he idea for a museum to honor veterans originated in the mid-1990’s with a group of Vietnam veterans in Manassas, Virginia. In 2003, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors decided to expand that vision and to support the development of a national museum with a broader goal—to honor all who served our country in times of war both on the home front and on the battlefront from all military branches and during all major conflicts from World War I forward.

The National Museum of Americans in Wartime™ was chartered as a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization (its original name was the National Museum of Military History)in 2003 under the leadership of a Board of Trustees. Start-up funding was obtained from 2004-2007 from Congress, the Commonwealth of Virginia, Prince William County, and private donors.


American servicemen, former
prisoners of war, are cheering as
their aircraft takes off from an airfield
near Hanoi as part of Operation
Homecoming in February 1973.
 

A National Advisory Board and National Steering Committee were created and expanded, along with the Board of Trustees, in 2006-2007, and Museum staff members where hired in summer of 2007.

The Board of Trustees is the voting body that sets policies and provides the vision for the Museum.
For a list of the Museum's leadership, click here.

The Museum’s official founding campaign began in January 2008.