Don't miss this Friday's Speaker Series - Cold War Massachusetts: Hidden Infrastructure and the Legacy of Preparedness. Dec. 12th, 2:30 to 3:30. See: www.americanheritagemuseum.org/event/speaker-series-cold-war-massachusetts-hidden-infrastructure-...
Bob Tyce and the Attack on Pearl Harbor![]()
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#AmericanHeritageMuseum #VisitMA #militaryhistory #historymuseum #WWII #ww2 #WorldWarII #worldwar2 #army #tanks #worldoftanks #tanknerd #PearlHarbor #neverforget
As part of our commitment to community engagement, the American Heritage Museum will offer free admission to all residents of Hudson and Stow this weekend - December 6th and 7th. Hope you can make it!
Today, December 4th, 2025, marks the 75th anniversary of Captain Thomas J. Hudner Jr's valiant attempt to rescue Ensign Jesse L. Brown in the Chosin Reservoir.![]()
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On December 4, 1950, Hudner, a native of Fall River, Massachusetts, and Brown, one of the first African-American U.S. naval aviators, were part of a flight of F4U Corsair fighter planes tasked with supporting U.S. Marine ground forces in Korea. During their mission, Ensign Brown's aircraft was struck by small arms fire, forcing him to crash-land in the Chosin Reservoir.![]()
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Shortly after, Captain Hudner intentionally crash landed his own airplane in the reservoir and rushed to Brown's crash site to try and rescue him. Upon arriving at the now burning wreck, he found that Brown's legs were pinned in the cockpit. A rescue helicopter arrived shortly after and Hudner, accompanied by the pilot, tried for 45 minutes to free Brown to no avail. ![]()
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Ensign Brown passed away shortly after from blood loss and exposure to extreme cold, and Hudner was forced to leave his body and evacuate by helicopter.![]()
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Captain Hudner was awarded the Medal of Honor on April 13th, 1951, for his actions and met Brown's widow, Daisy, during the ceremony. The two would stay in contact for the next 50 years.![]()
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The book "Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Brotherhood and Sacrifice " by Adam Makos details the entire ordeal, with a film adaptation which premiered in 2022.![]()
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Today, we remember and honor Captain Hudner and Ensign Brown for their valiant service and sacrifices made in the pursuit of freedom.
The answer to the “What is it? Wednesday” question from November 26th is the hood ornament on our 1942 Buick! This car was one of the last produced at Buick's plant in Flint, Michigan in 1942. Buick was one of many companies who, after the United States entered WWII, stopped producing civilian goods and began the production of war goods.![]()
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Stay tuned for the next “What is it? Wednesday” question tomorrow, December 3rd at 10:00 am EST!![]()
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#americanheritagemuseum #whatisitwednesday
At the American Heritage Museum you explore America’s conflicts, beginning with the Revolutionary War to today. You’ll discover, and interact with, our heritage through the History, the national effort developing new technologies of warfare, and the Human Impact of America’s fight to preserve the freedom we all hold dear.
The American Heritage Museum is housed in a 66,000 + square foot building located at the Collings Foundation’s headquarters in Stow, Massachusetts. The concept of the American Heritage Museum began when the Foundation was selected to receive the massive collection of tanks, armored vehicles and military artifacts from the family of Jacques M. Littlefield in 2013.
Receiving this historically important and extensive collection was a tremendous honor for the Collings Foundation. Exhibiting these artifacts in the most meaningful way possible is our goal. We designed the American Heritage Museum to fully engage people in 
understanding our turbulent past. In this remarkable place, American history will be explored, studied and most of all, remembered. Through educational interpretation, and a chronologically arranged series of dioramas and exhibits, the American Heritage Museum brings the history of our veterans to life.
Among the staggering variety of rare relics, the American Heritage Museum features over eighty tanks and major artifacts with several that are the only ones on public display in North America. These include: M1A1 Abrams Tank, T-34 Tank, Kommandogerrat 40 German Rangefinder, Leichter Panzerspähwagen SdKfz 222 Armored Vehicle, Matilda MK.II Tank, Jumbo Sherman Tank, IS-2 Tank, Vickers Mk. VI A, Panzer 1 Tank, SCUD B Missile and Launcher, Ho-Ro mobile artillery and many more.
