How to Search Still Photographs for Army Personalities

by Sarah Bseirani, posted in Photographs, Still Pictures, U.S. Army

For an overview of Military Personnel Photographs, please see our website https://www.archives.gov/research/still-pictures/military-personnel-photographs. Searching for photographs of specific service members can be difficult. Within the holdings of the Still Picture Branch we have personality indexes can help assist in the search for specific individuals in the military. The Army’s personality index titled 111-PX: Index to Personalities … Continue reading How to Search Still Photographs for Army Personalities

Highlights from the War Department Map Collection

by Brandi K Oswald, posted in Architectural and Engineering Drawings, Cartographic Records, Civil War, Digitization, forts, Maps, Military, railroads, U.S. Army, Uncategorized

The Cartographic Branch is digitizing the Record Group 77, War Department Map Collection (NAID 305808), which consists of maps of both the United States and foreign areas. At this time, only the maps relating to the United States have been digitized, although we hope to digitized the foreign maps in the future. The United States … Continue reading Highlights from the War Department Map Collection

VE Day in Color

by chucik, posted in Archives, Films, Military, Motion Pictures, U.S. Army, Uncategorized, women in the military, womens history, World War II

Still from 18-SFP-9148 Meeting at Torgau The Germany city of Torgau is located on the banks of the Elbe River just 100 miles from the county's capital of Berlin. It is there that American and Soviet forces met on April 25, 1945 marking the end of World War II in Germany. Twelve days later, on … Continue reading VE Day in Color

The Land of the Morning Calm: U.S. Army Films from the Korean War

by Ken Myers, posted in Motion Pictures

Korea has long been known as the “Land of the Morning Calm”, a reference to the region’s natural beauty and tranquility. This tranquility has been belied by some seven decades of conflict, from the Korean War through to the present day. Today we will take a look at two different eras of that conflict from … Continue reading The Land of the Morning Calm: U.S. Army Films from the Korean War

Lighting the Way: RG 26 Lighthouse Plans & Maps Now Digitized

by Amanda Pritchard, posted in Architectural and Engineering Drawings, Cartographic Records, Digitization, Lighthouses, Maps

Lighting the way for centuries, lighthouses continue to serve as a navigational aid for sailors at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses warn mariners of hazards such as reefs and rocks, guide ships to safe harbors, and help sailors establish their position. The Cartographic branch of the National Archives holds numerous drawings and maps of … Continue reading Lighting the Way: RG 26 Lighthouse Plans & Maps Now Digitized

Duck and Cover in the Family Fallout Shelter: Civil Defense Preparedness in the Cold War Era

by Jake A Miller, posted in Motion Pictures

On September 23, 1949, President Harry S. Truman released a brief statement to the press stating that within recent weeks, an atomic explosion had been detected within the U.S.S.R, signaling the start of a new arms race. In order to ease Americans' fears and coordinate civil defense strategies between the federal, state, and local governments, … Continue reading Duck and Cover in the Family Fallout Shelter: Civil Defense Preparedness in the Cold War Era

Searching the National Archives Catalog for Still Photographs

by Kaitlyn Crain Enriquez, posted in Photographs, Still Pictures

The following guide describes various methods that can be used when searching the National Archives Catalog for photographs. While photographs can be found in regional facilities and presidential libraries, for the purpose of this post, the methods focus on searching the Catalog for photographs specifically held by the Still Picture Branch. Keyword Searching Generally most … Continue reading Searching the National Archives Catalog for Still Photographs

Spotlight: Saving Time with “A Step Saving Kitchen”

by Katherine M Stinson, posted in Films, Motion Pictures, Photographs

Since many of us have been spending more time in our kitchens cooking lately, we thought this would be a good time to highlight the film A Step Saving Kitchen (16-P-1783).  It comes from the Records of the Department of Agriculture, in the series "Public Information and Training Motion Picture and Television Productions, 1990 – … Continue reading Spotlight: Saving Time with “A Step Saving Kitchen”

Mobile Libraries: Culture on the Go

by US National Archives, posted in Films, Motion Pictures, Photographs, United States Information Agency (USIA)

Today’s post is written by Joseph Smith, who volunteers at the National Archives at College Park.  National Bookmobile Day is April 22, part of National Library Week (April 19-25).  A library is a place that stores information, a place where people from all walks of life have the opportunity to obtain textual and audiovisual material … Continue reading Mobile Libraries: Culture on the Go