Research & Collections
The Curatorial Department of the National Museum of the Pacific War is responsible for obtaining, preserving, preparing, and displaying 2D and 3D artifacts relevant to World War II in the Asiatic-Pacific theater.
The 3D collection contains over 60,000 items, from uniforms and heraldry to weapons and vehicles. The Center for Pacific War Studies, a part of the Curatorial Department, includes thousands of manuscript collections, oral histories, artwork, photographs, and publications. At any time, 2-3% of the 2D and 3D material housed at the National Museum of the Pacific War is on display, while the remainder is housed in collections storage. Within the Center for Pacific War Studies is the Carl I. Duncan Research Library, a robust collection of books on the Pacific War.
The National Museum of the Pacific War houses many one-of-a-kind items and continues to collect artifacts with intrinsic and historical value, specifically those having unique provenance. The collection constantly expands and offers a wealth of resources for history students, researchers, and families looking for primary materials related to the Pacific War.
Center for Pacific War Studies
The center is a premier destination for scholars of Pacific War history to locate and utilize primary source material.
Portal to Texas History
The Center for Pacific War Studies houses a vast array of primary resources that offer insights into the experiences of soldiers and their families during the Pacific War. To ensure wider accessibility to these materials, we have collaborated with the University of North Texas's Portal to Texas History. This endeavor is continuously in progress, with the addition of new content to the Portal at regular intervals.
Finding Aids
The Center for Pacific War Studies has an extensive collection of manuscripts, recordings, photographs, artwork, and publications, which can be accessed through the newly established database of finding aids.
Carl I. Duncan Research Library
The research library located in the Center for Pacific War Studies has a vast collection of books pertaining to World War II in the Pacific for researchers to access.
Oral History Spotlight
FORMER PHM2C LEE SOUCY’S MEMORIES OF DECEMBER 7, 1941
On 7 December 1941, during the beginning of the destruction at Pearl Harbor, U.S.S. Utah (BB-31) was struck by two torpedoes, capsized and quickly sank. Most of the fifty-eight officers and enlisted men from Utah’s crew that died are still entombed where the remains of the ship rest on the northwest side of Ford Island. What was it like to be on U.S.S. Utah and survive the attack?
