Yes, another military museum. The Iowa Gold Star Military Museum is in Camp Dodge. That surprised us; the GPS took us to the gate and I said to the guard on duty that I wasn't sure if we were at the right place. But yes we were, and told us to just follow the Red Bull signs. The museum is about Iowa's military past and the contribution of Iowa Veterans in state and national defense from the early 19th century to the present. It took us over two hours to go through the whole museum, and did not get to the outdoor exhibits as it had started to pour down rain, and we also ran out of time.
The museum's mission is to honor and depict the military experience of Iowa citizens in all wars, homeland defense and Iowa service. The museum's purpose is to collect, preserve and exhibit materials that illustrate the story of Iowa's military past from statehood to the present. The museum honors the heroic service of all Iowa veterans.
Employing broadax more than bayonet, the United States Army represented the vanguard of Western settlement and symbolized United States' sovereignty and expansion west of the Mississippi River. Military survey, mapping and topographic activities contributed a variety of data for future settlers on the resources available in the Iowa country. Some state and county highways in present-day Iowa follow trails established by U.S. Dragoons during the early to mid 19th century.
Between 1808 and 1853, the U.S. Army built and garrisoned nine forts in what became Iowa along frontier boundaries established by treaty with various Indian tribes. In addition to patrolling and guarding the borders between Indian and United States territory, frontier soldiers served as farmers, carpenters, policemen and ambassadors. The present day communities of Fort Atkinson, Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Fort Madison and Montrose owe their existence to the prior location of U.S. Army forts.
"The ax, pick, saw, and trowel, has become more the implement of the American soldier than the cannon, musket or sword." ~~ Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Taylor, September 1820
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| Dragoons on the Frontier |
A Congressional program reducing the size of the U.S. Army eliminated cavalry units in 1821. The westward movement of settlement and the removal of Indian tribes by treaty demonstrated the need for mounted troops to patrol the frontier. In addition, the Black Hawk War of April through August 1832 further revealed the infantry's lack of rapid mobility.
On March 2, 1833, Congress authorized the first permanent cavalry unit of the U.S. Army. Personnel recruited from existing infantry regiments and mounted rifle units became the 1st Dragoon Regiment. The 1st Dragoon Regiment was divided into the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Squadrons.
Three companies of the 1st Dragoon Regiment served at Fort Des Moines No. 1 along the Mississippi River from September 25, 1834 to June 1, 1837. Dragoons guarded the Northwest Frontier between Jefferson Barracks, Missouri and Fort Armstrong at Rock Island, Illinois, and conducted survey missions throughout Iowa territory. The Dragoons existed until 1861 when all U.S. Army mounted troops became cavalry.
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| Mapping Instruments |
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| Map of the Wisconsin Territory |
Mapping the New Frontier ~~ French explorers and traders were the earliest Europeans to view the land that became Iowa and established an extensive trading network with Indian tribes of the Great Lakes region. French cartographers created the earliest maps of the area.
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| 1766 Popple Map (French) of the region west of the Mississippi |
Explorers Louis Jolliet, Father Jacques Marquette, and five others arrived south of the Prairie du Chien on June 17, 1673, at the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers, and began their exploration of the central Mississippi River. Cavalier de La Salle led an expedition down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico arriving on March 27, 1682, and claimed "Louisiana" for King Louis of France. Louisiana remained under French control until 1762 when the land west of the Mississippi River was transferred to Spain to prevent its seizure by the British at the end of the 1754-1763 French and Indian War.
In 1763, the British Northwest Company replaced French trading activities throughout the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River valley, and located trading posts in Spanish territory along the Des Moines River. Great Britain lost control of the region to the United States in 1783 following the American Revolutionary War.
French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte gained control of Louisiana from Spain in 1800 and sold it to the United States for $15 million in 1803. Early U.S. military expeditions into the "Louisiana Purchase" verified and corrected information recorded on earlier French maps and surveyed the newly acquired territory.
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| Enlisted Dragoon Undress Uniform Fort Des Moines #2, 1843 |
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| The Battle of Shiloh |
The Battle of Shiloh ~~ Also known as the Battle of Pittsburgh Landing, Shiloh was a major engagement in the western theatre of the Civil War, taking place in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Major General U.S. Grant had moved on the Tennessee River deep into the state and was camped at Pittsburgh Landing on the west bank, where Confederate forces under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P.T.G. Beauregard launched a surprise attack on Grant's army. When Johnston was killed in action during the fighting, Beauregard, who succeeded to command the Confederate forces, decided against pressing the attack late in the evening. Overnight Grant received large reinforcements, allowing him to launch an expected counterattack the next morning, reversing the Confederate gains of the previous day.
On April 6, the first day of the battle, the Confederates struck with the intention of driving the Union defenders away from the river and into the swamps of Owl Creek to the west. Johnston hoped to defeat Grant's Army of the Tennessee before the expected arrival of Major General Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio. Confederate battle lines became confused during fierce fighting, and Grant's men fell back to the northeast, in the direction of Pittsburgh Landing.
