California State Military Museums Program, California Military Department

An Air Force Television New segment produced by the California Air National Guard's 146th Airlift Wing documenting their participation in the joint American-Ukrainian joint medical response exercise, Exercise ROUGH & READY 2000 held in Ukraine, 16-20 May 2000. California Military Department Historical Collection No 2020.56.14

This morning, the California State Military Museums Program received two Civil War muzzle-loading M-1861 3-Inch Ordnance Rifles that were modified into breech-loading salute guns in 1905. These are two of the 20 such conversions. Formerly located at the Long Beach Seventh Street Armory, the two guns will be placed at the new Joint Forces Headquarters currently under construction in Rancho Cordova. We would like to thank Sergeant Antonio Mendoza and Specialist Zachary Connell...y from the US Property and Fiscal Office Transportation Branch for transporting these historic cannons to our storage site in Sacramento. California Military Department Historical Collection Nos. 2013.019.015 and 2013.019.016

Many thanks to 1SG John "JJ" Moore for gifting the final guidon of the 126th Medical Company (Air Ambulance), a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation streamer, and his maroon aircrew baseball cap to the California Military Department Historical Collection. As with the other guidons from the Mather Field Armory, this guidon and streamer will be conserved and professionally framed in order to be displayed at the armory. We are also looking for the items from the unit's history,... such as the old two-piece flight suits, preferably with the 175th Medical Brigade and 129th insignia applied. Thanks again JJ! California Military Department Historical Collection Accession No. 2020.55

A digitized video produced by the 185th Quartermaster Petroleum Supply Battalion documenting the pre-mobilization train up and mobilization of the Fresno-based 1072nd Transportation Medium Truck Company (PLS), California National Guard, Camp Roberts circa 2003 California Military Department Historical Collection No. 2020.56.12

Celebrating together while apart. Join us for the Grand Opening Ceremony livestream on November 11, 2020, at 2 pm EST: dvidshub.net/webcast/25129 #WorthTheWait #USArmyMuseum

CALIFORNIA MILITARY DEPARTMENT HISTORICAL COLLECTION ARTIFACTS OF THE DAY. Last week, our chief curator picked up and accessed three guidons from the Mather Field Armory to the California Military Department Historical Collection. These guidons, representing the following units are now undergoing the preservation and framing process and will be returned to the armory to be placed in the soon to be established heritage room. - Company F, 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regimen...t (CMD Historical Collection No. 2020.54.3) - Company C, 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation Regiment (CMD Historical Collection No. 2020.54.2) - Unofficial guidon, 3rd Forward Support Team, 126th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) (CMD Historical Collection No. 2020.54.1) Does anyone know where the guidon(s) from the 126th Medical Company is? Also collected and put into the preservation process was a large color photographic print of Task Force MEDEVAC dated 2016. (CMD Historical Collection No. 2020.54.4)

CALIFORNIA MILITARY DEPARTMENT HISTORICAL COLLECTION ARTIFACT OF THE DAY. Today we highlight one of the lesser-known sidearms of the Second World War II. Transferred to the collection from the California Highway Patrol is this Polish Vis pistol made by Fabryka Broni (Arms Factory) in the city of Radom. Per Wikipedia:... Vis (Polish designation Pistolet wz. 35 Vis, German designation 9 mm Pistole 35(p), or simply the Radom in English sources) is a 919mm caliber, single-action, semi-automatic pistol. Its design was inspired by American firearms inventor John Browning's 9mm "Browning GP" pistol which was completed after Browning's death by designers at Fabrique Nationale in Herstal Belgium. Production of the Vis began at the Fabryka Broni arms factory in Radom in 1935 and was adopted as the standard handgun of the Polish Army the following year. The pistol was valued by the Germans and towards the end of the war issued to German paratroopers. Largely based on the Browning Hi-Power and using 9 mm rounds, the Vis is highly prized among collectors of firearms. California Military Department Historical Collection No. 2013.029.021

A digitized 1999 California Military Department produced video celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the California National Guard. California Military Department Historical Collection No 2020.56.11

An undated, digitized video of pilots and ground crews of the California Air National Guard's Fresno Air National Guard Base stationed 144th Fighter Wing. California Military Department Historical Collection No. 2020.56.10

Don will be missed by not only the Camp Roberts Historical Museum but the entire California Military Department Historical Program.

