The Armed Forces History Museum (AFHM) was a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

, non-profit museum in the city of Largo in the

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

region of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The museum opened in August 2008, with 35,000 sq. ft. of indoor displays and an additional 15,000 sq. ft. of outdoor viewing space. The AFHM housed historical memorabilia including fully restored, fully operational jeeps, tanks,

halftrack A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with wheels at the front for steering and continuous tracks at the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. A half-track combines the soft-ground traction of a tank with the handling ...

s and armor. The museum also had a large replica of

Chuck Yeager Brigadier general (United States), Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager ( , February 13, 1923December 7, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot who in October 1947 became the first pilot in his ...

's Supersonic Jet Bell X1, the aircraft he used to break

the sound barrier ''The Sound Barrier'' is a 1952 British aviation drama film directed by David Lean. It is a fictional story about attempts by aircraft designers and test pilots to break the sound barrier. It was David Lean's third and final film with his wife ...

. The museum closed permanently on January 29, 2017.

History

In 1955, John J. Piazza, Sr. was given a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

grenade. Over time he collected other items, including military vehicles and several cases of memorabilia and ordnance, and in 1996 Piazza put together a traveling exhibit to take to local schools and community events."Armed Forces Military Museum could move into Clearwater's Harborview Center"
''Tampa Bay Times''. In order to receive donations from the public, Piazza established his collection as The Armed Forces Military Museum, with a 501 (c)(3), non-profit status. The Armed Forces Military Museum opened to the public on August 15, 2008. In 2012, the museum changed its name to The Armed Forces History Museum. Also in 2012 the museum began holding various special events to serve as fundraisers. The museum housed over 100,000 items of military history.

Museum displays

The museum was divided into several display areas. Large pieces, including aircraft, field pieces and tanks, were on display both indoors and in an outdoor area. The Salute to Service gallery focused on uniforms and insignia. The Firearms and Ordnance gallery displayed hand weapons of many vintages. A diorama of a

trench filled one area, while the

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

and the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

gallery included scale models, Japanese artifacts, Marine Corps memorabilia and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

film footage. Some of the other displays included the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Deck, the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

Landing/ Utah Beach,"Local museum gives up close look at D-Day"
''Channel 10 News'', 2014. a French Village/St. Mere Eglise, a German Farmhouse, a

Communications Headquarters, the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Inchon Landing The Battle of Inchon (), also called Inchon landing, was an amphibious invasion and a battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations Command (UN). The operation involved some ...

, a Korean War MASH, a diorama entitled Korean War Frozen Chosin, Korean War's Rosie’s Bar, a

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

MIA Mia, Mía, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (American band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA. (German band), a German rock/pop band formed i ...

gallery, a

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

–

Ho Chi Minh Trail The Ho Chi Minh Trail (), also called Annamite Range Trail () was a Military logistics, logistical network of roads and trails that ran from North Vietnam to South Vietnam through the kingdoms of Kingdom of Laos, Laos and Cambodia (1953–1970), ...

diorama, and an Officers’ Club.

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.armedforcesmuseum.com
"History lives at Armed Forces Museum in Largo"
''WFLA''. 2008 establishments in Florida Museums established in 2008 Military and war museums in Florida Museums in Pinellas County, Florida Buildings and structures in Largo, Florida