BOISE, Idaho — Push into the back wall of the Idaho Military Museum south of Boise, a few mannequins don clothing that once fought off a Nazi attack on The Western Front of WWII.
Accompanied with tables, trifolds, handwritten letters, and pictures of any sort, 'The 526' exhibit tells the stories of Idaho heroes unknown even to family and friends – unknown even to their wives.
"She thought it was funny," Kent Kiser said. "She made the joke I knew her husband better than she did."
Kiser created the exhibit as equal parts school assignment and passion project. Kent's great uncle, William Kiser, served in WWII but never had much to say. The patch on William's uniform blew his cover.
"It was real strange. It was like a general armored patch, but above it had the numbers 526. And I've never heard of that," Kent said. "Turns out, these were Idaho guys. They were part of an intelligence group in WWII and they played a pretty big part in Battle of the Bulge."
Battle of the Bulge was the German's last offensive push on The Western Front. They ran directly into a group of northwest American's, many of which, hailed from Idaho.
"These guys are like the Forrest Gump of World War II," Kent said.
The more he researched, the more family members he met, the more public records he read - The 526 pealed back layers of stories. Though, most people closest to the soldiers never heard a word.
"And they were sworn to secrecy for life as far as they were concerned," Craig Wheeler said, the grandson of 526 member WD Hurd. "We knew that he participated in the Battle of the Bulge. We knew that he had, you know, nightmares."
But the truth is, most didn't know the half of it.
"It was not uncommon to hear, that's none of your business. So, we didn't ask questions. And now it breaks my heart. I didn't, truly." Randy Kalisek said, the son of 526 member John Kalisek. "Most of these guys didn't talk."
Kent's just started peeling back the curtain. He's collecting a list of those who served with The 526, and adding to it continuously. Anyone with a connection or additional information about the group is encouraged to contact Kent here: kiserkent@gmail.com.
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