Our chief curator visited our textile conservator to check on the progress of stabilizing the battalion color of the 1st California Field Artillery Battalion, now the 1st Battalion, 143rd Field Artillery Regiment headquartered in Richmond, California. Issued to the battalion, then headquartered in Oakland, in 1912 and is undergoing stabilization by stitching the damaged flag to like color and shade piece of rayon so that missing areas are not so obvious. The current process ...is about 80% complete. The next phase will involve mounting it to an acid-free foamboard before framing it with ultraviolet protective acrylic. This will further stabilize the flag and allow it to be displayed. After it is completed, the battalion's national color and the 1901 organizational color of the California Coast Artillery Corps. California Military Department Historical Collection No. 2008.35.57

Photos of the 1941 185th Infantry Regiment Unit Yearbook. California MIlitary Department Historical Collection

Photos of the 1929 History and Rhymes of the Lost Battalion. 160th Infantry Special Collection, California Military Department Historical Collection

This is a photo of the Camp Roberts Historical Museum annex now .

Yesterday, the California Military Department Historical Collection received two photographs of the California State Guard's Yreka-based Company G, 10th Infantry Regiment taking part in that city's 1942 Army Day parade held on 1 May 1942. These soldiers are wearing the standard Army khaki uniform with the required blue stripe on the cuff worn by some. They are armed with the Army supplied Remington-Eddystone M1917 .30-06 Caliber Rifle and bayonet. California Military Departm...ent Historical Collection Nos. 2020.49.10 and 2020.49.11. California National Guard

A Memorial Ceremony honoring Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Robert Brandt will be live-streamed here on the Cal Guard Facebook page at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. The U.S.... Army aviator's long and distinguished military career included a deployment to Vietnam where he was awarded a Purple Heart and serving as Assistant Adjutant General of the California Army National Guard. Check back here to watch the ceremony live as it happens as the Cal Guard commemorates the life of Maj. Gen. Brandt who passed earlier this year. See more

CALIFORNIA MILITARY DEPARTMENT HISTORICAL COLLECTION ARTIFACT OF THE DAY. Today we highlight our "US Rifle, 7.62mm, M1916" with its associated bayonet. What? M1916 Rifle? Never heard of it. Well, there was such a rifle, but it was better known as the M1891 Mosin-Nagant. In this case, both the rifle and bayonet were made by the Remington Arms Company of Ilion, New York for the Imperial Russian Army.... Per Wikipedia: With the start of World War I, production was restricted to the M1891 dragoon and infantry models for the sake of simplicity. Due to the desperate shortage of arms and the shortcomings of a still-developing domestic industry, the Russian government ordered 1.5 million M1891 infantry rifles from Remington Arms and another 1.8 million from New England Westinghouse Company in the United States in 1915. Remington produced 750,000 rifles before production was halted by the 1917 October Revolution. Deliveries to Russia had amounted to 469,951 rifles when the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ended hostilities between the Central Powers and Russia. Henceforth, the new Bolshevik regime of Vladimir Lenin canceled payments to the American companies manufacturing the MosinNagant (Russia had not paid for the order at any time throughout the Great War). With Remington and Westinghouse on the precipice of bankruptcy from the Communists' decision, the remaining 280,000 rifles were purchased by the United States Army. American and British expeditionary forces of the North Russia Campaign were armed with these rifles and sent to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk in the late summer of 1918 to prevent the large quantities of munitions delivered for Czarist forces from being captured by the Central Powers. The remaining rifles were used for the training of U.S. Army troops. Some were used to equip State/Home Guard units, Student Army Training Corps (SATC), and Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) units. Designated "U.S. Rifle, 7.62mm, Model of 1916", these are among the rarest of American service arms. In 1917, 50,000 rifles were sent via Vladivostok to the Czechoslovak Legions in Siberia to aid in their attempt to secure passage to France. Many of the New England Westinghouse and Remington MosinNagants were sold to private citizens in the United States before World War II through the office of the Director of Civilian Marksmanship, the predecessor to the federal government's current Civilian Marksmanship Program. California Military Department Historical Collection Nos. 2008.9.30 and 2020.52.32.

Display case at 185th Infantry Regimental Room