Militaria: You don’t have to be a Rockefeller to be a museum donor. Military personnel have photos, medals, letters, maps, diaries, uniforms, caps, helmets, belt buckles, and other items their heirs seldom want. These can take two routes: to collectors or to military museums.


Collectors do buy and sell online, but the larger percent buy direct, where they can examine the items closely. Vendors at gun shows buy as well as sell: Use the Internet to find the upcoming show nearest you by searching online for the words militaria and show and your state. Or sell at auction — probably not through your local, general auction house but instead with national ones specializing in militaria. Search online for militaria and auction house.


Help the future learn from the past by donating to a museum. Military museums abound in the U.S., and a few overseas commemorate American actions. See http://olive-drab.com/od_history_museums_us.php for a list. These institutions are more apt to accept letters, diaries, and papers than they are medals or uniforms, unless they belonged to someone famous. Contact the curator, describe what you have — or better yet, email photos — and see what they say.
MO


— Mary Miley Theobald is the author of Stuff After Death: How to Identify, Value and Dispose of Inherited Stuff (2012, Amazon Digital Services) and the associated blog, www.stuffafterdeath.wordpress.com.


64 MILITARY OFFICER SEPTEMBER 2013

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