Military - Overview
The Museum's superb military collections document the history of the men and women of the armed forces of the United States. The collections include ordnance, firearms, and swords; uniforms and insignia; national and military flags and banners; and many other objects.
The strength of the collections lies in their enormous depth. Some 3,000 military small arms and 2,400 civilian firearms document the mechanical and technological history of the infantryman's weapons from the beginning of the gunpowder era to the present. Among the 4,000 swords and knives in the collection are many spectacular presentation pieces. The collections also include Civil War era telegraph equipment, home front artifacts from both world wars, early computers such as ENIAC, Whirlwind, and Sage, and materials carried at antiwar demonstrations.
"Military - Overview" showing 4 items.
Field Telephone
- Description
- Physical Description
- Model EE-8-A field telephone, leather case.
- General History
- American Electric military field phone, model EE-8-A. The phone is encased in leather. The handset is marked American Electric and there is a magneto crank.
- manufacturer
- American Electric Co., Inc.
- ID Number
- 1985.0335.22
- catalog number
- 1985.0335.22
- accession number
- 1985.0335
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
French Halberd
- Description
- Physical Description
- Forged steel with leather-wrapped wooden handle.
- General History
- The halberd was a versatile pole arm developed as an infantry weapon in the 13th century. It has an ax-like blade and a steel spike mounted on the end of a long shaft. By the time of the Seven Years War it was carried by sergeants as a symbol of rank and authority.
- ID Number
- AF*66750M
- catalog number
- 66750M
- accession number
- 229198
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Doughboy Uniform
- Description
- Physical Description
- Brown wool button-down jacket and brown wool breeches.
- General History
- Enlisted soldier's uniform. The brown, doughy color of the uniform led to these soldiers being referred to as "doughboys," though the exact derivation of the nickname has been debated.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- early 20th century
- associated date
- 1917-1918
- ID Number
- 1977.0082.06
- accession number
- 1977.0082
- catalog number
- 1977.0082.06
- 81199M
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Audie Murphy's OD Field Jacket
- Description
- Physical Description
- Olive drab (OD) “Eisenhower type” jacket.
- Specific History
- Field jacket used by Second Lieutenant Audie L . Murphy, United States Army.
- General History
- Audie Murphy enlisted in the United States Army at age seventeen to make something of himself. By the end of World War II, Audie Murphy's exploits had earned him every medal his country could give. He was the war's most decorated soldier and a national hero. Four years later, as a struggling actor in Hollywood, he turned his wartime experiences into a best-selling book, To Hell and Back. He later starred in the film version of his book. He died in an 1971 airplane crash in Virginia while on a business trip.
- His list of medals includes:
- Medal of Honor
- Distinguished Service Cross
- Silver Star with First Oak Leaf Cluster
- Legion of Merit
- Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device and First Oak Leaf Cluster
- Purple Heart with Second Oak Leaf Cluster
- U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal
- Good Conduct Medal
- Distinguished Unit Emblem with First Oak Leaf Cluster
- American Campaign Medal
- European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with One Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine campaigns), and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France)
- World War II Victory Medal
- Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp
- Armed Forces Reserve Medal
- Combat Infantry Badge
- Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar
- Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar
- French Fourragère in Colors of the Croix de Guerre
- French Legion of Honor, Grade of Chevalier
- French Croix de Guerre With Silver Star
- French Croix de Guerre with Palm
- Medal of Liberated France
- Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm
- user
- Murphy, Audie
- ID Number
- 1985.0428.01
- catalog number
- 1985.0428.01
- accession number
- 1985.0428
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center