NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE LOANS ARTIFACTS TO STRATEGIC AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM FOR NEW EXHIBIT

The National Museum of Health and Medicine has loaned several artifacts to the Strategic Air and Space Museum (SASM) in Ashland, Neb. for its newest exhibit, "M*A*S*H: Hollywood and the Korean War." The artifacts, a pocket operating kit, kidney bowl, bedpan, retractor, clamp, straight razor, World War I pocket surgical kit, and a medical pack manufactured in 1945, will be on display through Oct. 26, 2003.

"These artifacts are thought to represent what was or could have been used during the Korean War and other wars during the 20th century," said Mike Simons, the museum's registrar.

The loaned artifacts were selected from the museum's more than 12,000 historical objects. The historical collection at the National Museum of Health and Medicine documents changes in medical technology since the early 17th century and includes objects ranging in size from a suture needle to a two-ton MRI magnet, such as X-ray equipment, microscopes, surgical instruments, numismatics, and anatomical models. The collection is made available for the education of medical professionals, Department of Defense personnel, historians, and the public through exhibits in the museum, loans to other institutions, and individualized study. The historical collection contains many more artifacts from the Korean War era, including photographs, instruments, and machinery.

"This exhibit, which celebrates the 50-year anniversary of the Korean War, compares the television series "M*A*S*H" to the real-life version of events in Korea," said Brian York, curator of exhibits and collections at SASM. "In addition to showcasing surgical instruments and other items used during the two World Wars and the Korean War, the exhibit also includes several artifacts from the television show. I think the exhibit will teach people a lot about what kind of tools were used during those times of war. It will also show them how much of the television show was fiction and how much was fact."

The exhibit also includes artifacts loaned from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., and the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles in Lexington, Neb.

SASM opened in 1959 under the supervision of General Curtis LeMay, a then-retired former U.S. Air Force general and commander of Strategic Air Control, with the primary purpose of preserving historic aircrafts. It is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and active military personnel, and $3 for children ages 5-12. Admission for children under 5 is free. For information, visit SASM on the web at www.strategicairandspace.com or call 402-944-3100.

The National Museum of Health and Medicine, founded as the Army Medical Museum in 1862 to study and improve medical conditions during the American Civil War, is an element of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Its specimens and artifacts were the first museum collection in the country and are currently the only in Washington, D.C. to be registered by the U.S. Department of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark. The Secretary of the Interior, who has designated only 2,340 districts, sites, buildings, and structures for listing in the National Register, selected the museum's collection because of its "exceptional value in commemorating and illustrating the history of the United States."

Open every day except Dec. 25 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., the museum is located at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Ave. and Elder Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The website is www.natmedmuse.afip.org and the telephone number is 202-782-2200. Admission and parking are free.