Reinforcements from Buell's army and a division of Grant's army arrived in the evening of April 6 and helped turn the tide the next morning, when Union commanders launched a counterattack along the entire line, Confederate forces were forced to retreat from the area, ending their hopes of blocking the Union advance into northern Mississippi. The Battle of Shiloh was the bloodiest battle in American history up to that time, replaced the next year by the three-day Battle of Gettysburg, which remains thus today.
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| Soldiers with a Gatling Gun |
Following the United States declaration of war against Spain, the United States Army expanded in size from 28,000 soldiers into a force of 274,000 men by August 1898. U.S. Regular Army soldiers and National Guard volunteers served in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The figure to the left of the Gatling Gun represents a Regular Army "Buffalo Soldier" of the 25th U.S. Infantry Regiment armed with a M1898 Krag-Jorgensen .30-40 caliber bolt action rifle. Black soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments and 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments served in combat in Cuba and the Philippines.
The figure to the right represents a soldier of Company B, 51st Iowa Volunteer Infantry, from Villisca, Iowa. While traveling to the Philippines, 51st Iowa soldiers earned the distinction of spending more time (94 days) aboard a transport ship than any other unit in the Spanish-American or Philippine War. The men of the "Fighting 51st" served in combat with distinction from February to September 1899 and were the last state volunteers to leave the Philippines. The background image, taken in summer 1899, shows an Iowa officer and soldiers of the 51st Iowa Infantry inspecting a captured Filipino cannon.
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| Gatling Gun Model 1883 |
The ten barreled weapon exhibited here served aboard the cruiser USS Olympia during the opening naval battle of the Spanish-American War fought at Manila Bay in the Philippines on May 1, 1898. Gatling Guns were used on U.S. Navy ships during the late 19th century for defense against high-speed enemy torpedo boats, to repel hostile boarders, and to defend naval or marine landing parties ashore.
This model delivered 1,500 rounds per minute with the firing crank positioned at the rear and 800 rounds per minute when positioned on the side. The twin chests held a total of four 100 round Accles .45-70 caliber ammunition drums. The first use of the Gatling Guns in an offensive role occurred on July 1, 1898 when U.S. Army Lieutenant John H. Parker directed a battery of four guns to provide fire support for troops advancing up Kettle and San Juan hills outside of Santiago, Cuba. Although obsolete, the U.S. Military used Gatling Guns into the early 20th century.
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| Soldiers of the 2nd Iowa Infantry on the way to Brownsville, Texas; July 26, 1916 |
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| Francisco "Pancho" Villa (center) standing with US General John J. Pershing (right) in 1913. Villa's incursion into New Mexico in 1916 made them adversaries |
The Mexican Expedition of 1916 ~~ Beginning in 1916, Mexico entered a period fraught with revolution in its northern states. In 1913 Mexican General Victoriano Huerta deposed and assassinated Mexican President Francisco Madero. Full-scale civil war erupted between the followers of Huerta and General Venustiano Carranza.
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, displeased with Huerta's violent seizure of power; denied diplomatic recognition of his government. Following two years of tense relations with the United States, including U.S. Troop landings at Veracruz and Tampico and in addition to mounting pressure from revolutionaries, Huerta resigned in July 1914.
Soon after Carranza's selection as president, and Wilson's recognition of his government, Carranza's former supporter Francisco "Pancho" Villa initiated a revolt against him. Villa, to bolster his image as a revolutionary and demonstrate his displeasure at President Wilson's support of Carranza, led a night raid across the border into Columbus, New Mexico on March 19, 1916, killing eight U.S. Cavalrymen and nine civilians. Other raids into the U.S. followed.
In March 1916 President Wilson ordered 10,000 troops led by Brigadier General John J. Pershing into Mexico on a "punitive expedition" to capture Villa. After almost a year of army activity south of the border, Villa remained at large. However, U.S. forces successfully dispersed roving bands of raiders and secured the border against future incursions. The continued presence of U.S. troops led the Mexican government to demand their removal from Mexico. Potential war between the United States and Mexico led President Wilson to Federalize National Guard troops to guard the Mexican border. On June 18, the entire National Guard, except for coast artillery units, was called to duty. Within days the first of 158,664 National Guardsmen were on their way by train to the Mexican border. All units of the Iowa National Guard were mustered into Federal service and dispatched to man positions and patrol the border near Brownsville, Texas.
In early 1917, as the threat of war with Germany loomed larger, U.S. forces gradually withdrew from Mexico. All Iowa troops returned home in January 1917, reverting back to state control. Overall, the U.S. military drew many training, organization, deployment, and command lessons from this limited rehearsal for war that paid dividends when expanding the Army for World War I.
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| 1918 Standard Type B "Liberty" Truck - Series I |
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| Soldiers of Co. K 366th Infantry at Camp Dodge in 1918 |
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| Drafters from Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1918 |
The Black Soldier's Experience in World War I ~~ Among the 367,710 black personnel entering the Army through the Selective Service system, 817 were from Iowa. As was typical for a majority of blacks entering the Army in World War I, most served in pioneer infantry (engineer) regiments, depot brigades, stevedore regiments, and labor battalions.
