Army and Society

Exhibit Information
  • Clock90 minutes
  • agesApproved for all ages
  • calendarPermanent Exhibit
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We Are One

The Army and Society Gallery examines the relationship between the Army and the American people. It is here that visitors discover the Army’s role in shaping the national character. Key artifacts, such as the 1918 Standard B Liberty Truck and the AN/FPN-40 Radar set, illustrate the Army’s contribution in driving the development of critical technologies.

Artifact Highlights

Unique Artifact

Solar Cells -These were some of the first solar cells launched into outer space on April 11, 1957, as part of the Vanguard satellite test program.

Unique Artifact

World War I Bond Drive Costume -During both World War I and World War II, the United States government sold war bonds to help finance the war effort. This costume from World War I would have been worn during rallies, tableau or pageants promoting the sale of bonds.

Unique Artifact

Civil War U.S. Colored Troops Medal -This award was established by Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler and awarded to African American Soldiers of the XXV Corps who displayed gallantry at the Battle of New Market Heights near Richmond, Va., in September 1864.

Unique Artifact

Presentation Snare Drum -This brass-shelled drum was presented to Henry Galloway of the 55th Regiment Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers, an African American regiment. The 55th Massachusetts was raised from the excess volunteers for the famous 54th Massachusetts.

Unique Artifact

Comanche Code Talkers Congressional Gold Medal -Congressional Gold Medals were awarded to 25 Native American tribes to honor members who served as Code Talkers -- signalmen who used tribal languages as a means of secret communication during World War I and World War II.

Unique Artifact

Academy Award, “Seeds of Destiny“ -“Seeds of Destiny,“ released in 1946, was a documentary produced by the Army Signal Corps Photographic Center about the horrifying conditions faced by millions of children left parentless, homeless, and in poor health in the wake of the Holocaust and World War II. The film raised more than $200 million for war relief and won the Academy Award, or Oscar, for Outstanding Documentary Short Subject.

“Going to war with a unit, risking your life with them, builds an intimate and intense relationship. The Soldiers don’t all have to be men for that to happen.”

Maj. Rhonda L. Cornum

Soldier Profiles

Soldier Profiles
Brig. Gen. Albert J. Myer

Myer was the chief of the Signal Corps in 1870 when Congress authorized the Army…

Soldier Profiles
Maj. Edwin H. Armstrong

At the beginning of World War I, Edwin Armstrong, an electrical engineering instructor at Columbia…

Soldier Profiles
Maj. Rhonda L. Cornum

On February 27, 1991, Cornum was aboard a Blackhawk searching for a downed F-16 pilot…

Soldier Profiles
Nantaje

Nantaje was one of 10 Apache “Indian Scouts” who helped the Army during the winter…

Soldier Profiles
Pvt. Anton Mazzanovich

Born in Lesina in the Austria Empire (now Hvar, Croatia), Mazzanovich immigrated with his family…