Public Law 87–186

there is hereby established in the Smithsonian Institution a National Armed Forces Museum Advisory Board (hereinafter referred to as the Board), which shall provide advice and assistance to the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution on matters concerned with the portrayal of the contributions which the Armed Forces of the United States have made to American society and culture.

The Board shall be composed of eleven members, as follows:

Members of the Board appointed by the President shall be appointed to serve for a period of six years; except that any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall be appointed for the remainder of such term and the terms of office of the members first appointed shall expire, as designated by the President at the time of appointment, three at the end of two years, three at the end of four years, and three at the end of six years.

Five members of the Board shall constitute a quorum and any vacancy in the Board shall not affect its power to function.

The members of the Board shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties as members of the Board.

The Board shall select officers from among its members biennially and shall make such bylaws, rules, and regulations as it deems necessary for the furtherance of its business.

The Smithsonian Institution shall commemorate and display the contributions made by the military forces of the Nation toward creating, developing, and maintaining a free, peaceful, and independent society and culture in the United States of America. The valor and sacrificial service of the men and women of the Armed Forces shall be portrayed as an inspiration to the present and future generations of America. The demands placed upon the full energies of our people, the hardships endured, and the sacrifice demanded in our constant search for world peace shall be clearly demonstrated. The extensive peacetime contributions the Armed Forces have made to the advance of human knowledge in science, nuclear energy, polar and space exploration, electronics, engineering, aeronautics, and medicine shall be graphically described. The Smithsonian Institution shall interpret through dramatic display significant current problems affecting the Nation’s security. It shall be equipped with a study center for scholarly research into the meaning of war, its effect on civilization, and the role of the Armed Forces in maintaining a just and lasting peace by providing a powerful deterrent to war. In fulfilling its purposes, the Smithsonian Institution shall collect, preserve, and exhibit military objects of historical interest and significance.

The provisions of this Act in no way rescind Public Law 722, Seventy-ninth Congress, approved August 12, 1946, which established

60 Stat. 997.

20 USC 77.

National Air Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, or any other authority of the Smithsonian Institution.

The Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution

Survey of lands and buildings in and near D. C.

is authorized and directed, with the advice and assistance of the Board, to investigate and survey lands and buildings in and near the District of Columbia suitable for the display of military collections. The Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution shall, after consulting with and seeking the advice of the Commission on Fine Arts, the National Capital Planning Commission, and the General Services Administration, submit recommendations to the Congress with respect to the acquisition of lands and buildings for such purpose.

Buildings acquired pursuant to recommendations made under subsection (a) of this section shall be used to house public exhibits and study collections that are not appropriate for the military exhibits of the Smithsonian Institution on the Mall in the District of Columbia. Facilities shall be provided for the display of large military objects and for the reconstruction, in an appropriate way, on lands acquired pursuant to recommendations made under subsection (a) of this section, of exhibits showing the nature of fortifications, trenches, and other military and naval facilities characteristic of the American colonial period, the War of the Revolution, and subsequent American military and naval operations.