Roughly 2,600 black inductees from Alabama, 127 from Iowa, and 97 from Illinois mustered at Camp Dodge in late October to form the 366th Infantry Regiment. In an effort to provide a suitable place for relaxation and entertainment for the men while at Camp Dodge, a segregated YMCA was built and run by E.W. Beck who organized various wrestling and boxing matches. The 366th organized 200 men into the "Alabama Chorus" which performed concerts in local Des Moines churches. They performed in May 1918 at the Des Moines Coliseum before an audience of 5,000 persons including Des Moines Mayor Tom Fairweather.
The 366th trained at Camp Dodge, where some troops were commissioned as officers at the 92nd Division officer training school, until departing by train to Hoboken, New Jersey. The 366th, as part of the 92nd Infantry Division, sailed for France in early June 1918. Arriving at St. Nazaire, France on June 15, 1918, the 366th as part of the 92nd Division, was assigned to the St. Die sector near the Vosges Mountains where they protected the Saales Pass. Serving with the French Army in the Muese-Argonne Offensive from September 9 to October 5, 1918, the 366th Regiment lost two killed and 18 wounded during the campaign. Reassigned to the U.S. Army, the regiment occupied front line positions east of the Moselle River from October 8 until the armistice on November 11 incurring a loss of 30 killed and 207 wounded.
The 366th served on occupation duty west of the Moselle River before arriving home to the United States in February 1919 to Camp Upton, New York, and demobilizing in March 1919 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.
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| Machine Gun Ammunition Cart |
During World War I the nation's industries produced 181,622 machine guns and automatic rifles, 2.5 million rifles, 743,663 automatic pistols and revolvers, 3.2 billion rounds of ammunition, 23.9 million combat hand grenades, 2.7 million steel helmets, 34 million pairs of shoes, 22 million blankets, and 5.5 million gas masks.
Estimated by military planners to last only a few weeks, the conflict lasted over four years. The First World War ended on November 11, 1918, having claimed the lives of 8 million military personnel. The conflict toppled the governments of four nations (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia and Turkey) and established the United States as a world power.
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| Mass demonstration against the Treaty of Versailles at German Parliament, Berlin, May 15, 1919 |
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| Supporters assemble for the first Nazi Party rally in Munich, Germany, January 28, 1923 |
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| Weimar Republic troops during revolutionary fighting in Berlin, Germany, spring 1919 |
Between the Wars: 1919-1935 ~~ Leaders of 27 Allied nations met at Versailles, France on January 18, 1919, to draft a treaty formally ending World War I. The treaty established the borders of 12 new countries in Europe and the Middle East, created from the former Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman and Russian empires. It also founded the League of Nations to settle future international disagreements. Treaty provisions also required Germany to accept blame for starting World War I, limited the size of its military, transferred ten percent of German territory and all colonies to foreign control and required $33 billion in reparations to the Allies beginning in 1921. Representatives of the German Weimar Republic, established February 6, 1919, resentfully signed the Versailles Treaty on June 28, 1919.
Regardless of their optimism, the peacemakers created a flawed treaty unsatisfactory to many nations. The League of Nations lacked the organization and power to offset future aggression. Many of the newly created nations, some remaining under European control, contained a variety of ethnic, religious, and cultural groups whose animosity led to future conflicts. In Germany, the forced acceptance of the harsh treaty terms and severe reparation payments led many rival political groups to blame the representatives of the Weimar Republic.
By the 1930s, world-wide economic depression, vivid memories of the past war, and passive League of Nations responses to aggression encouraged expansionist policies in Japan, Italy and Germany. The predominately isolationist foreign policy of the United States sought to keep the nation free of European problems. Given the flaws of the Versailles Treaty, a weak League of Nations, and world-wide economic depression, aggressor nations in Europe and Asia exploited the opportunity for nationalist, political, and territorial expansion.
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| U.S. Carrier Personnel Half-Track M3 |
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| Members of the 113th Cavalry Squadron pose on their M3 Half-Track with members of the Smeets Family at the first farm liberated in Holland, September 13, 1944 |
The U.S. used half-tracks throughout World War II as troop carriers, anti-tank gun mounts, scout vehicles, ambulances, and anti-aircraft gun mounts. Over 41,000 half-tracks of various models were built by four manufacturers: Autocar, Diamond-T, International-Harvester, and White Motor Company.
D-Day -- Invading Fortress Europe ~~ By the end of 1940, Northwestern Europe was under German control. Fortifications were constructed to defend against attack, with the highest concentration of gun emplacements, beach obstacles and mines located along the narrowest portion of the English Channel.
Planning for the Allied cross-channel attack, code-named "Operation Overlord," began in 1942. The coast of Normandy, France approximately 100 miles from Great Britain, was selected as the invasion site.
Before dawn on June 6, 1944, the first of 6,000 Allied warships of the largest invasion fleet in history arrived off the coast. Aerial bombardment and naval shelling began soon after against German fortification along and behind the invasion beaches.
Logistical problems, pre-invasion Allied deception, and delayed use of German armored units hindered an effective German response to the attack. By nightfall on June 16, 1944, more than 156,000 Allied troops were ashore and advancing inland at a cost of 2,500 U.S. killed out of 4,400 Allied dead. An additional 6,600 U.S. personnel were wounded. The liberation of Europe was underway.
