Military

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.

This sheet music is for the song “Ballad of the Unknown Soldier,” with words and music by Bob Shon’soro Knox. It was published by Robert B. Knox Publications in Quartz Hill, California in 1984.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This sheet music is for the song “Ballad of the Unknown Soldier,” with words and music by Bob Shon’soro Knox. It was published by Robert B. Knox Publications in Quartz Hill, California in 1984.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1984
maker
Robert B. Knox Publications
ID Number
1985.0509.01
accession number
1985.0509
catalog number
1985.0509.01
A poster used in the 1983 March on Washington.Currently not on view
Description
A poster used in the 1983 March on Washington.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1983
used date
August 27, 1983
ID Number
1983.0547.05
accession number
1983.0547
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1987
agent
Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador
ID Number
1987.0383.08.a
catalog number
1987.0383.08.a
accession number
1987.0383
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1972 - 1983
ID Number
1983.0095.008
accession number
1983.0095
catalog number
1983.0095.008
Hawaiian shirt worn by Alan Alda in the role of Hawkeye Pierce on the television series M*A*S*H. The Hawaiian shirt is printed with a blue and white floral pattern and has a breast pocket and five buttons.
Description
Hawaiian shirt worn by Alan Alda in the role of Hawkeye Pierce on the television series M*A*S*H. The Hawaiian shirt is printed with a blue and white floral pattern and has a breast pocket and five buttons. Alda portrayed the character Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce on M*A*S*H from 1972-1983.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1972 - 1983
date made
before 1972
wearer
Alda, Alan
ID Number
1983.0095.003
accession number
1983.0095
catalog number
1983.0095.003
Potential military uses for lasers have attracted both government funding and popular interest. While laser ”ray guns” remain in the realm of science fiction, significant research has been conducted toward that goal.
Description
Potential military uses for lasers have attracted both government funding and popular interest. While laser ”ray guns” remain in the realm of science fiction, significant research has been conducted toward that goal. In the 1980s, tests of a deuterium-fluoride (or DF) chemical laser were conducted at the U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal. A chemical reaction created the energy necessary to generate a laser beam. As this object shows, that beam can be quite powerful.
In 1985, the Army transferred this test target to the Smithsonian. The target consists of six steel plates, each about 2 mm thick, bolted together. A hole of decreasing diameter is burned through the target from front to back. Information provided with the target reported that a 130 kilowatt laser illuminated the target from a distance of 60 meters for 5 seconds.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1984
ID Number
1985.0321.01
accession number
1985.0321
catalog number
1985.0321.01
A beam-type weapon, long familiar to science fiction fans, became a reality after the invention of lasers. That reality differed from fictional “ray guns” however.
Description
A beam-type weapon, long familiar to science fiction fans, became a reality after the invention of lasers. That reality differed from fictional “ray guns” however. Rather than destroy a target directly, a solder used this battery-operated, portable laser to illuminate a selected target. A missile or other munition equipped with a special sensor detected the reflected light then homed-in on, and destroyed, the target.
This model AN/PAQ-1 laser target designator was developed at Hughes Aircraft Company following Theodore Maiman's creation of the first successful laser in May 1960. Before donating the laser to the museum in 1987, the U.S. Army removed a classified component so the laser will no longer function.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1984
maker
Hughes Aircraft Company
ID Number
1987.0026.01
accession number
1987.0026
catalog number
1987.0026.01
model number
AN/PAQ-1
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1983
ID Number
1984.0526.02
accession number
1984.0526
catalog number
1984.0526.02
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1916
associated dates
1982 03 30 / 1982 03 30
1916 / 1916
transfer
Division of Armed Forces History
ID Number
CL.310958.01
accession number
310958
catalog number
310958.01
Mexican Americans have served in U.S. armed forces since the Civil War. But it was the generation of Mexican Americans returning from World War II who mobilized their communities and changed the political landscape of the West.
Description
Mexican Americans have served in U.S. armed forces since the Civil War. But it was the generation of Mexican Americans returning from World War II who mobilized their communities and changed the political landscape of the West. Laying the groundwork for the Chicano movement of the 1960s, organizations like the American G.I. Forum began advocating on behalf of Hispanic veterans who were denied the educational, health care, housing, and other rights guaranteed by the G.I. Bill. Often working in concert with the League of Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and other Latino civil rights organizations, the Texas-based G.I. Forum soon engaged in broader social battles over school desegregation and voter registration rights. Today, the G.I. Forum is a nationally recognized source of scholarships among Mexican American students. This paño, titled Valor, the Spanish word for courage, commemorates the Korean War Medal of Honor winner Rodolfo Hernández. Paños are an art form created traditionally by Chicano prisoners on white handkerchiefs. Often mailed as gifts to friends and families, the images on paños remember loved ones, depict important memories, and tell stories about the dark side of life, as well as redemption. The maker of this paño is unknown.
Description (Spanish)
