The War Beneath the Waves Mary Sears and the Navys Oceanographic Unit Current Exhibit … After World War II, Mary Sears was promoted to lieutenant commander and served as officer in charge of the Navy’s new Division of Oceanography. She retired as a commander in the Navy Reserve in 1963.  Mary Sears posing behind stacks of work, January 1, 1960. Photo courtesy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Archives After World War II, Mary Sears was promoted to lieutenant commander and served as officer in charge …

Freedmens Bureau Marriage Records Ongoing Exhibit … The Freedmen’s Bureau helped newly freed people legalize their marriages. After the Civil War, the federal government established a War Department agency to help Americans transition from slavery to freedom. The Freedmen’s Bureau (1865–72) issued rations, operated hospitals and helped establish schools and unite families. It worked to resolve labor disputes and negotiate labor contracts. It also presided over and documented marriages between freed …

Betty Ford Raising Breast Cancer Awareness Past Exhibit … Cancer wherever it strikes the body, also strikes the spirit, and the best doctors in the world can't cure the spirit, only love and understanding can.  — Betty Ford, November 7, 1975 View Gallery Betty Ford's remarks to the American Cancer Society Just weeks after she became First Lady, Betty Ford was diagnosed with breast cancer. On September 26, 1974, doctors discovered a lump in her breast during a routine medical examination. She underwent a …

The Emancipation Proclamation and Juneteenth Ongoing Exhibit … Milestones in the long struggle for American freedom Emancipation Proclamation President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached the third year of the Civil War. Lincoln's proclamation, which declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free,” was “a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing rebellion.” The Proclamation also …

80 Years Since the End of World War II Current Exhibit … World War II, the deadliest military conflict in history, ended six years and one day after the war erupted in Europe. On September 2, 1945, just four months after Nazi Germany’s surrender, Japanese officials issued an imperial order and signed a formal surrender ending hostilities in the Pacific Theater. Instrument of Surrender, September 2, 1945. Records of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff View in the National Archives Catalog Instrument of …