Category Archives: military history

“I’m Sorry Mother, For This Lousy Letter…”: Viewpoints on the Vietnam War

January 27, 2023, marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, which signaled the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. It’s an especially appropriate time to remember the sentiments and experiences of those involved … Continue reading

Posted in American history, International relations, military history, Political history, Southeast Asia, Uncategorized, Vietnam War | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

An Infamous Day

On December 8th, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the Congress of the United States with the following declaration: “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941– a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately … Continue reading

Posted in American history, military history, Pearl Harbor Attack, Political history, Uncategorized, World War II | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Flying Saucers – For Real! The Papers of Jack D. Pickett

Jack Dean Pickett was born in Casper, Wyoming in 1926. As a young man, he worked for the Burlington Railroad Roundhouse, where on June 6, 1944, he was responsible for blowing the steam whistles announcing D-Day. He joined the Navy … Continue reading

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International Holocaust Remembrance Day

January 27th marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which coincides with the date that the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp was liberated by Soviet troops in 1945. In that vein, we will delve into two World War II era collections at the American … Continue reading

Posted in Holocaust Days of Remembrance, military history, Political history, Uncategorized, World War II | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Happy Birthday, National Guard

December 13th commemorates the birthday of the National Guard. On that date in 1637, the Massachusetts General Court established an official militia for the first time in the American Colonies. The resolution stated that all able-bodied men from age 16 … Continue reading

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How the United States Coast Guard Got its Wings

The United States Coast Guard has been in operation since August 4, 1790.  At the request of Alexander Hamilton, the Revenue-Marine was created with a purpose of collecting customs duties at U.S. seaports. In 1915, the service became the Coast … Continue reading

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From Manhattan Project Scientist To Anti-Nuclear Crusader

Dr. Harrison Brown found ways to separate plutonium to devise the world’s first atomic weapons and then spent the rest of his life urging the abolition of those same deadly devices. He was born in Sheridan, Wyoming, on September 26, … Continue reading

Posted in Cold War, military history, Political history, Politics, Post World War II, Science, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher Leads at World War II’s Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway occurred June 3 to June 7, 1942 – six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. One of Japan’s main goals during World War II was to remove the United States as a Pacific Power in … Continue reading

Posted in aviation history, International relations, military history, Uncategorized, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Green River Art Student Receives AHC’s 2020 Undergraduate Research Award

Each spring semester the UW American Heritage Center awards a cash prize to the best undergraduate project based substantially on materials—manuscripts, archives, rare books, photos, maps, audio, film and video—at the AHC. Typically, the students’ projects are research papers, but … Continue reading

Posted in announcements, Artists, Current events, military history, Student projects, Uncategorized, undergraduate students, University of Wyoming, Western history, women's history, Wyoming, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Finding Aids: August 2019

We’ve had a busy and productive summer processing collections! Here’s another round of finding aids we’ve published so you can see what we’ve been up to. As a reminder, Finding Aids act as a table of contents for our collections. … Continue reading

Posted in Digital collections, Hollywood history, Laramie, LGBT, LGBTQIA+, Local history, military history, Motion picture actors and actresses, motion picture history, Natural resources, newly digitized collections, newly processed collections, oral histories, Out West in the Rockies, popular culture, University of Wyoming, University of Wyoming history, Western history, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment