Clockwise from top left: The National Postal Museum building in Washington, DC;the "My Fellow Soldiers: Letters from World War I" exhibit; items from the exhibit.

Special Research Prize for World War I Exhibit at National Postal Museum 

By Chris Isleib
Director of Public Affairs, United States World War One Centennial Commission

Lynn Heidelbaugh, Curator at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum, has been awarded a 2018 Smithsonian Institution Secretary’s Research Prize in recognition of scholarship for the exhibition “My Fellow Soldiers: Letters from World War I.” This is an exhibit that the the World War I Centennial Commission has written about previously since it's early concept & planning stage.

Lynn HeidelbaughA committee representing research areas across the spectrum of Smithsonian scholarship recommended the finalists based on their work following a period of peer review. These pan-Institutional prizes recognize excellence in recent research in articles, books, and exhibits by the Smithsonian Institution’s employees. Heidelbaugh was one of seven recipients and “My Fellow Soldiers: Letters from World War I” is the only exhibition bestowed the Secretary’s Research Prize in 2018.

“My Fellow Soldiers: Letters from World War I” explores the history of America’s role in the war through personal correspondence to and from the frontlines and home front. Visitors to the exhibition consider the censorship rules, social expectations, and material culture that shaped wartime mail. Few other forms of communication were readily available at the time, making letter writing a lifeline for maintaining relationships and sharing experiences.

The selection of letters presented illuminates emotions and thoughts engendered by the international conflict that brought America onto the world stage; raised complex questions about gender, race and ethnic relations; and ushered in the modern era.

The exhibition is open through November 29, 2018 at the National Postal Museum in Washington, DC, and available online at: https://postalmuseum.si.edu/MyFellowSoldiers.

The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum is devoted to presenting the colorful and engaging history of the nation’s mail service and showcasing one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of stamps and philatelic material in the world. It is located at 2 Massachusetts Avenue N.E., Washington, D.C., across from Union Station.

The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information about the Smithsonian, please call (202) 633-1000 or visit the museum website at www.postalmuseum.si.edu.