Category: News

Thanks to a large-scale digitization project now underway, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center will make its important, immense historical collection available instantly and easily to Army leaders, educators, veterans, students, and researchers anywhere in the world.

In the first year of the multi-year USAHEC project, newly digitized material is putting at anyone’s fingertips the historical materials that enhance understanding of the past and guide thinking about current and future national security issues. USAHEC will select material for digitization that will enable historically informed thinking about modernization, nuclear weapons, homeland security experiences, recruiting, social change, among others. Now available —

• The papers of Army Gen. Donn A. Starry, who wrote about his experience as senior USA observer to the 1973 Arab-Israeli War battlefield, and as the commander of US Army Training and Doctrine command as it led the 1980s modernization projects that resulted in AirLand Battle doctrine and the ‘Big Five’ weapons systems.
• The papers and battle recollections of Gen. Paul L. Freeman, Jr., who commanded the 23rd Infantry Regiment in Chipyong-Ni, Feb 1951, at a turning point in the Korean War.  During his years as CINC USARER and CG of the Continental Army Command, Freeman contributed a senior officer debriefing transcript in which he recounted the lessons and experiences of his career.
• In addition to archival material, 100 percent of our artifact collection can be searched online, including items such as Brigadier General Benjamin O. Davis, Sr.’s the Distinguished Service Medal. The United States was a segregated nation during World War II. Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., the Regular Army’s first African American general officer, was the senior leader dealing with issues pertaining to African American Soldiers. General Davis was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal in 1945 for his contributions. His Distinguished Service Medal serves as a representation of how a good leader, despite the limitations of segregation in the Army and the Nation, can rise above the political and cultural turmoil to do his duty for the Army. His work is directly linked to President Harry S. Truman’s Executive Order 9981 of 26 July 1948 that desegregated the American military.

“This is one of the largest single undertakings to digitize historical materials ever attempted,” said USAHEC Director Geoffrey Mangelsdorf.  “Over the next five years, new material will be uploaded daily into the online search interface system.  This will be a radical change in how military leaders, military students, and scholars can leverage our extraordinary collection.  General officer papers, battlefield reports, Soldiers’ journals and letters, and 33 million images will be accessible anywhere, anytime.”

U.S. Army Soldiers’ personal historical materials, such as diaries, letters, artifacts and audiovisual items, are among the truly unique elements of the USAHEC collection. For 52 years, USAHEC has collected and preserved the personal historical materials of Soldiers from five-star General Omar N. Bradley to the most junior Soldiers.  When digitization makes these accessible anywhere, anytime, their thoughts, observations, and emotions will inform both the Army and the public.

Access the keyword searchable online system, by visiting https://ahec.armywarcollege.edu  and clicking on “Explore.” Users can type into the search bar, browse new and notable collections, or take advantage of the Search Tips provided in the menu bar.

USAHEC is the U.S. Army’s preeminent archive, academic library, museum and research complex with extensive historical resources for Soldiers, researchers and visitors. As an organization deeply involved with both the Army and the public, USAHEC is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the men and women who have served their nation as Soldiers and to educating the military and the public on the important role of the Army in U.S. history.

Visit the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center’s archives and public museum at 950 Soldiers Drive, Carlisle, PA 17013.

Ernie Gross was 15 when he was deported from his native Romania to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi extermination camp in Poland where over 1.1 million people were murdered.  On February 3, he will share his story with local teachers and students at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle.

In line for selection, where Jews were either chosen for slave labor or sent directly to the gas chambers, a Polish inmate saved his life.  “He asked me how old I was and I said 15.  He said by the time I got to the end of the line I’d better be 17 if I wanted to live.”  When he got there, Ernie lied about his age and was spared from death.

Ernie endured a year in the camps, marching barefoot in the snow, carrying heavy bags of cement, surviving on starvation rations.  As the Allies closed in on Auschwitz, Ernie and more than 56,000 prisoners were marched west, away from the advancing Soviets.  They marched without adequate food or clothing in sub-zero temperatures.  Somewhere between 9,000 and 15,000 prisoners died or were shot for falling behind on the way.

Ernie persevered and reached Dachau in Bavaria, Germany.  There, he survived additional months of starvation and brutality.  He had reached the end of his endurance when he was rescued by the arrival of the U.S. Army on April 29, 1945.

In the years that followed, Ernie regained his hope through acts of generosity.

The event is sponsored by the Army Heritage Center Foundation with the support of the Stabler Foundation.  “The Soldiers who liberated the camps are important witnesses to the atrocities of the Holocaust,” says Foundation Education Director Jeff Hawks.  “This program is part of our efforts to share the stories of survivors and liberators with a broad audience of students, teachers, and the general public.”

For more information, contact the Army Heritage Center Foundation at 717-258-1102 or eddirector@armyheritage.org.

Have you ever wondered how reenactors and living historians started their hobby?  Do you have questions about the day-to-day lives of Soldiers throughout history?  If you are interested in the stories of Soldiers, join the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center for the 9th Annual Reenactor Recruitment Day! Experience military reenacting and living history up close and personal on Saturday, February 8, 2020 from 10:00AM to 4:00PM in USAHEC’s Visitor and Education Center.

This free event is open to the public and will feature dozens of different living history organizations including over three hundred reenactors from all periods of U.S. Army and world military history.  This year, USAHEC will feature musical performances along with historical fiction author meet-and-greet booths. Reenactor Recruitment Day is not only a great outing for kids and history aficionados alike, it also serves as an opportunity for reenactors to meet with members of other living history organizations and discuss aspects of historical presentation/interpretation.

Reenactor Recruitment Day features hundreds of living historians representing Soldiers and other service members.  From pikemen and swordsmen of the 16th century, through Civil War cavalry, to Desert Storm medics, just about every Army time period is represented. The event will also include allied and adversary units. Reenactors will be in period dress and have table displays where they will be available to answer any questions, talk about their equipment and materials, discuss their upcoming activities, and highlight the importance of reenacting as a way to keep history alive. Come to USAHEC to experience history, live!

The 9th Annual Reenactor Recruitment Day is free and open to the public, including children of all ages. There will also be a huge used book sale in two locations this year: In front of the store all weekend and a special collection located in the Café area Friday and Saturday only. Hours for the book sale are Friday, Feb. 7th 12pm -4:30 pm; Saturday, Feb. 8th 10am-4:30pm; Sunday, Feb. 9th -12pm–4:30pm.