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| The WWI Choctaw Code Talkers of the 142nd Infantry Regiment |
In the decisive final weeks of World War I, the commander of the 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Division, sought to reduce the level of messages intercepted by the Germans due to tapped frontline phone wires. A group of Choctaw Indians within the regiment were trained in telephone communication. The Choctaw messages, coded in their native language, proved impossible for the Germans to intercept. They were the first true "code talkers."
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| With the EE-8 field telephone close by, an observer from the 34th Infantry Division scans enemy territory during action in Italy |
Before the United States' entrance into World War II, the U.S. Army began working with a code derived from Native American languages. Much like those of WWI, these codes were to be used for secret military communications. The United States believed the code would prove difficult to break due to the complexity of Native American languages. Eighteen tribes, including the Meskwaki, were involved in the code talker program. The code talkers were trained to scout enemy positions and send radio messages targeting enemy troop movements to coordinate artillery fire.
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| The Meskwaki code talkers |
In early 1941, 27 Meskwaki men from Tama, Iowa, enlisted in the Iowa Army National Guard. Of the 27, eight were chosen as code talkers and assigned to Company H, 168th Infantry Regiment, 34th Division.
Korea, The Forgotten War ~~ On June 25, 1950, 75,000 soldiers of the North Korean army supported by Soviet built T-34 tanks attacked across the 38th Parallel dividing North and South Korea. Caught by surprise, the South Korean army and civilian refugees retreated, evacuating the capital of Seoul on June 27. The United Nations condemned the North Korean attack on June 25, and two days later passed Resolution 83 urging member nations to assist South Korea. President Harry Truman initiated U.S. air strikes to slow the invasion and ordered ground forces to Korea.
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| South Korean civilians flee the fighting in Seoul |
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| US Troops depart Japan for deployment to Korea, July 1950 |
Arriving in early July, U.S. and UN troops slowed the North Korean offensive. During July and into early September, UN forces withdrew south, trading space for time while equipment, troops and supplies arrived at the port city of Pusan. On September 15, 1950, U.S. Marine and Navy units launched an amphibious assault at the South Korean port of Inchon behind enemy lines. Concurrently, UN Forces counter-attacked northward from the "Pusan Perimeter," driving the North Korean army back across the 38th Parallel.
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| UN Troops cross the 38th Parallel |
Seeking to destroy the retreating forces, UN troops advanced toward communist China. The close proximity of US and South Korean troops triggered China's entry into the war in late November 1950. Attacking outnumbered U.S. Marine and Army units near the Chosin Reservoir, Chinese troops forced their retreat and evacuation. By the end of 1950, Chinese troops had pushed U.N. forces south to positions along the 38th Parallel. Between January 1951 and July 1953, the offenses waged by both sides to gain strategic ridges and hills saw minimal exchange of territory. Peace negotiations resulted in the signing of an armistice between Communist and U.N. forces on July 27, 1953, ending the fighting and establishing a demilitarized zone between North and South Korea until a permanent settlement was achieved. To this day, a treaty ending the Korean War remains elusive. U.S. Army General Omar N. Bradley described the fighting in Korea as "The wrong war, at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and with the wrong enemy."
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| Wounded Marines are loaded on an Army helicopter for evacuation to a MASH Unit, November 1950 |
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| U.S. Howitzer M2 |
Entering production in 1940, howitzers served with the majority of field artillery units during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
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| The Frozen Chosin |
A force of 120,000 Chinese soldiers attacked the U.S. Army X Corps in sub-zero temperatures on November 27, 1950, near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. After a brutal 17 day battle, the UN forces avoided destruction and made a fighting withdrawal to the port at Hungnam, where they were evacuated by ship in mid-December.
Photographer David Douglas Duncan captured this image of wounded and injured Marines of Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division during the withdrawal. Survivors of the engagement became known as "The Chosin Few."
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| Recovery for extreme frostbite could last 15 days |
Fighting the cold ~~ Extremely low temperatures encountered in Korea disabled soldiers as effectively as enemy bullets. World War II surplus cold weather gear, insufficiently issued before the advance into North Korea and not designed for the routinely sub-zero temperatures, led to cold weather casualties. During 1950, 1,791 frostbite cases were treated at Army hospitals. Sufficient quantities of winter clothing arrived during spring 1951. Despite training and experience, the bitterly cold Korean climate added personnel to the casualty lists during the remaining winters of the war.
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| U.S. Army M38 MC Jeep |
Willys Overland produced the M38 Jeep to replace the earlier World War II versions. Manufactured during 1950-1952, the M38 included improvements including a stronger frame and suspension. It could be driven completely submerged utilizing a waterproofed 24-volt 2-battery ignition system and a fording kit. An axe and shovel were mounted on the passenger side.
Weather effected vehicles as well as personnel. Cold temperatures thickened crankcase oil, froze radiator coolant and jelled hydraulic fluid. Unimproved rough, dusty roads and hot summer temperatures contributed to vehicle failures. Weather related breakdowns, preventative maintenance and repair time took tracked and wheeled vehicles off the roads and away from the front lines.
