences of Helen Wersebe, World War II Army Nurse. The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) has awarded the exhibit its prestigious Award of Excellence, part of the organization’s annual Leadership in History Awards—the highest honor in the field of state and local history.

Now in its 80th year, the AASLH Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in the preservation and interpretation of history at the local level. The Gunn Museum’s Letters Home stood out for its heartfelt and deeply human portrayal of one woman’s wartime service and sacrifice.

The exhibit centered around more than 200 letters exchanged by Helen Wersebe, a Washington native who served as an Army nurse in the Pacific during World War II. Using her correspondence and personal photographs, the Gunn Museum curated an intimate window into Helen’s experience—from the daily realities of treating wounded soldiers to her reflections on home and duty.

Helen Wersebe was born in Washington in 1906 to Dr. Frederic and Clara Wersebe. Her father served as the town doctor for half a century. After studying at Wykeham Rise School, Wells College, and Yale Nursing School, Helen launched her nursing career at New Haven Hospital before enlisting. Following the war, she returned to New Haven and later to Washington, where she cared for her parents and remained until her passing in 2003.

In honoring Letters Home, the AASLH recognized not only a beautifully curated exhibition but also the power of personal stories in connecting modern audiences with the past. This year’s 54 national awardees, including the Gunn Museum, represent excellence in public history and set a standard for future work in the field.

For those who missed Letters Home, the recognition is a reminder of the rich local history preserved in Connecticut’s small-town museums—and the remarkable lives of residents like Helen Wersebe, whose legacy continues to inspire.

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Gunn Museum honored with national award for WWII nurse exhibit