Week 5

 Hello readers! This week I continued to accessioning and analyze the Vacanti collection. I’d like to talk about the reserves in the Navy and how they are different from active duty. First I wanted to verify if LCDR Vacanti was in the reserves or active navy. 

When I first started looking through the Vacanti collection I noticed he was listed as LCDR Vacanti USNR. The USNR typically stands for United States Navy Reserve so I assumed he was in the reserves at least when he got out of the Navy. I asked his family when they came to visit the museum how long he had been in the Reserves and they didn’t seem to think he had ever been in the Reserves. They were also kind enough to leave a collection of Salvatore’s old military records. This allowed me to clarify that he had been in the reserves. A document, presented below, was quite clear that he had been a Reservist Officer in 1965 when he was first promoted to LCDR. On a more technical level I looked at his Officer designator 1315. The first 3 digits, 131, designate him as an Aviation Line Officer while the last digit, 5, designates a Reserve Officer. As far as I can tell this was his designator for the entire time he was in. 

“So how was he on “normal” Navy Duties the entire time he was in if he was a reservist?” is the natural question I assume most people would be asking right about now. While Vacanti was a reservist, he was still on active duty orders. What that means in practice is that he was sitting in the job that an active duty sailor would but he was still on the books a Reservist. Normally reservists do this for short periods of time but occasionally they do so for longer. Usually how often they can pick up orders is based on “Needs of the Navy”. I’m speculating a bit here but I would imagine that the navy has always had a need for pilots so any reservist pilot who wanted to pick up active orders could do so. I’m not sure at what point Vacanti became a reservist so I'll have to look through his records to see when that exact period occurred. It is just a little wackiness of the way navy billeting works. 

To sum up it would appear that Salvatore Vacanti was a Naval Reservist who had picked up active orders for the ~15 years he was an officer. The difference between that and an Active Duty Sailor is largely pedantic but I think it's an interesting distinction and how he served throughout his Navy Career. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 2

Image
               Hello readers! The second week of my internship saw me continuing my work on the exhibit showcasing the military career of Lieutenant Commander Salvatore Vacanti. A veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam Wars, Vacanti's legacy is preserved in a collection of memorabilia generously donated by his daughter. My task is to transform these items into an engaging and informative exhibit. I began by carefully examining the collection, hoping to uncover compelling artifacts that would capture visitors' attention. One of the earliest items I encountered was a World War II ration card. Issued to Salvatore when he was only eleven years old, the card still retains four stamps. Holding this tangible piece of history sparked a personal connection, as I am currently enrolled in a World War II history class where we recently discussed the global impact of the Great Depression. My research also led me to explore the Navy's use of blimps during ...
Read more

Week 1

       Greetings, readers. I'm Trent Chamberlain, and this is my blog chronicling my Spring 2025 internship experience.  I'm thrilled to be working at the Military History Museum in Kissimmee. This week provided an initial immersion into the museum's operations and the scope of my internship project.   I had the pleasure of meeting with Mr. Harrison Smith, the museum's Collections Manager. Mr. Smith generously took time off from his other job to provide me with a comprehensive orientation.  I was grateful that he took the time to make sure I was properly informed at the museum. We began with a tour of the museum, where Mr. Smith highlighted recent improvements he has spearheaded. Witnessing the transformation of the museum's public spaces firsthand was impressive.   The museum's collection is extensive, spanning various eras of military history. I was particularly intrigued by the exhibit dedicated to the Civil War, showcasing an array o...
Read more

Week 3

Image
 Hello readers. This week, I continued my internship working on the Vacanti Collection. This collection comprises; personal artifacts, documents, photographs, etc. belonging to LCDR Vacanti. I spent the majority of this week accessioning the collection into our system. This process is crucial to ensure that nothing gets misplaced in storage and to get a detailed inventory of every item. Also, this week, I started to examine the various medals that LCDR Vacanti received during his military service. His medals illustrate the diverse areas where he served his country. He has two World War II occupation medals: one for Asia and one specifically for China. These medals were awarded to service members who served in those regions while the Allies occupied them following World War II. He also has service medals for both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. These were given to all service members who served "in country" in each of the respective wars. And, of course, he has a National Defense...
Read more