Wilson History and Research Center (WHRC) was a non-profit

501C3 A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

charitable foundation that housed a private collection of twentieth century military headgear and other militaria in

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

. Robert M. Wilson, Jr. founded the WHRC in 2008. The collection was researched and presented online through the WHRC's website. The site contained over three thousand individual items. Its goal was to provide a catalog of every piece of military headgear from the twentieth century.

Highlights

The WHRC features the largest collection of military headgear in the world, according to the Book of Alternative Records. In addition to its collection, the WHRC has an exhibit design department that has created and displayed several exhibits in the local area, listed in detail below. Their website also provides a number of articles written by premier collectors of militaria, giving insight into the world of military headgear. Finally, the WHRC has published ''Exotische: Rare Cloth Headgear of the Third Reich'' and is currently working on future volumes as well as other books.

Archives

The WHRC collection features headgear from nearly every era of the twentieth century but especially focuses on World War I and World War II. The oldest piece in the collection is dated to the early 19th century, with the latest pieces coming from the War in Afghanistan and Iraq. A large number of countries are represented, including Kazakhstan, North Korea, and Andorra. Both military and some civilian headgear are represented, along with other items such as equipment, uniforms, flags, period photographs and personal items. While not every item in the collection is published on the website, the WHRC continues to update the site daily. The WHRC held several items of great historical significance and rarity. They were often featured on the front page of their website. These items included: * French Cavalry Helmet of General Victor d'Urbal * Imperial German Army Detachment Gaede Steel Helmet * U.S. Experimental Model 7 "Sentinel" Helmet * Bronze Cast of Marshal

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fr ...

's Right Hand Holding Marshals Baton * U.S. M1 Steel Helmet belonging to General William M. Hoge * U.S. Air Force Visor Hat of Chief of Staff General

Lew Allen, Jr. Lew Allen Jr. (September 30, 1925 – January 4, 2010) was a United States Air Force four-star general who served as the tenth Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. As chief of staff, Allen served as the senior uniformed Air Force officer ...

* U.S. Army Dress Visor Hat of General Omar Bradley * U.S. Navy Dress Bicorne Hat of Admiral John Sidney McCain, Sr. * Capt. Albert Sammt's Visor Hat of the ''

Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei (), abbreviated DZR, is a German limited-liability company that operates commercial passenger zeppelin flights. The current incarnation of the DZR was founded in 2001 and is based in Friedrichshafen. It is a subsidiar ...

'' * Grappling Hook used by

U.S. Army Rangers United States Army Rangers, according to the US Army's definition, are personnel, past or present, in any unit that has the official designation "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the US Army Ranger School, even if t ...

at Point du Hoc * German Kriegsmarine Visor Cap of U-Boat Captain

Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock Fregattenkapitän Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (11 December 1911 – 18 April 1986) was a submarine commander in the ''Kriegsmarine'' of Nazi Germany during World War II. He commanded four U-boats, including , a Type VIIC U-boat, which gained wi ...

* German M-42 Helmet with Embedded Mortar Fin

Exhibitions

The WHRC has created multiple exhibits for various places around Little Rock. An exhibit on the peace talks that ended World War I and World War II and exhibits on the German

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, rega ...

of the early 1920s were both on display at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. An exhibit on the Third Reich criminal court, titled Law in a Land Without Justice, was placed on display at the William H. Bowen School of Law.

Related writings

* ''Exotische: Rare Cloth Headgear of the Third Reich''. Privately Published 2010. * ''The American: the Life, Times, and War of Basil Antonelli''. Future publication

References

{{Reflist

External links

militaryheadgear.com

Basil Blog
Military and war museums in Arkansas Museums in Little Rock, Arkansas Non-profit organizations based in Arkansas 2008 establishments in Arkansas