History and Huzzahs for July 4th

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Here at the Archives Foundation, nothing gets us quite as excited as celebrating America’s birthday. In traditional Foundation fashion, we rang in the 4th of July this year with a big party on the steps of the U.S. National Archives. From live musical performances to confetti cannons and a dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence, the emphatic “huzzahs” of joy could be heard up and down Constitution Avenue.

But what really made the day special were those individuals who came to celebrate with us – our members, board of directors, sponsors and nearly 6,000 museum visitors. Among our many guests decked out in red, white and blue, we want to spotlight the winner of this year’s July 4th D.C. trip, Jim Nicoletti and his family.

Joining the Archives festivities from New Jersey, Jim, his wife Dana and his daughter Alex were very excited to win our annual giveaway trip. In fact, although Jim visited D.C. many years ago, Dana and Alex were experiencing the city and the Archives for the first time.

“We try to take family vacations together and my wife found the July 4th giveaway on the internet,” Jim said. “We were ecstatic to find out we had won and would get to spend the 4th in D.C.”

Jim, Dana and Alex joined us for the Promise of America breakfast, followed by the celebration and reading of the Declaration of Independence just outside the building. And although they enjoyed the patriotic festivities, Jim said his favorite part was being in the museum, surrounded by the documents that mark the beginning of our nation’s history. In fact, as a Vietnam veteran himself, he found the Remembering Vietnam exhibit in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery particularly fascinating.

“I was in the Army stationed in Europe during the war and my brother went to Vietnam,” he said. “We knew a lot of people who served in that war and being able to go to the exhibit and also see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was very interesting.”

After their visit to the National Archives, the Nicoletti family wrapped up their trip with D.C.’s fireworks show on the National Mall. We had a great time celebrating with the Nicoletti family and everyone else who made this year’s Independence Day one for the books!

In case you missed it, here are some of our favorite moments from July 4th at the U.S. National Archives.

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