Description: Not only did the Smithsonian research in Washington, D.C., inform the course of World War II, the war also shaped the collections and research of the Smithsonian. Military medical staff sent thousands of specimens of disease carrying insects to the museum for identification. Soldiers stationed in far-flung locations provided the Smithsonian with collecting opportunities that
Description: A twentieth century Renaissance man, Louis R. Purnell lived a remarkable life. His career began in the skies above Italy and Germany, where he flew 88 combat missions as an original member of the Tuskegee Airmen. After the war, while working at the National Museum of Natural History, he traveled the world’s oceans collecting marine specimens, taught himself geology and