Military

Frank Brownell's Medal of Honor

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.

Date: 1940s

Woman in uniform standing in front of a monument

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
ID Number
2017.0309.0017
accession number
2017.0309
catalog number
2017.0309.0017

The Rohwer Outpost

The "Rohwer Outpost" was a newspaper created by the camp internees. The paper circulated camp-specific information and activities. However, the newspaper had to watch what they printed since both the imprisoned people and the people in charge of the camp read it.
Description
The "Rohwer Outpost" was a newspaper created by the camp internees. The paper circulated camp-specific information and activities. However, the newspaper had to watch what they printed since both the imprisoned people and the people in charge of the camp read it. The paper was printed in both English and Japanese languages.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1943-09-15
ID Number
1986.3144.33
nonaccession number
1986.3144
catalog number
1986.3144.33

Alex McCarrell Patch

Oil on illustration board. Portrait of three star General Alex H. Patch. Patch wear a khaki uniform (without color insignia or stars on his shoulder loops) and a white scarf. He also wears a M1 helmet with three silver stars.
Description
Oil on illustration board. Portrait of three star General Alex H. Patch. Patch wear a khaki uniform (without color insignia or stars on his shoulder loops) and a white scarf. He also wears a M1 helmet with three silver stars. Patch is in front of a green background.
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1941 - 1945
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
artist
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.46998
catalog number
46998
accession number
46998

German Binoculars

Physical DescriptionGreen-and-black painted metal with a leather strap.General HistoryDragon German binoculars like those worn by German soldiers.
Description
Physical Description
Green-and-black painted metal with a leather strap.
General History
Dragon German binoculars like those worn by German soldiers.
ID Number
AF.58746-N
catalog number
58746-N
accession number
236599

Alexander Day Surles

European-African Middle Eastern Campaign, Order of Abdon Calderón, Gold Medal for Distinguished Service Medal (El Salvador), WWI Victory, and a Unknown Ribbon (solid light blue possibly Order of the Elephant).
Description
European-African Middle Eastern Campaign, Order of Abdon Calderón, Gold Medal for Distinguished Service Medal (El Salvador), WWI Victory, and a Unknown Ribbon (solid light blue possibly Order of the Elephant). Surles wears a khaki service coat with officer pins on his label and possibly a green and gold cord below his right breast pocket. He has grey hair and blue eyes. Surles signature is at the bottom right corner of the portrait.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945
associated date
1941 - 1945
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
artist
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.47005
catalog number
47005
accession number
166217

Herringbone Twill; Model 1944

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1949
used date
1944
maker
Woodbury Mfg. Co.
ID Number
AF.74758M
designer number
6-372
55-J-499-5
catalog number
74758M
accession number
293869

Woman in uniform standing in front of sign

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
ID Number
2017.0309.0043
accession number
2017.0309
catalog number
2017.0309.0043

Soldier leaning against Wrangler

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945
ID Number
2016.0143.06
catalog number
2016.0143.06
accession number
2016.0143

German Field Marshal von Blomberg's Baton

Physical DescriptionCeremonial baton, inscribed with "von Blomberg," decorated with Nazi swastikas and German national eagles, on blue velvet covering.Specific HistoryWerner von Blomberg was born in Stargard, Germany, on September 2, 1878.
Description
Physical Description
Ceremonial baton, inscribed with "von Blomberg," decorated with Nazi swastikas and German national eagles, on blue velvet covering.
Specific History
Werner von Blomberg was born in Stargard, Germany, on September 2, 1878. He joined the German Army and served as a second lieutenant in the Seventy-third Fusilier Regiment. He attended the War Academy (1904-07) before joining the General Staff in 1908. On the outbreak of the World War I, Blomberg was General Staff officer with the Nineteenth Reserve Division. He served on the Western Front where he won the Pour le Mérite. By the end of the war he had reached the rank of major. Blomberg's two brothers were killed in the conflict. Blomberg remained in the army and in 1920 was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed chief of staff of the Doeberitz Brigade.
Four years later General Hans von Seeckt appointed him as chief of army training. In 1927 Blomberg was promoted to major general and appointed chief of the Troop Office. In this position he clashed with Kurt von Schleicher and in 1929 was sent to East Prussia to serve under Walther von Reichenau. In 1932 Blomberg was head of the German delegation at the Geneva Disarmament Conference. The following year Adolf Hitler appointed him minister of defense and in 1935 minister of war and commander-in-chief of the German Army. It was Blomberg's idea to get all soldiers to pledge an oath of personal loyalty to Hitler.
In April 1936 Blomberg became Hitler's first field marshal. He was outmaneuvered, however, by Hermann Goering, who was jealous of Blomberg's power and used the Gestapo to obtain embarrassing information about his pretty young second wife, who turned out to have been a prostitute with a criminal record. In January 1938, Blomberg resigned when he discovered Goering was planning make this information public. Blomberg and his wife were ordered to spend a year in exile on Capri. The scandal allowed Hitler to take direct control of the army. After the war Blomberg was captured by Allied troops and gave evidence at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial. Werner von Blomberg died while being held in detention on March 14, 1946.
associated date
1935
user
Blomberg, Werner von
ID Number
AF.319919.01
catalog number
79374M
accession number
319919

USO Uniform Cap, worn by Rosalind Cron

This olive drab knitted wooly hat was worn by Rosalind "Roz" Cron during the USO-sponsored tour of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm to France and Germany between July 1945 and January 1946.The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was the nation's first racially-integrated a
Description

This olive drab knitted wooly hat was worn by Rosalind "Roz" Cron during the USO-sponsored tour of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm to France and Germany between July 1945 and January 1946.

