National Museum of the Army Military Families Magazine

The Army and Society Gallery chronicles the symbiotic relationship between the Army, its civilian government, and the people. The Gallery—here in the final stages of construction—introduces visitors to the many advancements in medicine, aviation, communications, and technology that helped shape American society, culture, and the economy. In the foreground is an exact reproduction—the original was destroyed in a crash—of the Wright Model A Flyer built for Army trials at Fort Myer, Va. in September 1908. Suspended in the background is the R-4B Sikorsky Helicopter, the first mass-production helicopter in the world. (National Museum of the United States Army, Duane Lempke)