The F-86D Saber nose depicted here is painted in the markings of the fighter jet flown by U.S. Air Force Captain Harold E. Fischer, of rural Swea City. While flying with the 39th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, Fischer became the highest scoring Iowa pilot of the Korean War, shooting down 10 enemy MiG-15s. He was shot down in April 1953 after flying over 175 missions, and was kept by the Chinese as a prisoner until June 1955.
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| The North American F-86 Sabre |
The North American F-86 Sabre was the first U.S. Air Force swept wing fighter with hydraulic flight controls, good visibility, a pressurized cockpit, an ejection seat, and six .50 caliber nose-mounted machine guns.
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| The M-274 "Mule" |
The U.S. Military M274 Truck aka "Mule" was introduced in 1956 to supplement both Jeeps and 3/4 ton trucks in airborne and infantry battalions. The M-274 evolved from a vehicle designed at the end of World War II by Willys-Overland as a medical evacuation litter-carrier from difficult terrain. There were 11,240 Mules produced between 1956 and 1970, when production ceased. They were used as platforms for various weapons systems and for carrying men, supplies and weaponry during the Vietnam War and other U.S. military operations until the 1980s. As a completely open and exposed vehicle, they offered absolutely no protection to the driver, but were mainly used as cargo carriers and medium-range infantry support vehicles rather than tactical vehicles. The driver's seat could be removed and the steering column moved forward and the vehicle driven in reverse to accommodate more cargo. If under fire the steering column could be moved farther forward and down, so the operator could operate the vehicle while crawling behind it. They were phased out of military use in the late 1980s.
The "Tunnel Rat" on the right, wearing a third pattern tropical combat uniform made of rip-stop cotton poplin material, prepares to enter Viet Cong tunnel system armed with a pistol and flashlight. Personnel serving as tunnel rats were typically small in stature and better able to navigate the narrow, curving underground passages.
Viet Cong insurgents dug protective tunnels to escape artillery and mortar fire, store supplies, and avoid detection by U.S. search and destroy patrols. Tunnel systems were excavated below Vietnamese villages friendly to the communist Viet Cong designed with multiple hidden access points. Subterranean passages sometimes connected several villages.
The Viet Cong effectively used the tunnel systems to hide and ambush U.S. patrols from areas thought to be cleared. Larger tunnel systems contained hospitals, electrical generators, sleeping areas, workshops, supplies, and arms repair shops. Over 4,800 tunnels were discovered by U.S. forces by 1970. The most extensive system was built at Cu Chi outside Saigon and contained miles of tunnels on multiple levels.
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| The Ho Chi Minh Trail |
The Ho Chi Minh Trail was established in the 1950s as a foot-path along the western edge of North Vietnam extending southward toward the Demilitarized Zone. It was moved farther west and around the DMZ into Laos and Cambodia in 1961. From these protected areas the Viet Cong insurgents in South Vietnam received most of the vital supplies and personnel.
Weapons, ammunition, food and equipment were transported by foot, bicycles, and trucks. While bombing campaigns disrupted traffic along the trail the U.S. was never able to stop the flow of supplies and insurgent troops. An excess of 500,000 tons of material were transported along the network of paths and roads comprising the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
The bicycle exhibited here was discovered in a haystack with rocket rounds tied to it -- by U.S. Army troops of the 1st Air Cavalry Division south of Tay Ninh in March 1968. It was given to Chaplain Max E. Meier of Attica, Iowa. Chaplain Meier shipped the bike home when his tour of duty ended in 1969. The figure depicts a North Vietnamese soldier armed with an AK-47 assault rifle.
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| Bell UH-1D Iroquois "Huey" Helicopter |
The UH-1 symbolizes US military operations in Vietnam. Developed by Bell Helicopter to meet an Army requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter, the first HU-1 prior to September 1962 led to the helicopter's nickname of "Huey." Primary missions for the UH-1 included air assault, cargo transport, medical "dust off" evacuation, search and rescue, electronic warfare, ground attack and escort. Ground attack and escort versions carried rockets, grenade launchers, and machine guns. UH-1's configured for troop transports were nicknamed "Slicks" due to an absence of weapons pods on each side.
Employing lessons from the Korean War, the US Army utilized the UH-1D model extensively as a troop transport throughout Vietnam especially in jungle and mountainous areas. An early example of rapid and effective troop deployment to the battlefield was demonstrated by the 1st Cavalry Division (Air Mobile) victory over North Vietnamese forces in the Ia Drang Valley in November 1965.
The helicopter was the most essential component of the United States military campaign in Vietnam serving as a troop and supply transport, medivac, ambulance, and weapons platform. Helicopters allowed insertion, reinforcement, and removal of troops throughout the hills, jungles, and rice paddies of South Vietnam. Air mobility enabled U.S. troops to engage the enemy wherever and whenever possible in areas formerly inaccessible by infantry and armored units.
Thousands of lives were saved by the rapid evacuation of seriously wounded personnel from combat areas to U.S. military hospitals where essential treatment was quickly provided.