The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was the nation's first racially-integrated all-girl swing and jazz band. The group was initially formed from a girls' band at Missippi's Piney Woods Country Life School in the late 1930s. In 1941, the girls severed ties with the school and turned professional. Soon the group was recognized on a national level, and the girls began touring throughout the country. They even put on shows in the Jim Crow South where it was illegal for mixed races to travel and perform together. During WWII, their popularity with soldiers overseas also landed them a spot with the USO Camp Shows which toured France and Germany for six months from 1945-1946.

At age 18, Roz Cron was the youngest and one of the few white women to join the Sweethearts. Cron joined the group in 1943 to play alto sax for the band.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945
wearer
Cron, Rosalind
ID Number
2011.0048.04
accession number
2011.0048
catalog number
2011.0048.04

Estey Reed Organ

This reed organ was made by Estey Organ Company, in Brattleboro, Vermont, around 1935-1940. It is a portable or “Chaplain’s” reed organ, serial number 491204. There is a printed label inside the lid:ESTEY ORGAN COMPANYManufacturersBRATTLEBORO, VERMONT, U.S.A.No.
Description

This reed organ was made by Estey Organ Company, in Brattleboro, Vermont, around 1935-1940. It is a portable or “Chaplain’s” reed organ, serial number 491204. There is a printed label inside the lid:

ESTEY ORGAN COMPANY
Manufacturers
BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT, U.S.A.
No. 491204
1782

(decal on music desk):

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1935 -1940
maker
Estey Organ Company
ID Number
1998.0031.01
catalog number
1998.0031.01
accession number
1998.0031
serial number
491204

Fort Stewart Activities

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
maker
Signal Corps' Army Pictorial Service and Army Communications Service
ID Number
2013.0327.0217
catalog number
2013.0327.0217
accession number
2013.0327

Women in uniform marching

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
ID Number
2017.0309.0066
accession number
2017.0309
catalog number
2017.0309.0066

U.S. dive bombers strike at Omura

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1945
ID Number
2013.0327.1123
catalog number
2013.0327.1123
accession number
2013.0327

H&R Reising Model 60 Semiautomatic Submachinegun

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1943
maker
Harrington & Richardson Arms Co.
ID Number
AF.65749M
catalog number
65749M
accession number
229387
serial number
1982

Voting by Federal Ballot

A World War 2 poster with instructions for soldiers on how to vote while outside of the United StatesCurrently not on view
Description
A World War 2 poster with instructions for soldiers on how to vote while outside of the United States
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1944
associated date
November 11, 1944
ID Number
1980.0914.05
accession number
1980.0914
catalog number
1980.0914.05

Bur War Bonds--War Finance Committee

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1942
ID Number
2005.0079.146
accession number
2005.0079
catalog number
2005.0079.146

Women in military band

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
ID Number
2017.0309.0055
accession number
2017.0309
catalog number
2017.0309.0055

Japanese bomber hit by U.S. anti-aircraft fire

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1945
ID Number
2013.0327.1126
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1126

Untitled, nd

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1941 - 1945
referenced
MacArthur, Douglas
ID Number
1985.3069.03
nonaccession number
1985.3069

political cartoon

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1940
depicted
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
maker
Berryman, Clifford
ID Number
PL.322733.103
catalog number
322733.103
accession number
322733

Identification Tag and Cover

Physical DescriptionMetal tag imprinted "Mary A. Millian" on a chain.
Description
Physical Description
Metal tag imprinted "Mary A. Millian" on a chain. Green yarn crocheted cover.
General History
The idea of identifying a soldier in case of injury or death during combat dates back to the Civil War, when soldiers pinned paper notes to their clothing as identification. Metal identification tags, or "dog tags" as they are popularly known, have their origins in World War I. By 1913 the United States Army made ID tags mandatory. During World War II each soldier was given two dog tags, a short chain and a long chain. The purpose of the different lengths of chain was to keep the two tags separate, so as not to make noise in the field. The smaller chain was also used for purposes of body identification in case of death.
Location
Currently not on view
issued
1944
ID Number
AF.74521M
accession number
292450
catalog number
74521M

Women in uniform gathered around a piano

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
ID Number
2017.0309.0010
accession number
2017.0309
catalog number
2017.0309.0010

Nancy Hall

Black and white photograph of Lt. j.g. Robert G. Hall's daughter, Nancy when she was about three years old. She sits in a rocking chair with a doll at her feet. She wears a dress and a bow. An inscription reads, "doll angel."Currently not on view
Description
Black and white photograph of Lt. j.g. Robert G. Hall's daughter, Nancy when she was about three years old. She sits in a rocking chair with a doll at her feet. She wears a dress and a bow. An inscription reads, "doll angel."
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1944
ID Number
2006.0199.05.01
accession number
2006.0199
catalog number
2006.0199.05.01

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