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

Herringbone Twill; Model 1943

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
used date
1943 - 1944
associated
Rubin, Edward
ID Number
AF.79400M
catalog number
79400M
320748.23
accession number
320748

STEN Mark II Submachinegun

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1942
ID Number
AF.59600M
catalog number
59600M
accession number
214893
serial number
T86756

Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning; How About a Cheer for the Navy

side1: Irving Berlin. Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning; side 2: All Soldier Orchestra and Chorus.
Description

side1: Irving Berlin. Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning; side 2: All Soldier Orchestra and Chorus. How About a Cheer for the Navy (Decca 18477), from the album, Irving Berlin's All Soldier Show: This Is the Army (Decca A-340).
78 rpm

This album is from the Broadway musical This Is the Army, with book by James McColl, and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. The musical was produced by the U. S. Army in 1942, and featured a cast of U. S. soldiers, for the benefit of the Army Relief Fund. The revue ran at the Broadway Theatre from July 4, 1942, to September 26, 1942, for 113 performances.

Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1942
recording artist
Berlin, Irving
manufacturer
Decca
ID Number
1988.0384.05
accession number
1988.0384
maker number
18477
catalog number
1988.0384.05

Relief carving, bird and flower

This object was carved from a single piece of wood most likely found from the landscape surrounding the camp or a piece of scrap wood found within it. The carving would have served as a decoration hung on a wall inside the barracks.Currently not on view
Description
This object was carved from a single piece of wood most likely found from the landscape surrounding the camp or a piece of scrap wood found within it. The carving would have served as a decoration hung on a wall inside the barracks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1943-1945
ID Number
1986.3144.58
nonaccession number
1986.3144
catalog number
1986.3144.58

"Enlist in a Proud Profession ... U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps" Poster

Physical DescriptionFour-color print on paper.Specific HistoryThe Division of Military History and Diplomacy has been collecting recruiting posters for more than fifty years.
Description
Physical Description
Four-color print on paper.
Specific History
The Division of Military History and Diplomacy has been collecting recruiting posters for more than fifty years. Recruiting as an activity of the military is important to the understanding of who serves in uniform during both war and peace and the visual materials used to market military service. The collection contains examples of early Civil War broadsides; World War I posters, including the original artwork for Uncle Sam as drawn by Montgomery Flagg; and World War II posters, which show the recruiting of men and women for all services and auxiliary organizations. The collection contains primarily Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II recruiting posters for the army, navy and some marines. More modern-day recruiting materials are also contained in the collection, and cover a broad range of army recruiting slogans.
General History
Posters during World War II were designed to instill in people a positive outlook, a sense of patriotism and confidence. They linked the war in trenches with the war at home. From a practical point, they were used to encourage all Americans to help with the war effort. The posters called on every man, woman, and child to endure the personal sacrifice and domestic adjustments to further the national agenda. They encouraged rationing, conservation, and sacrifice. In addition, the posters were used for recruitment, productivity, and motivation as well as for financing the war effort. The stark, colorful graphic designs elicited strong emotions. The posters played to the fears, frustrations, and faith in freedoms that lingered in people's minds during the war.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1942
associated dates
1942
distributor
United States. Office of War Information
printer
US Government Printing Office
issuing authority
U.S. Public Health Service
ID Number
1977.0020.041
catalog number
1977.0020.041
accession number
1977.0020

Flamethrower

Physical DescriptionUnited States Model 2A1 flamethrower.General HistoryThe original Model 1A1 flamethrower was troubled by ignition problems which were corrected in the M2 version. The simple mechanics of the flamethrower are overshadowed by its destructive nature.
Description
Physical Description
United States Model 2A1 flamethrower.
General History
The original Model 1A1 flamethrower was troubled by ignition problems which were corrected in the M2 version. The simple mechanics of the flamethrower are overshadowed by its destructive nature. Two tanks are mounted side by side in a backpack-type configuration. One tank contains fuel, usually a thickened gasoline. The other contains compressed gas. They are mixed as they pass through a valve. The gas provides the force to propel the gasoline. At this point, the mixture is ignited and a sheet of flame produced.
ID Number
AF.65355M
catalog number
65355M
accession number
226768