Booby-traps were one of the hazards to U.S. personnel serving in Vietnam. The Viet Cong dug pits of various depth covered with brush or thin material contained sharpened bamboo "punji" stakes dipped in human or animal feces mounted in the bottom. Rubber soled jungle boots did not stop the penetration of smaller trail spikes. The example here was recovered by Richard A. Jones while serving with the 527th P.S.C. in Qui Nhon, South Vietnam, 1967-1968.
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| A-7D Corsair II Cockpit Simulator |
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| A-7D Corsair II of the 124th Fighter Squadron, at the Des Moines Air Base, c. 1992 |
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| The Sullivan Brothers of Waterloo |
In February 1942, five brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, reported aboard the cruiser U.S.S. Juneau for service in the Pacific. Nine months later the Juneau was serving with a group of U.S. Navy ships in support of the Guadalcanal campaign. On Friday, November 13, 1942, the U.S. ships engaged a Japanese task force attempting to resupply troops on Guadalcanal. After a 45 minute fight in darkness and at close range, the U.S. lost four destroyers and a light cruiser. Japanese losses were one battleship and two destroyers. The Juneau was hit and severely damaged by a Japanese torpedo. After the battle, the surviving U.S. ships withdrew southeast.
Later that same day the Juneau was struck by one of three torpedoes fired by the Japanese submarine I-26. The torpedo hit the forward powder magazine causing a tremendous explosion, killing the sailors in the front half of the ship. The keel, damaged damaged from the prior torpedo hit earlier that morning, gave way causing the ship to buckle and sink within minutes. The sinking of the U.S. Juneau took the lives of the five Sullivan brothers. Tom and Alleta Sullivan received news of their sons' deaths in early January 1943. No other family during World War II suffered a greater loss.
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| U.S. Army Amphibious Operations |
Assault tactics developed by the U.S. Army on smaller Pacific islands were similar to those of the Marine Corps. Larger islands in the Southwest Pacific required the ability to land greater numbers of troops, artillery, armor and supplies in sufficient quantity to successfully engage enemy forces defending the islands. The longer coastlines of New Guinea and the Philippine archipelago allowed Army planners to select lesser- or non-defended areas for their landings. Allied control of Australia provided safe harbors to accumulate supplies transportable by specifically designed cargo ships to secured beaches in the areas of operation.
As U.S. forces captured more territory and islands in the Southwest Pacific, land-based Army Air Force and Marine aircraft delivered air support in addition to carrier based planes. The capture of Saipan, Guam and Tinian in mid-1944 allowed U.S. B-29 bombers flying from airfields on those islands to bomb Japan beginning in November 1944. U.S. Army and Marine Corps troops, with Navy and Coast Guard support, made 126 amphibious landings in the Pacific before the Japanese surrender in August 1945.
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| U.S. Army troops advancing at Baleta Pass, Luzon, Philippines, spring 1945 |
"We'd sleep in foxholes at night. You couldn't smoke, have any light or make any noise. We used passwords at night if we needed to communicate or leave our hole. They were two-part passwords and they'd be changed every night. Words containing the letter R were often used as the Japanese had difficulty pronouncing them." ~~ Private Ray Mourer, Rubio, Iowa, 37th Infantry Division, Bougainville Island, 1943
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| Mark 14 Air-Alcohol-Steam Torpedo |
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| Directional Sign |
Troops of the 1034th Quartermaster Supply Company, Iowa National Guard, constructed this directional sign at "Logistics Base Echo" in Saudi Arabia. The 1034th QM Company served at that location from January 21, 1991 to May 11, 1991. The sign was donated to the museum by the 1034th on July 3, 2002.
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| U.S. Army soldiers of the 3rd Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st AB Division |
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| A U.S. Marine holds a M249 light machine gun |
Operation Desert Shield -- Desert Storm ~~ The Gulf War, January 16, 1991 - February 28, 1992; Kuwait and Iraq
The rapid success of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990, brought their army within striking distance of Saudi Arabia's valuable oil fields. Control of these fields, in addition to Kuwait's and Iraq's reserves, would allow Iraq to control a large share of the world's oil supply. On August 7, 1990, the United States began deployment of military forces in "Operation Desert Shield" to halt further Iraqi aggression.
U.S. Navy surface ships were positioned in the Persian Gulf. Control of adjacent sea lanes allowed the safe arrival of U.S. and coalition personnel, supplies and equipment. Navy carrier fighters and patrol aircraft provided control of the airspace off the coast of Kuwait.
In the largest deployment of U.S. Army, Army Guard, and Army Reserve units since World War II, more than 200,000 soldiers arrived to protect Saudi Arabia from further Iraqi aggression.
The U.S. Air Force stationed fighter, attack, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, airlift, and tanker aircraft in the Persian Gulf region with the mission of defending Saudi Arabia and if needed destroying Iraqi military targets in support of a land attack against Kuwait.
Marine units deployed with the U.S. Navy. Positioned off the Kuwait coast, the threat of an amphibious attack kept Iraqi units from relocating to defend against a coalition attack into Kuwait or Iraq. Additional Marines are positioned inland and south of the Kuwaiti border.
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| M113A2 Armored Personnel Carrier |
The amphibious and air-droppable M113A2 Armored Personnel Carrier provided armored mobile protection for 11 soldiers in full combat gear plus the driver and track commander. During the Gulf War the M113A2 transported U.S. soldiers across vast areas of desert terrain.
