Welcome to the North Carolina National Guard Museum's Homepage! 

This museum has been discussed for just shy fifty years, and is now truly becoming reality. This is an extremely exciting time for North Carolina and the North Carolina National Guard! With such a long, rich and storied history as the North Carolina National Guard has, this museum has much to live up to in order to do justice to such a proud tradition of citizen soldiers, serving God, Country and the Great State of North Carolina. This Museum will represent the NC Army and Air National Guard, both of which have an enviable record of commitment and service to our State and Nation.  

We need your help! In order for us to provide proper tribute to the proud history and traditions of the North Carolina National Guard, we need your contributions. We are looking for donations of items used by the men and women of the NC National Guard. We need artifacts of every description, type, and age.  It can be something a soldier picked up or captured while deployed, some memento of State Active Duty, a photograph, insignia and patches, medals and awards, headgear, equipment, personal items, and even books. We need artifacts ranging in age from current issue to our roots back to 1663!

One area which the museum is lacking in artifacts is weaponry. While we have several tracked and wheeled vehicle static displays, we have very little in terms of small arms or crew served weapons, like pistols, long arms, mortars, heavy or light machine guns or even muskets. These types of items are critical to our mission.

For further information on the types of items we are seeking, scroll down for a few lists we've put together. Please note that we fall under the North Carolina National Guard Association’s Tarheel Minuteman Foundation 501(c)3 tax status by the IRS for tax deductible donations. Contact us if you have any suggestions, information, or items you want to see preserved and made available for the public to see and learn from!     

About the North Carolina National Guard Museum and Learning Center of Excellence

The purpose of the North Carolina National Guard Museum is to collect, preserve and display artifacts, documents, and memorabilia that have specific historical significance to the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard of North Carolina.

The mission of the North Carolina National Guard Museum is to preserve and explain the military heritage of North Carolina and enhance public understanding of how armed conflicts and military institutions have shaped our state and national experience.

Where We Stand Today…

The museum is in the planning and construction process so is not officially open for business. The museum will be located near the campus of Joint Force Headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina at: 2109 Blue Ridge Road. In 2022, the NCNG worked with the NC Department of Agriculture and took over one of their beautiful facilities near the Museum of Art. In fall of 2023, legislature approved the budget and allocated capital improvement funding to retrofit the existing facility and make the transition to a state of the art military museum a reality. We are presently collecting vehicles and equipment from across the state for static display and taking donations of artifacts and memorabilia from individual donors. The official grand opening for the museum is tentatively scheduled for Fall of 2026.

Our historical collection is currently established, and additions are constantly being made through donations from public and private sources. The types of artifacts are varied. We currently have over 6,000 photographs, documents, and clippings; more than 20 Yank magazines from WWII; a collection of Stars and Stripes publications from the 1940s; over 1500 artifacts, including uniforms and military items from various periods, specifically WWI, WWII, OIF, and OEF; various medals and unit awards; hard copies of military histories and lineage and honors; maps; assorted WWII field gear; two partial WWI uniforms; gas masks from various eras; a collection of oral histories; a Tar-Heel War Record from the Great War; a collection of Hornet's Nest Yearbooks ranging from 1950s-present day; over 400 military related books; plaques and trophies spanning from the 1940s to present day, and much more...

The museum will represent the service, sacrifice and heritage of North Carolina's Army & Air National Guard.  Not only will the museum preserve and display artifacts, art and stories of our military history, traditions and legacy, but it will also contain static displays of armor, wheeled vehicles, artillery and aircraft. The building itself will contain a research library, interactive displays for all ages, a theater, as well as areas in which to restore and preserve artifacts from the collection.  

It is our hope that you stay engaged with our progression and come visit when we open the doors. We are a great opportunity for volunteerism so if you, your children, your business, your church group, etc. have interest in volunteering please contact us. Whether your interest is researching, data input, website development, painting, construction…we need you to make this mission successful. Stay tuned for updates and stay engaged to make an impact.