The New Ipswich Museum of History has added several new displays, which will be available for public viewing at multiple open houses held this summer.

The museum is a private collection owned by Scott Kraska, and housed in the former Appleton Elementary School gymnasium. Kraska, a history buff and collector, bought the school to convert into a home for himself, and also did extensive work to the gym in order to house over 70 exhibits of mostly war memorabilia he has collected over the years, including displays about soldiers with connections to New Ipswich.

Kraska has made his museum available for school tours, as well as open house days in the summer. Open house dates scheduled for this year so far include April 19, May 17 and 31 and June 22 and June 28, with other dates to be announced. The museum is open during open house dates from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and is free.

Kraska has added or expanded several exhibits this year, including a display around one of his main showpieces, a full-size replica of a World War I ambulance. The display now includes information and artifacts about Richard Hall, the first volunteer ambulance driver who was killed in the war, dying on Christmas Day in 1915.

The display includes information about Hall, as well as a piece of canvas from his ambulance, which was brought home by a friend of Hall’s, his official record card and a button from his tunic, which was removed and kept by his brother, who was in the same unit.

Another new display includes a life jacket from an incident on May 30, 1941, in which a German U-boat torpedoed and sank an American merchant ship, the Robin Moor, before the United States had officially entered the war.

“They wanted to test us. They wanted to see what we would do,” Kraska said. “What happened was a lot of fist-thumping and foot-stomping, but not much else.”

The German U-boat did not give the ship enough time to send a distress call, but allowed the crew and passengers to evacuate. The 35 survivors of the attack ended up in the water in lifeboats, and were adrift for several weeks before rescue.

Another new display includes several artifacts related to the battleship USS Missouri, which was the location of the signing of the Japanese surrender in World War II.

“This tells several stories,” said Kraska.

Most of the display centers around a different significant event on the Missouri – a kamikaze attack by a Japanese airplane. It was a well-documented event, Kraska said, because a crew member was able to film the plane attempt to hit the ship. The plane broke in half, and the pilot was killed.

Kraska said that the captain of the ship ordered that the Japanese soldier have a proper sea burial, including a honor guard, rather than be discarded without ceremony.

“Some of the men were incensed, and there were some members of the honor guard who refused to stand,” Kraska said.

The exhibit includes shrapnel from the plane, as well as a uniform of one of the crew. Kraska said a model of the Missouri is planned to be added to the exhibit this summer.

Other new display items include the uniform of a Jewish World War II soldier, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge and was the sole survivor of his unit. After the war, he was assigned to guard high-value Nazi prisoners in Nuremberg, and would eventually go on in civilian life to become a major uniform supplier for the Navy.

For information on the New Ipswich History Museum, visit nimuseum.com or the New Ipswich Museum of History Facebook page. The museum is at 72 Academy Road in New Ipswich.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.