USO Uniform Jacket, worn by Roasalind Cron

This olive drab jacket with padded shoulders 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-i
Description

This olive drab jacket with padded shoulders 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
2011.0048.01
accession number
2011.0048
catalog number
2011.0048.01

Untitled, nd

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1941 - 1945
referenced
MacArthur, Douglas
ID Number
1985.3069.02
nonaccession number
1985.3069
catalog number
1985.3069.02

Yuki Ake No Hi

"Day After Snow"Currently not on view
Description
"Day After Snow"
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945-03-15
ID Number
1986.3047.02
catalog number
1986.3047.02
nonaccession number
1986.3047

Out Skirt - Manzanar, 1942

"Manzanar 1-16-1944"Currently not on view
Description
"Manzanar 1-16-1944"
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1944-01-16
maker
Ujihara, Akio
ID Number
1986.3047.08
catalog number
1986.3047.08
nonaccession number
1986.3047

Supermen of America Sweatshirt

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1944
associated institution
Department of Defense
ID Number
1987.0213.129
accession number
1987.0213
catalog number
1987.0213.129

Field Telephone

Physical DescriptionModel EE-8-A field telephone, leather case.General HistoryAmerican 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.Currently not on view (batteries)
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.
Location
Currently not on view (batteries)
manufacturer
American Electric Co., Inc.
ID Number
1985.0335.22
catalog number
1985.0335.22
accession number
1985.0335

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

Topaz Mountain

"Topaz Mountain"Currently not on view
Description
"Topaz Mountain"
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1943
maker
Ujihara, Akio
ID Number
1986.3047.05
catalog number
1986.3047.05
nonaccession number
1986.3047

Manzanar no Yuki, 1942

"Manzanar No Yuki" translates to "Manzanar Snow"Currently not on view
Description
"Manzanar No Yuki" translates to "Manzanar Snow"
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1943-12-24
maker
Ujihara, Akio
ID Number
1986.3047.06
catalog number
1986.3047.06
nonaccession number
1986.3047

Soviet poster, Hitler caricatures

During World War II, after the breakdown of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact, the Soviet news agency TASS issued a series of propaganda posters. Topics included anti-Nazi caricatures and Socialist Realist art encouraging the war effort.
Description
During World War II, after the breakdown of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact, the Soviet news agency TASS issued a series of propaganda posters. Topics included anti-Nazi caricatures and Socialist Realist art encouraging the war effort. Beginning in June 1941, the Union of Soviet Artists established a publishing collective to produce the posters on an almost daily basis. Because they were displayed in the windows of the news agency's Moscow office, they are known as TASS window posters. It is estimated that about 1,500 different posters were produced between 1941 and 1945.
Well-known artists and poets worked on the designs and captions, and most of the posters were produced in limited editions using the stencil process for both graphics and text. Many posters were completed and reproduced within 24 hours, making them very responsive to political issues and war news. Copies were distributed abroad by VOKS, the Soviet Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries. Their messages helped present the USSR favorably to its new allies, including the U.S. The Museum has six of these posters received in 1943 through VOKS. Other collections outside Russia include the University of Nottingham in England and Columbia and Cornell universities in the U.S.
TASS window poster No. 503. Six-panel poster with caricatures of Hitler's rise to power, including the Munich beer-hall putsch, book burning, and the publication of Mein Kampf. Three artists—Mikhail Kupriyanov, Porfiry Krylov, and Nikolai Sokolov—known collectively as Kukryniksy are credited with the design, and poet Deyman Bedny wrote the text.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1942-1943
1942
caricaturist
Kukryniksy group
ID Number
GA.18850
accession number
164567
catalog number
18850

