Today, military production is highly mechanized. Machines piece together uniforms, weapons, and all manner of personal equipment issued to soldiers. During World War I, however, soldiers occasionally found themselves making their own supplies.

Take, for example, this tack box which Harry S. Truman carried with him during his service in France. Soldiers crafted these tack boxes from a standard size wood crate, adding the necessary identification markings for each battery, division and rank. Read More

The Age of Eisenhower

Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower may not have always seen eye to eye, but one thing they had in common was that their experience in war shaped the presidents they would become. On Wednesday, June 6, the 74th anniversary of D-Day, author Dr. William I. Hitchcock will speak at a free public program focusing on how Eisenhower’s accomplished military career prepared him for serving as Commander in Chief through the Cold War. Read More