With over 100,000 artifacts the The Miami Valley Military History Museum outgrow their home since January 2007 at the Dayton VA Medical Center. Today they opened at their brand new home in the heart of downtown Fairborn. The museum is located at 4 East Main Street, the site of the former Faith Christian Bookstore on the corner of Main Street and Central Avenue.
The Miami Valley Military History Museum was established to:
- Perpetuate and preserve the memory of the veterans of our Armed Forces past, present, and future
- Establish a permanent military history museum as a repository for artifacts and research materials
- Highlight the military history of local communities and the state of Ohio
- Foster patriotism and respect for veterans and the Armed Forces.
The displays begin with the Revolutionary War, and include the history of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (the “Soldiers Home”, now the Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center), and continue through the Spanish-American War, both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, Operations DESERT STORM, ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM and Military Operations Other Than War (MOOTW) such as Lebanon, Grenada, and Panama.
All ranks and branches of the service are represented – you’ll have the opportunity to see artifacts belonging to privates and generals alike, as well as relics from the opposing side in each conflict. For those interested in World War II, one of our prized artifacts on display is a piece of the USS Arizona, generously donated by the United States Navy. Listen to authentic WWII news broadcasts in our Home Front display, or you can enjoy the Armed Forces Vietnam radio shows playing in the Vietnam display. Do you know how heavy a flak jacket and Kevlar helmet is? They’ve got them waiting for you to try on!
Check out the Veterans Wall:
You can submit photographs to be included by emailing to their Curator at [email protected] or dropped off at the Museum during normal business hours. Please include the Veteran’s full name, branch of service, rank or rate, and when known the years in which they served.
The Miami Valley Military History Museum staff and dedicated volunteers offer presentations about the Museum and its subject areas to schools, educators, government organizations, associations, professional societies and other groups. A minimum of two weeks advance notice is requested. Presentations are provided at no cost.
The Museum needs all types of volunteers – especially docents. Docents are guides who greet visitors and show them around. As little as one day a week for 3 hours, either in the morning or the afternoon would be helpful to us. Those not as comfortable with public contact can find plenty to do behind the scenes. Volunteers are needed to help plan and stage events, conduct Veterans History Project interviews, and generally keep the museum in shape for day to day operations. If you would like more information, please call the museum at at 937-409-4529 or e-mail them at [email protected].
You can wleo drop off your tattered/torn/soiled United States, State, Armed Forces or POW/MIA flags and they’ll see that they’re destroyed in a dignified manner in accordance with the United States Flag Code.
Miami Valley Military History Museum
4 East Main Street
Fairborn, OH 45324
Current Hours:
Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, 9AM to 3PM