Soviet poster, Anti-Hitler cartoons

During World War II, after the breakdown of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact, the Soviet news agency TASS issued a series of propaganda posters. Topics included anti-Nazi caricatures and Socialist Realist art encouraging the war effort.
Description
During World War II, after the breakdown of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact, the Soviet news agency TASS issued a series of propaganda posters. Topics included anti-Nazi caricatures and Socialist Realist art encouraging the war effort. Beginning in June 1941, the Union of Soviet Artists established a publishing collective to produce the posters on an almost daily basis. Because they were displayed in the windows of the news agency's Moscow office, they are known as TASS window posters. It is estimated that about 1,500 different posters were produced between 1941 and 1945.
Well-known artists and poets worked on the designs and captions, and most of the posters were produced in limited editions using the stencil process for both graphics and text. Many posters were completed and reproduced within 24 hours, making them very responsive to political issues and war news. Copies were distributed abroad by VOKS, the Soviet Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries. Their messages helped present the USSR favorably to its new allies, including the U.S. The Museum has six of these posters received in 1943 through VOKS. Other collections outside Russia include the University of Nottingham in England and Columbia and Cornell universities in the U.S.
TASS window poster No. 711 is a two-panel poster with anti-Hitler cartoons.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1943
ID Number
GA.19085
accession number
167088
catalog number
19085

Soviet poster, Nazi caricature

During World War II, after the breakdown of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact, the Soviet news agency TASS issued a series of propaganda posters. Topics included anti-Nazi caricatures and Socialist Realist art encouraging the war effort.
Description
During World War II, after the breakdown of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact, the Soviet news agency TASS issued a series of propaganda posters. Topics included anti-Nazi caricatures and Socialist Realist art encouraging the war effort. Beginning in June 1941, the Union of Soviet Artists established a publishing collective to produce the posters on an almost daily basis. Because they were displayed in the windows of the news agency's Moscow office, they are known as TASS window posters. It is estimated that about 1,500 different posters were produced between 1941 and 1945.
Well-known artists and poets worked on the designs and captions, and most of the posters were produced in limited editions using the stencil process for both graphics and text. Many posters were completed and reproduced within 24 hours, making them very responsive to political issues and war news. Copies were distributed abroad by VOKS, the Soviet Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries. Their messages helped present the USSR favorably to its new allies, including the U.S. The Museum has six of these posters received in 1943 through VOKS. Other collections outside Russia include the University of Nottingham in England and Columbia and Cornell universities in the U.S.
TASS window poster No. 514 is a caricature of a Nazi soldier in his underwear carrying his clothes, with another figure at his side. It may be titled "Ragmen," but the point of the satire is not clear from the image.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1942-1943
1942
artist attribution
Lebedev, Vladimir
author
Marshak, Samuel
ID Number
GA.18848
accession number
164567
catalog number
18848

Soviet poster, Bombing Berlin

During World War II, after the breakdown of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact, the Soviet news agency TASS issued a series of propaganda posters. Topics included anti-Nazi caricatures and Socialist Realist art encouraging the war effort.
Description
During World War II, after the breakdown of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact, the Soviet news agency TASS issued a series of propaganda posters. Topics included anti-Nazi caricatures and Socialist Realist art encouraging the war effort. Beginning in June 1941, the Union of Soviet Artists established a publishing collective to produce the posters on an almost daily basis. Because they were displayed in the windows of the news agency's Moscow office, they are known as TASS window posters. It is estimated that about 1,500 different posters were produced between 1941 and 1945.
Well-known artists and poets worked on the designs and captions, and most of the posters were produced in limited editions using the stencil process for both graphics and text. Many posters were completed and reproduced within 24 hours, making them very responsive to political issues and war news. Copies were distributed abroad by VOKS, the Soviet Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries. Their messages helped present the USSR favorably to its new allies, including the U.S. The Museum has six of these posters received in 1943 through VOKS. Other collections outside Russia include the University of Nottingham in England and Columbia and Cornell universities in the U.S.
TASS window poster No. 707 is a two-panel poster showing bombing of Berlin on top, with Hilter, Goering, and Goebbels cowering in a bunker below.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1943
ID Number
GA.19084
accession number
167088
catalog number
19084

