I recently graduated from the University of North Texas (UNT) with a BA in Music and a minor in History. At UNT, I entered metadata for the Portal to Texas History and became the student metadata lead for the National Museum of the Pacific War collections. This internship allowed me to continue working with the Museum’s personal materials while gaining experience for a career in music librarianship or audiovisual archives.

One meaningful collection I have worked with is the Fleet Radio Unit Pacific Map Collection, which documents naval activity and service members’ daily movements across the Pacific. Seeing the maps and photographs of the men who created them made the collection especially memorable.

The most rewarding part of my internship has been digitizing oral history cassette tapes. Hearing individuals describe their experiences in their own voices has strengthened my interest in audiovisual preservation and clarified my career goals.

I am beginning my second year as a master’s student in Library and Information Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, focusing on archives and preservation. My interest in military history, especially the Pacific War, drew me to the Museum and the opportunity to work directly with original materials.

The most interesting collection I have processed is the William Burt Lee Jr. Collection. Lee served as a Photographer’s Mate First Class aboard the USS Chenango from 1942 to 1945, documenting its aviation wing, Nagasaki, and the U.S. Marine Corps occupation of South Korea. His photographs of carrier aircraft and emergency landings were especially compelling to me.

The most rewarding part of my internship has been preserving history for future researchers. Knowing my work may someday help students and scholars makes the experience especially meaningful.

I am a Museum Studies and Anthropology major at the University of Pittsburgh. After interning with the National Army Museum in London, I developed a strong interest in cataloging and museum collections. That experience inspired me to pursue a collections internship at the National Museum of the Pacific War.

One of the most memorable artifacts I have cataloged is a large, hand-painted flag created for Operation Magic Carpet. When fully unfolded, it stood nearly twice my height. I was fascinated by the visible pencil marks beneath the painted lettering and image of a sailor riding a flying carpet. Originally used as a signal, the flag can now also be preserved as an artistic piece of history.

The most rewarding part of my internship has been gaining practical experience handling, cataloging, and tagging uniforms, medals, and other wartime artifacts.