The Tennessee Maneuvers – A Temporary Interruption

Welcome to the website for The Tennessee Maneuvers - A Temporary Interruption

The Tennessee Maneuvers - A Temporary Interruption is a project by The Friends of the Wilson County Veterans Museum in Lebanon, TN, and a 501(c)3 public charity on file with the IRS, our ID is 83-1151041. As such, all contributions to the project are tax deductible. Copies of the exemption are available for your records upon request. Our board is comprised of Colonel Jerry McFarland (USA-Ret), President; Jack Cato, Vice President/Treasurer and Tressa Bush, Secretary.

The film The Tennessee Maneuvers - A Temporary Interruption is an educational production that is in development to preserve the legacy of the 850,000 troops who trained in Middle Tennessee in preparation for WWII. Its message is to impart to our young people the history and a greater understanding to what it means to defend our nation. These soldiers trained, lived, and some died in our community. We want to preserve the honor and service of these World War II soldiers and highlight the value that the geography of Middle Tennessee had in these soldiers training as well as the contributions made by the locals of Wilson County.

Once completed, The Tennessee Maneuvers - A Temporary Interruption will serve our community tri-fold. It will complement existing tourist attractions, thus supporting local businesses, it will educate the students of Wilson County and Middle Tennessee counties and it will preserve and honor the service and sacrifice of World War II soldiers, our Greatest Generation, with dignity and reference.

Help us make this experience happen and become a part of not only preserving history, but in bringing it to life on the screen with your donation. Together we will make a media time capsule of service to country from those who lived in our community to those who "just passed through on their way to the front."

If we stand together, there are no limits

Click here to see a trailer for our film

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Tennessee Maneuvers

Featured & Latest News

FUNDRAISER 2020 THIS FALL

We plan on having a fundraiser this fall in Lebanon, TN. The event will include dinner and a preview of our film.

We hope to have the authors of books related to the maneuvers as well as a very special guest speaker whose written a book about a part of the maneuvers that was kept secret for a long time!

STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS

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June 2020

We are happy to announce SharingChange has given us a $2,000 grant to fund our film efforts.

SharingChange is Middle Tennessee Electric’s charitable foundation whose sole purpose is to give back to the communities they serve.

Funds are donated by the co-op’s members and 100% of the donations go to local charities and organizations.

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May 2020

Our crew went to Crossville, TN to interview two people who saw the German prisoners who were held at Camp Crossville during WWII.

The woman we interviewed was the babysitter for a high-ranking official at the camp. She recalls the day the train brought the soldiers to Crossville --- it was a day she won’t ever forget.

The father of the man we interviewed was the fire chief during the time prisoners were held there. He shares his father’s stories of how he protected the property and his interesting interactions with the Germans.

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March 2020

There are a lot of love stories associated with the Tennessee Maneuvers. We have had the joy of interviewing two women who married soldiers who were here – just temporarily. One never met her husband until he returned, but they wrote letters while he was away. How did she get his name? You’ll have to wait until the film is finished to find out!
The other lady me her future husband one day when he asked for a glass of milk – and get this, he didn’t like milk! He just wanted to meet her!

Finally, we have a great interview with the daughter of a Tennessee Maneuvers soldier who shares her parents’ "Hallmark" story of love at first dance at the Cedar Forest Lodge.

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Donate now via Giving Matters

Giving to our cause is now easier than ever – thanks to GivingMatters.com.
FWCVM has been approved to be listed among the more than 1,800 non profits whose profiles are on the GivingMatters web site. (click the GivingMatters icon to learn more and to donate).

The following is from the GivingMatters web site:

Over a decade ago, community leaders saw a need for an inventory of community resources. While donors were inundated with requests for contributions, they weren’t always confident about how their philanthropic dollars were being put to use. Local philanthropists envisioned a tool that would empower givers to understand the needs of the local nonprofit community, and to feel confident in their philanthropic investments.
In 2004, this took the shape of GivingMatters.com, a tool for nonprofits, donors, and funders to research local issues and the nonprofits serving those issues.
Today, GivingMatters.com hosts over 1,800 profiles of Middle Tennessee nonprofits which contain detailed information on organizations’ history, programs, governance, and finances – all FREE to both nonprofits and users!
GivingMatters.com furthers The Community Foundation’s work of "connecting generosity with need" by raising the level of local nonprofit transparency, making comprehensive information available to the public in a searchable database, and identifying emerging needs.