Soviet poster, Making Hand Grenades

During World War II, after the breakdown of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact, the Soviet news agency TASS issued a series of propaganda posters. Topics included anti-Nazi caricatures and Socialist Realist art encouraging the war effort.
Description
During World War II, after the breakdown of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact, the Soviet news agency TASS issued a series of propaganda posters. Topics included anti-Nazi caricatures and Socialist Realist art encouraging the war effort. Beginning in June 1941, the Union of Soviet Artists established a publishing collective to produce the posters on an almost daily basis. Because they were displayed in the windows of the news agency's Moscow office, they are known as TASS window posters. It is estimated that about 1,500 different posters were produced between 1941 and 1945.
Well-known artists and poets worked on the designs and captions, and most of the posters were produced in limited editions using the stencil process for both graphics and text. Many posters were completed and reproduced within 24 hours, making them very responsive to political issues and war news. Copies were distributed abroad by VOKS, the Soviet Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries. Their messages helped present the USSR favorably to its new allies, including the U.S. The Museum has six of these posters received in 1943 through VOKS. Other collections outside Russia include the University of Nottingham in England and Columbia and Cornell universities in the U.S.
TASS window poster No. 512 shows a man and a woman making hand grenades. In vivid Socialist Realist style, the poster both encourages and supports the war effort.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1942-1943
1942
artist attribution
Vyalov, Konstantin Aleksandrovich
author
Mashistzov, A.
ID Number
GA.18849
accession number
164567
catalog number
18849

Soviet poster, Making Shells

During World War II, after the breakdown of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact, the Soviet news agency TASS issued a series of propaganda posters. Topics included anti-Nazi caricatures and Socialist Realist art encouraging the war effort.
Description
During World War II, after the breakdown of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact, the Soviet news agency TASS issued a series of propaganda posters. Topics included anti-Nazi caricatures and Socialist Realist art encouraging the war effort. Beginning in June 1941, the Union of Soviet Artists established a publishing collective to produce the posters on an almost daily basis. Because they were displayed in the windows of the news agency's Moscow office, they are known as TASS window posters. It is estimated that about 1,500 different posters were produced between 1941 and 1945.
Well-known artists and poets worked on the designs and captions, and most of the posters were produced in limited editions using the stencil process for both graphics and text. Many posters were completed and reproduced within 24 hours, making them very responsive to political issues and war news. Copies were distributed abroad by VOKS, the Soviet Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries. Their messages helped present the USSR favorably to its new allies, including the U.S. The Museum has six of these posters received in 1943 through VOKS. Other collections outside Russia include the University of Nottingham in England and Columbia and Cornell universities in the U.S.
TASS window poster No. 693 shows a male Soviet worker in vivid Socialist Realist style. An image of calendar pages behind him encourages increased production of shells for the war effort.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1942-1943
ID Number
GA.19083.02
accession number
167088
catalog number
19083.02

Deep Snow Topaz 1943

"Topaz 3-15-44"Currently not on view
Description
"Topaz 3-15-44"
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1944-03-15
maker
Ujihara, Akio
ID Number
1986.3047.09
catalog number
1986.3047.09
nonaccession number
1986.3047

Manzanar War Relocation Ctr., 1942

"Manzanar War Relocation Ctr., 1942"Currently not on view
Description
"Manzanar War Relocation Ctr., 1942"
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1943-12-12
maker
Ujihara, Akio
ID Number
1986.3047.07
catalog number
1986.3047.07
nonaccession number
1986.3047

Yuki no Hi ("Snowy Day")

"Yuki No Hi" translates to "Snow Day"Currently not on view
Description
"Yuki No Hi" translates to "Snow Day"
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945-03-14
maker
Ujihara, Akio
ID Number
1986.3047.13
catalog number
1986.3047.13
nonaccession number
1986.3047

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