82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum

Description

The 82d Airborne Division was the first World War II combat division to establish its own museum dedicated to the telling of its history. The collection of the museum's artifacts began in 1945 in postwar Germany under the guidance of Major General James M. Gavin while the division performed occupation duty in Berlin. Upon the return of the division to Fort Bragg in 1946, a wooden building located on Butner Road was used as a museum to house all of the artifacts collected. In March of 1956, the 82d Airborne Division Historical Society was formally organized. One of its principle missions was to raise money to build a more permanent and modern museum building. Funding for the project came from sales of lifetime Historical Society memberships to current and past members of the 82d Airborne Division, the local business community, the 82d Airborne Division Association, and private donations. The new building, located on Ardennes Street, was dedicated in January of 1957. Since that time, there have been four major additions to the building: an exhibit wing (1967); new administrative space and theater (1980); gift shop expansion and an updated, larger theater (1992); and a research center (1999).