2026 is off to a strong start, marked by an increase in research visits and a steady influx of artifact donation offers. To date, our Collections Committee has accepted 44 donations into the collection.

The morning began with a ribbon cutting ceremony and remarks from Commissioner George P. Bush, Texas Historical Commission Chairman John L. Nau, III, and Admiral Nimitz Foundation CEO Rorie Cartier. Four World War II veterans were also honored on stage, grounding the moment in the living history that continues to guide our work.

Among the incredible range of letters, firearms, scrapbooks, and photographs is a particularly significant addition generously donated to the museum by Chairman John L. Nau III.

The acquisition, “This is Sad Sack Calling Charlie Blue,” is an original graphite and ink drawing by renowned artist Tom Lea. As a civilian war correspondent and artist for LIFE magazine, Lea accompanied the 1st Marine Division during the invasion of Peleliu in September 1944. He later described the scene of this drawing in his book Peleliu Landing.

“We found the battalion commander sitting on a smashed wet log in the mud, marking positions on his map. By him sat his radioman, trying to make contact with company commands on the portable set propped up in the mud. There was infinitely tired and plaintive patience in the radioman’s voice as he called code names, repeating time and again, ‘This is Sad Sack calling Charlie Blue. This is Sad Sack calling Charlie Blue—’”

This remarkable piece is now on exhibit in our Peleliu gallery

With more than 21,000 digitized archival items now accessible through the Portal to Texas History, we are seeing a corresponding rise in both research requests and in-person visits. Increased accessibility to our collections has also enabled the development of new academic partnerships. Most recently, we have partnered with the University of Portsmouth, home to a dedicated graduate program in Naval and Maritime Studies, to serve as a resource for student research on World War II in the Asia-Pacific theater.