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| Soldiers of Company C, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, pose by a destroyed Iraqi T-55 tank, February 1991 |
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| U.S. Marine Corps M1030B1 Motorcycle |
Adopted by the U.S. military in 1991, the M1030B1 was a modified Kawasaki KLR650 motorcycle. They were replaced by a multi-fuel engine version in 2005.
Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit load their M1030 motorcycles into a CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge during operations in the Mediterranean Sea April 18, 2005.
Col. Ben Corell, Commander, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th "Red Bull" Infantry Division, clutches the map case seen here as he braces against the rotor wash of a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter on March 28, 2011 during Operation Bullwhip. During Operation Bullwhip approximately 2,200 Afghan and coalition troops moved into the Galuch Valley, Laghman Province. Starting March 25, the Red Bull soldiers were to search out enemy personnel and equipment, so that Afghan government officials could assemble local leaders at a community meeting called a "shura" and subsequently establish a district-level presence.
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| Seabees and equipment of the Reserve Naval Construction Battalion 15, Des Moines, while serving in Iraq 2007-2008 |
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| High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle |
Entering service in 1985, Humvees are deployed in various configurations in support of U.S. missions. Experience in Iraq and Afghanistan has resulted in "armoured up" versions with heavier doors, windows and armour plating providing better protection from rocket propelled grenades, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and mines.
The Humvee on display here is fitted with a roof ring mount allowing a 360 degree direction of fire. This system supports a full range of weapons including the M240 7.62mm machine gun, M2 .50 caliber machine gun, M60 machine gun, MK 19 40mm grenade launcher or TOW anti-tank missile launcher.
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| Portrait of Dictator Saddam Hussein |
They had a portrait of Dictator Saddam Hussein on the wall. The painting was discovered face down on the floor of an abandoned Iraqi Army training base barracks at Taji, Iraq, about 23 miles north of Baghdad by Specialist Eric Lendt of Des Moines, Sergeant Donna Smith of Kelley and Specialist Jan Wysong of Des Moines while serving with the 185th Corps Support Battalion, Iowa National Guard. It was brought back to Iowa and donated to the museum.
The painting is one of the few pieces of public art depicting Saddam Hussein not destroyed by cheering Iraqis as U.S. troops liberated Iraq. Every home was to display a photo or likeness of Hussein during his reign. Thousands of paintings, statutes, and sculptures were placed in prominent public areas throughout Iraq. No matter where Iraqi citizens traveled, they were constantly watched by their dictator. As U.S. troops occupied areas of Iraq, citizens took to the streets to deface the images and statutes of their deposed leader under whose tyranny they had suffered for 24 years.
Saddam Hussein was captured by United States troops of the 4th Infantry Division on December 13, 2003. He was sentenced to death by the Iraqi High Tribunal in November 2006 and executed by hanging on December 30, 2006.
Sergeants Ross Muhlbauer and Jimmy Parker of Company D, 109th Aviation Battalion, Iowa Army National Guard, stand beside their UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter in Afghanistan while serving with the 160th Special Operation Aviation Regiment (Airborne), 2002.
The Global War on Terror 2001 - 2020 ~~
Operation Enduring Freedom ~~ A United States air campaign began on October 7, 2001 directed against Al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan. Following the introduction of U.S. troops into Afghanistan, Air Force, Navy, Marine, and Army aircraft have continued to support ground operations against terrorist targets.
Operation Iraq Freedom ~~ Unlike the prolonged air campaign that initiated the offensive against Iraq over a decade earlier, a massive but brief air campaign against Iraq began on March 19, 2003, in conjunction with ground forces attacking out of Kuwait.
Employing a majority (65%) of laser or satellite guided missiles and bombs U.S. aircraft struck command and control targets throughout Iraq with unprecedented accuracy. By early April, 85% of the air campaign was directed at destroying Iraq ground forces guarding the approaches to Baghdad and other cities. Following the defeat of the Iraqi Army and the rise of insurgent resistance, air assets were used to support counter-insurgency operations and target terrorists.
Desert Shield and Desert Storm 1990-1991 ~~ Operation Desert Storm began on January 17, 1991, with a six week air assault. Eight-hundred U.S. aircraft, in cooperation with the air forces of 11 other nations attacked locations in Kuwait and Iraq destroying key military, air defense, communication, transportation, and supply targets in Baghdad and at other locations.
Air strikes utilizing stealth technology achieved maximum destruction of targets in Kuwait and Iraq and achieved air supremacy. Demonstrating the global reach of U.S. air power, a 35-hour B-52 mission traveled 14,000 miles from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana -- the longest air mission in history -- was air refueled four times, launched cruise missiles at Baghdad targets, and returned home.
Although only 7% of the munitions used were laser guided missiles and bombs, within the first three to four hours of the air campaign Iraq's coordinated air defense control system had collapsed. By the end of the air campaign on February 28, more than 2,230 Allied aircraft had flown missions.
Air Force, Navy, Marine, and Army fixed and rotary wing aircraft provided support as Allied ground forces drove Iraqi units from Kuwait. The air attacks allowed ground troops to achieve a rapid and successful victory against Iraqi infantry and armored units.
