Rock from Robert S. Jennings WW II posting with 56th Aviation Squadron: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a rock from Hammer Field, an Army Air Forces training facility in Fresno California with a inscription from Robert S. Jennings to commemorate his posting at Hammer Field with the 56th Aviation Squadron during World War II. The grey rock has handwritten text on one flat side in black ink that reads [Pvt. R.S. Jennings / 56th Avn. Sqdn. / Hammer / Field / Fresno, Cal. / 10/10/42].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: October 10, 1942
• Created by: Robert Sydnor Jennings, American, 1913 - 1991
• Subject of: United States Army Air Force, American, 1941 - 1947
• Type: rock paintings
• Medium: ink on rock
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 1 15/16 × 1 11/16 × 1 1/4 in. (5 × 4.3 × 3.2 cm)
• Place collected: Fresno, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Military
• Topic: World War II
• Object number: 2022.91.12
• 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.