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Collections Specialist, Samantha Belles, in the National Museum of the American Sailor collections

Collections and Research

The mission of the National Museum of the American Sailor is to collect, preserve, and intepret the history of the United States Navy's Enlisted Sailor for the benefit of the U.S. Navy and the people of the United States. The Museum collects artifacts and archival material to fulfill our mission. Items in our collection include:

  • Uniforms
  • Items sailors carried
  • Flags
  • Photographs
  • Audio-visual materials
  • Pamphlets
  • Scrapbooks
  • Newspapers, including the largest collection of The Oscillator held by a Navy Museum  
  • Great Lakes Bulletin, the Navy's oldest continuously published base newspaper

NMAS features its collections in its exhibititions, and the collections serve as valuable research and reference materials. Please click here for more information about historical research.

If you have items that you think belong in the collection of the National Museum of the American Sailor, please click here to learn how to donate.