Army Air Forces Certificate of Appreciation for War Services: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is an Army Air Forces Certificate of Appreciation for War Services issues to Robert S. Jennings. The single sheet of paper contains a form letter from the Commanding General of the Army Air Forces Henry H. Arnold thanking soldiers for their contributions to the Air Forces. AT the top margin of the page is large black text that reads “ARMY AIR FORCES / CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION / FOR WAR SERVICE.” Below this text is the Army Air Forces crest, consisting of a blue circle with a pair of yellow outstretched wings within it. Joining the two wings is a white five pointed star with a red circle in the center. Two branches are crossed below the star. Below the the branches is pre-printed text “TO” followed by a blank space filled in with typed black text that reads “ROBERT S. JENNINGS.” Following the name is the body of the letter. In the bottom proper left corner of the page the letter is signed by pre-printed signature in black text that reads “HH Arnold.” The back of the certificate is blank.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1946
• Issued by: United States Army Air Force, American, 1941 - 1947
• Subject of: Robert Sydnor Jennings, American, 1913 - 1991
• Type: certificates
• Medium: ink on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W: 10 1/2 × 8 in. (26.6 × 20.3 cm)
• Place used: Nathalie, Halifax County, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Military
• Topic: World War II
• Object number: 2022.91.9.6
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Estate of Ara Belle Brown Jennings and Robert Sydnor Jennings (La Vinia Delois Jennings, Executrix) Oct. 2022
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.