Celebrate Memorial Day in all-American style during Three Centuries of American Military History on Monday, May 26, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in downtown Raleigh. See patriotic displays and enjoy activities on the grounds of the State Capitol. Then visit the N.C. Museum of History to see seven military exhibits. Admission is free.
The museum’s military exhibits are as follows.
A Call to Arms: North Carolina Military History Gallery
See artifacts from 11 wars, from the American Revolution to the war in Iraq. The gallery is filled with weapons, uniforms, home front items, photographs and other objects from wars that have touched thousands of Tar Heel lives. For example, the exhibit features items related to the military service of Mocksville native Col. Thomas W. Ferebee, bombardier of the B-29 bomber Enola Gay, which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945.
A Thousand Words: Photographs by Vietnam Veterans
Through personal photographs, this exhibit reflects the experiences of service personnel from the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina during their tours in Vietnam. This traveling exhibit, created and curated by Martin Tucker of Winston-Salem, is on national tour.
Carbine Williams
See the original workshop of David Marshall “Carbine” Williams. This self-taught gunsmith from North Carolina helped design the U.S. Carbine, caliber .30, M1, which became a favorite weapon of American forces in World War II, the Korean War and the early years of Vietnam. The one-room workshop includes nearly 3,000 artifacts.
Everybody’s War: North Carolina and World War II
This exhibit recounts the experiences of North Carolinians who lived, served and sacrificed during World War II. Everybody’s War brings these stories to life by showcasing military and home front items, government posters, newsreel clips, personal belongings, photographs and other artifacts.
North Carolina in the American Revolution
This traveling exhibit, organized by the Society of the Cincinnati in Washington, D.C., focuses on North Carolina’s contributions to the American Revolution and highlights the distinct path the state took during the war. The exhibit appears in the gallery A Call to Arms.
“Showboat”: The USS North Carolina (BB 55)
This small exhibit features photographs, artifacts and memorabilia that tell the story of USS North Carolina. Among the items, visitors will see a 1/16-inch scale model of the battleship built from a U.S. Navy model builder’s plans, a fragment from a Japanese torpedo that hit the North Carolina in 1942, and a naval intelligence topographical relief map of Iwo Jima that was used as a training aid in 1945.
Weapons of World War II
This small exhibit features armaments used by American, German and Japanese forces during World War II. The 12 weapons and related items include an American M1A1 Carbine, a German P38 pistol and a Japanese Type 99 light machine gun.
For more information, call 919-807-7900 or visit ncmuseumofhistory.org.
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The N.C. Museum of History’s hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. The museum is part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives and History, an agency of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. The department’s Web site is www.ncculture.com.