The National Guard’s WWII Aleutian Islands Campaign Service
By Kevin Brown The Aleutian Islands, halfway between Asia and North America, are strategically vital for the United States. The Alaskan Island chain is a critical checkpoint for transpacific...
View ArticleThe National Archives Veterans Record Fire of 1973
By Kevin Brown We frequently receive requests here at the National Guard Memorial Museum from historians and relatives of guardsmen for assistance with service records. However, this isn’t always easy...
View ArticleRemembering Vietnam: The National Guard’s Role
By Will Roulett President Obama released a proclamation that recognized May 28, 2012, through November 11, 2025, as the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam war. Congress cited five objectives of the...
View ArticleGen. Henry V. Graham and the Schoolhouse Door
By Kevin Brown The civil rights movement propelled meaningful changes to the country’s tapestry in the decades following World War II. Alabama Army National Guard officer Henry Vance Graham was a...
View ArticleNorma Parsons-Erb and Guard Trailblazers
By Kevin Brown Several years after President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 ending racial segregation in the United States armed services, Congress allowed women to serve as reserve...
View ArticleAndrew’s Raiders and the First Medals of Honor
By Will Roulett Visitors to the National Guard Memorial Museum have probably walked through the Medal of Honor Gallery. It is a tribute to 147 Guardsmen who received the Medal since 1898. However, the...
View ArticleThe National Guard and WWII Coastal Defense
By Kevin Brown Coastal defense was an ongoing theme in American military history from 1776 to the beginning of the Cold War. The country’s leadership saw the United States as vulnerable to attacks and...
View ArticleThe 29th at Normandy
By Kevin Brown The National Guard’s 29th Infantry Division stands out for its service at Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6th, 1944. The 29th was dubbed the “Blue and Gray,” represented in a yin-yang symbol...
View ArticleA Distinguished Flying Cross First
By Samantha Burnett The minuteman has long served as a symbol of the leadership and sacrifice of the National Guard. Today, Air Force Major Katie Lunning acts as a modern-day example. An intensive care...
View ArticleThe Louisiana Maneuvers of 1941
By Kevin Brown The rise of Hitler’s Germany and new strategies like Blitzkrieg (“lightning war”), which combined tanks, infantry, and artillery to overwhelm enemy forces, shocked the American military...
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