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Film Receives Grant

Friends of the Wilson County Veterans’ Museum, Inc. has received a $5,000 grant from the Middle Tennessee Electric Corporation’s SharingChange program.

The money will be used for production equipment and other expenses related to interviewing soldiers and locals who witnessed the maneuvers.

This is the maximum given during a calendar year.

We want to thank the board for their support and we will ask for help again next year.

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Film Crew is Headed to Ohio

More than 850,000 soldiers trained during the The Tennessee Maneuvers. You’d think it would be easy to find some of them, but it’s not. After all, it was many decades ago and most are in their mid-90s. Still, after a lot of phone calls and a lot of Google searches, we found two soldiers who just happen to live about 2 hours apart in Ohio.

One of them was trained to drive a tank and the other learned how to build communication towers and string the necessary wiring.

In 2012 Cumberland University in Lebanon, TN (the field headquarters for the 2nd Army) presented honorary degrees to the The Tennessee Maneuvers soldiers. Both men were quick to show us their diplomas – which were proudly displayed next to their other war memorabilia.

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Bob Masto Interview

We didn’t have to go far to get Bob Masto’s story. He and his wife, Nell, moved to Mt. Juliet from New Jersey to be near their children.

Bob was our special guest at the fundraising dinner back in November.

We got quite a giggle from one of his stories about his training here. He told us about the time he was marching through Murfreesboro when he saw donkeys and wagons! As southerners, we knew he really saw mules or horses! He told us, well, they all look the same to me – I’m from New Jersey!

Bob shares some emotional stories about the civilians who made his training her memorable.

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New Board Member

Friends of the Wilson County Veterans’ Museum, Inc. is proud to announce Jack Cato has joined our board as Vice-President. This comes after the resignation of businessman Tom Clemmons.

Jack lived in the Rome community in western Smith County during the maneuvers. He recalls all the excitement from seeing the tanks roll across the farmland to watching the soldiers build pontoon bridges across the Cumberland River.

Like many young boys of the day, he made friends with some of the soldiers and eventually began to ride his bicycle to the general store to buy candy bars for them. He would buy 2 for 15 center and in turn, the soldiers would often give him a quarter! That was big money for a young boy!

That entrepreneurial mind may be the reason for the decisions Jack made later in life. Like the time he was asked to invest in the Cracker Barrel restaurants. A decision he admits was crazy at the time, but one that he does not regret.

Jack was drafted into the Korean War where his job was to find land mines and render them useless.

Once he returned home from Korea, Jack opened a tv and small appliance business in Lebanon that he and his wife, Ruth, ran for more than 40 years.

Currently, Jack owns Cato Industrial with his wife and two children. They oversee a variety of commercial properties including strip malls and manufacturing buildings.

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Sold-Out Fundraiser

Friends of the Wilson County Veterans Museum, Inc. hosted a sold-out dinner to raise money to fund the first phase of the production for The Tennessee Maneuvers – A Temporary Interruption.
Including tickets sales and donations, the event grossed more than $20,000.

The highlight of the evening for many was the appearance of Mt. Juliet resident, Bob Masto, and his wife, Nell. Masto grew up in New Jersey and was drafted into the Army. After his basic training n Kentucky, he was sent to the The Tennessee Maneuvers.

FWCVM would like to thank: Sammy B’s for the food, the staff of the Wilson County Expo, Susie James for allowing us to share her family photos, students from Wilson Central High School for recording the event, DeAna Duncan for taking still photos, the group of re-enactors who also displayed some of their WWII artifacts and all the volunteers who helped us set up and take down the decorations.

The money made from this event will be used for more production work including interviewing soldiers who trained in the maneuvers and locals who witnessed the historic event.

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