Located in the former Seward Armory, the Nebraska National Guard Museum celebrated its 10th anniversary in Seward in 2025. The museum “collects, accesses, preserves, stores, accounts for, demilitarizes, and values historical artifacts and records for training, development, and interpretation of the Nebraska Army and Air National Guard and the State of Nebraska military history and heritage of its Citizen-Soldiers and Citizen-Airmen,” according to its website.
The goal of the museum is to tell the story of the Nebraska National Guard in war and peace.
The Nebraska National Guard was established Dec. 23, 1854, by acting Gov. Thomas Cuming. The Nebraska Territorial Militia, as it was called, first saw action during the Civil War at Fort Donalson, where it stopped a Confederate retreat. The militia was reorganized into the National Guard in 1881. Its current adjutant general is Craig Strong.
The museum includes a variety of exhibits, including the statue of William Jennings Bryan that originally stood in the U.S. Capitol. Its weapons collection includes the rifle Olympic gold medalist Gary Anderson used to win in 1968. Anderson donated it in 2024.
One of the highlights of the museum is an original Higgins boat, the craft that President Dwight Eisenhower said won World War II for the Allies. Andrew Jackson Higgins, who was born in Columbus, created and built the landing craft to allow soldiers to disembark on beaches instead of in the water. The boat was found in California and moved to Seward in 2023.
The Cornrow to Hedgerow Experience puts visitors in the middle of a hedgerow during World War II near St. Lo, France.
A replica of the 1913 Curtiss Model D “Pusher” hangs above the John Cattle Exhibit Area. The aircraft represents the Nebraska National Guard Aviation Corps, which was founded in 1915.
Lawrence Youngman, a correspondent for the Omaha World Herald during World War II, is honored with a display of his uniforms and equipment.
Another exhibit recognizes Nebraska National Guard solders who were killed during World War II. Western Union telegrams hang on a wall across from the Wall of Honor.
Seward’s soldiers are featured on another wall, honoring the city’s contributions to the Nebraska Guard since 1899.
