The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of new experiences while at the museum.  From cataloging steamer trunks to researching military uniforms, I have been working outside of teaching in the exhibits and have been collaborating with the archives department.  In the trunks, we housed former educational teaching aids that have gone out of date but are still a valuable resource for the next generation.  It was my job, along with my partner Amanda, to sort through the remaining trunks and catalog the items and place them in more compact and document safe boxes.

The military uniforms we are housing are from World War II and include several medals and ribbons.  I took it upon myself to learn more about these uniforms and started investigating what each pin meant.  Starting with the "crossed cannons" pin with 881 displayed above them, I knew to look for the 881st artillery.  After finding the battalion, I discovered they were attached to the 69th Infantry Division and assigned to the Rhineland in the Spring of 1945, one of the last big pushes by the Allied forces after the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944.

Combat information about the 69th Infantry Division can be found here:

69th Infantry Division - Combat

Historiographical information about the 69th Infantry Division can be found here:
69th Infantry Division - History

Under the "Company Photos" tab you will find pictures of the various attachments, including the 881st Field Artillery Battalion:
69th Infantry Division - Photos

You can find pictures of our uniforms under the "Photos" page of this blog.