African American Military History Museum
The African American Military History Museum is in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, at 305 East Sixth Street. The building was built in 1942 as a USO Club for African American soldiers at Camp Shelby. It was one of the few USO facilities specifically for Black service members and had support from both Black and white residents in Hattiesburg.
The building is a T-shaped, wood-frame structure with an auditorium, stage, lobby, restrooms, dressing rooms, meeting rooms, and a central brick chimney. The auditorium measures 34 by 55 feet, and the raised stage is 20 by 22 feet.
From 1942 to 1946, the East Sixth Street USO served as a home away from home for African American soldiers stationed at Camp Shelby. It offered services such as a library, darkroom, lounge, counseling, music, mail service, religious literature, and sewing.
Before it became the African American Military History Museum, the building housed the NR Burger Center, which displayed documents, artifacts, and photographs honoring African-American soldiers. Renovation to become the museum was completed in 2009, and it opened to the public on May 23, 2009.
The museum’s galleries cover the Revolutionary War through the Global War on Terror and include the Hattiesburg Hall of Honor. From 2009 to 2012, about 13,000 visitors toured the museum.
On February 10, 2013, an EF-4 tornado damaged the roof, soaking exhibits. The museum closed for about a year while it was restored and artifacts were moved to safety. It reopened on February 6, 2014. The tornado caused roughly $450,000 in building damage and $600,000 in damage to the contents.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:55 (CET).