Los mexicoamericanos habían estado al servicio de las fuerzas armadas de Estados Unidos desde la Guerra Civil. Pero fue la generación de mexicoamericanos que regresó de la Segunda Guerra Mundial la que inició una movilización de sus comunidades y modificó el panorama político del oeste. Sentando las bases para el movimiento chicano de la década de 1960, organizaciones como el Foro Americano G.I. comenzaron a defender los derechos de los veteranos hispanos a quienes se les negaba educación, atención médica, vivienda y otros derechos garantizados por la ley G.I., A menudo conjuntamente con la Liga de Ciudadanos Latinoamericanos (LULAC, por sus siglas en inglés) y otras organizaciones de derechos civiles, el Foro G.I., con sede en Texas, pronto se comprometió con batallas sociales de mayor envergadura como la segregación escolar y el derecho al voto. Hoy en día, el Foro G.I. constituye una institución de acreditación nacional que se ocupa principalmente de facilitar becas para estudiantes mexicoamericanos. Este paño, titulado Valor, conmemora la Medalla de Honor de la Guerra de Corea que obtuvo Rodolfo Hernández. Los paños son una manifestación de arte que tradicionalmente elaboraban los prisioneros chicanos sobre pañuelos blancos. Solían enviarse de regalo a familiares y amigos, con imágenes que recordaban a los seres queridos, describían memorias significativas y referían historias de vida, tanto de momentos oscuros como redentores. En el caso de este paño, se desconoce a su autor.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1988
depicted
Hernandez, Rudy
ID Number
1993.0150.06
catalog number
1993.0150.06
accession number
1993.0150
Color positive film made by J. Ross Baughman of Marine James (Jimmy) Lopez. He is wearing an Army green uniform with a matching hat and glasses. His has a name tag reading "J. M. Lopez" pinned on the right side of his chest. Five other Marines are visible behind and around him.
Description (Brief)
Color positive film made by J. Ross Baughman of Marine James (Jimmy) Lopez. He is wearing an Army green uniform with a matching hat and glasses. His has a name tag reading "J. M. Lopez" pinned on the right side of his chest. Five other Marines are visible behind and around him. Most of them are facing away and none are fully depicted.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1981
maker
Baughman, David C.
Baughman, J. Ross
ID Number
2010.0231.21
catalog number
2010.0231.21
accession number
2010.0231
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1983-1984
date printed
2016
maker
Osinski, Christine
ID Number
2016.0112.02
catalog number
2016.0112.02
accession number
2016.0112
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1981
maker
Life
ID Number
2010.0231.20
catalog number
2010.0231.20
accession number
2010.0231
Color positive film made by J. Ross Baughman of Marine James (Jimmy) Lopez. Lopez is pictured in front of a waving American flag wearing his Marine regalia and smiling.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Color positive film made by J. Ross Baughman of Marine James (Jimmy) Lopez. Lopez is pictured in front of a waving American flag wearing his Marine regalia and smiling.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1981
maker
Baughman, J. Ross
ID Number
2010.0231.23
catalog number
2010.0231.23
accession number
2010.0231
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1985
ID Number
2012.0108.278
catalog number
2012.0108.278
accession number
2012.0108
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1988
wearer
Diaz-Balart, Jose
issuing authority
U.S. Department of Defense
ID Number
2016.0336.06
accession number
2016.0336
catalog number
2016.0336.06
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1981
maker
Baughman, J. Ross
ID Number
2010.0231.22
catalog number
2010.0231.22
accession number
2010.0231
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1972 - 1983
user
Alda, Alan
ID Number
1983.0095.009
accession number
1983.0095
catalog number
1983.0095.009
The Salvadoran Civil War began in October 1979. The United States provided support to the government during the Carter and Reagan administrations.
Description
The Salvadoran Civil War began in October 1979. The United States provided support to the government during the Carter and Reagan administrations. By May 1983 US officers were in the heavily involved with the Salvadoran military including decision making regarding the war.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1982
associated date
1982 03 27
ID Number
1982.0184.03
accession number
1982.0184
catalog number
1982.0184.03
A homemade poster protesting the sale of US weapons to foreign countries.Currently not on view
Description
A homemade poster protesting the sale of US weapons to foreign countries.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1982
ID Number
1982.0184.02
accession number
1982.0184
catalog number
1982.0184.02
Group of women in military uniform, photograph for People article "Women in the Army," Fort Gordon, Georgia, February 25, 1980.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Group of women in military uniform, photograph for People article "Women in the Army," Fort Gordon, Georgia, February 25, 1980.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1980-02-25
maker
Walker, Diana
ID Number
2003.0250.130
accession number
2003.0250
catalog number
2003.0250.130
The Reagans aboard the U.S.S. Iowa on July 4, 1986.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
The Reagans aboard the U.S.S. Iowa on July 4, 1986.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1986-07-04
depicted (sitter)
Reagan, Nancy
Reagan, Ronald Wilson
maker
Walker, Diana
ID Number
2003.0250.136
catalog number
2003.0250.136
accession number
2003.0250
portfolio by Don Unrau, "War Story: Vietnam Veterans 1984-1989"; green cloth binding; twenty (20) individual photographs, one (1) title page, two (2) extra pages with credits and illustration index; part of an edition of twenty (20); 20 photographs of individuals include handwrit
Description
portfolio by Don Unrau, "War Story: Vietnam Veterans 1984-1989"; green cloth binding; twenty (20) individual photographs, one (1) title page, two (2) extra pages with credits and illustration index; part of an edition of twenty (20); 20 photographs of individuals include handwritten note below image from person being photographed.
Individuals depicted: Kim Larsen, Chris Buchan, Gary Alexander, Chuck Jett, Orlando, Martinez, Robert Lee, John J. Serini, Roy Opp, Deryle Perryman, Roy (Spike) T. Miller, Jr, Gerald Naranjo, Bennie Slaughter, Gerry Gergen, Mike Moerhke, John Heiss, John Hamlin, Tom Schmitz, Marv Freedman, Joan Duffy Newberry, Jim Hagerman.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1984-1989
maker
Unrau, Donald T.
ID Number
2017.0023.0001
catalog number
2017.0023.0001
accession number
2017.0023

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.