Week 6

     Hello readers! This week I made real headway with accessioning the Vacanti Collection. I was able to complete the second of three boxes. Of note I was able to find Salvatore Vacanti’s job role while he was an enlisted man. In the collection were three graduation cards from early in his enlisted career that specified the technical schools he attended. I have linked them below. 

Two of the schools were familiar to me. The class A school is the school that all sailors go to to determine their job, or rate. Vacanti’s rank was Aviation machinist mate or AD. This is why his rank is listed as AD3 on the last document, which is short for Aviation Machinist Mate Third Class. Before that he was an AN, or airman, the aviation version of a seaman. The Second school I recognized was a Class C school. This is a school that allows sailors to specialize within their specific field. In this case Vacanti attended a Helicopter Maintenance course as his specialization within the Aviation Machinist Mate community. 

The Third school was a class P school, which I had never heard of before. I was able to track down an article in Naval Aviation News from 1947. It described that p schools were new “prep” schools that would be used for every sailor within a specific field. In this case all enlisted aviators would go to the same prep school before being sent to their respective A schools. As the article puts it “In many ways, Aviation Fundamentals is the most important of the training schools. At this school, all recruits slated for aviation duty undergo the primary training that

is the foundation for their entire future career in the Navy.”

It was great to find Vacanti’s job role while he was an enlisted man. It will help during the early portions of my exhibit. I think that by demonstrating the career path from Airman Vacanti to LCDR Vacanti will help people understand what life was like for sailors in the 50’s and 60’s. 


  1. “Naval Aviation News.” Navy History, n.d. https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/Naval%20Aviation%20News/1940/pdf/aug47.pdf.




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