The Fairchild A-10 Warthog, mounting a multi-barrel 30mm gun, was an effective anti-tank aircraft in Operation Desert Storm. Upgraded models later served in Afghanistan and Iraq during the War on Terror.
F-117 Nighthawk ground attack aircraft employed stealth technology to penetrate Iraqi air defense radar and accurately deliver laser guided munitions.
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| U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopters delivered close air support to advancing ground troops |
Operations in Afghanistan 2001-2019 ~~ The fundamentalist Islamic terrorist group Al Qaeda, under the direction of Osama bin Laden, was proven responsible for September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States. In response, the U.S. requested the Taliban controlled government in Afghanistan to surrender Bin Laden and others involved with the attacks for trial. The Taliban's refusal to comply resulted in the U.S. led "Operation Enduring Freedom."
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| Second Lieutenant Taylor Gingrich (R), 1-133rd, 34th Brigade Combat Team, during Operation Bullwhip, March 28, 2011 |
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| Sergeant Robert Streeter, Troop B, 1st Squadron, 113th Calvary Regiment, conducts a search of Qual-e Jala Village, Afghanistan, April 2011 |
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| A soldier of the 34th Infantry Brigade Combat team interacts with Afghani children, April 2011 |
A United States and Allied air campaign began on October 7, 2001, directed against Al Qaeda training camps. Coordinating with the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, U.S. ground units attacked and destroyed Al Qaeda and Taliban strongholds, captured and eliminated terrorist leadership and toppled the Taliban government. The assault effectively destroyed the effectiveness of Al Qaeda in the region and decreased the influence of the pro-terrorist Taliban regime. By December, Taliban forces had withdrawn from all major cities and were retreating into Southern Afghanistan and Pakistan.
A new democratic transitional government was formed in June 2002, followed later by the creation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The country held its first direct presidential election on October 9, 2004, and its first Afghan Parliamentary election on September 8, 2005.
Concurrently, Taliban and Al Qaeda insurgents began attacks against U.S. and Allied combatants. A significant blow to Al Qaeda was the death of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011, following a raid on his compound in Northeast Pakistan by U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6. The Taliban, Al Qaeda and their supporters are active in approximately half the country and continue to conduct raids and terrorist activities against Afghan and allied forces. U.S. and allied offensives against the Taliban have failed to fully defeat them. With the termination of OEF on December 28, 2014, Afghan forces have undertaken increasing responsibility for internal security. As of mid-2020, the United States is reducing troop strength in the region.
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| Pratt & Whiney Turbofan Jet Engine |
An F-80 Shooting Star preparing for takeoff at the Des Moines Air Base. The F-80 was the first jet fighter issued to the Air National Guard in 1953.
B-17 Flying Fortress at the Des Moines Air Base September 11, 1944. Note the cover hiding the features of the Norden Bombsight inside the nose.
F-980J Scorpion (Left) and F-84F Thunderstreak of the 132nd Tactical Fighter Wing, Des Moines Air Base, c. 1969
An Iowan in the Bulge ~~ Twenty-one year old First Lieutenant John Phillips, from Waterloo, a platoon leader in Company E, 424th Regiment, 106th Infantry Division, did not sleep indoors for 19 days during the brutal winter of 1945. While leading a patrol in late January near the village of Medell, Belgium, his unit was ambushed by German troops. Lt. Phillips was hit by automatic fire five times, tearing holes in the officer's shirt. A bullet entering near his heart was slowed down by passing through the Bible he carried in his pocket. After treatment by a German surgeon, he became a prisoner of war at Stalag VII.
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| First Lt. John Phillips |
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| The Bible John Phillips had in his pocket |
The Japanese Bombing of the United States ~~
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| Japanese Balloon |
On November 3, 1944, the Japanese began a bombing campaign of North America using incendiary and demolition bombs carried across the Pacific Ocean by hydrogen-filled balloons. Wind currents carried the balloons at average speeds of 70-100 mph. The rice paper or rubberized silk balloons used a set of aneroid barometers to electrically ignite fuses releasing sand-filled ballast bags to maintain an average altitude of 35,000 feet. After a travel time of four days the last of the fuses dropped four 10-pound incendiary bombs and one 33-pound anti-personnel bomb.
Over 9,000 balloon bombs were launched from Japan. The U.S. recorded 285 balloon incidents as far east as Michigan between November 4, 1944, and July 20, 1945. The only casualties from a balloon bomb explosion occurred near Bly, Oregon, killing five civilians on May 5, 1945.
At U.S. Government request, American journalists voluntarily omitted reports of the balloon bombs in print and radio news. As a result the Japanese, learning of only one balloon bomb landing in Wyoming, discontinued the program.
The map shows the sites of balloon bomb impacts in North American during World War II. Some were not found until years after the war.
First American Volunteer Group silk headquarters banner handmade in China. Following the disbanding of the "Flying Tigers" on July 4, 1942, the banner was brought to the United States.
Former 3rd Squadron AVG pilots strike a comical pose with the banner during a brief reunion in the fall of 1942.
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