HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) – A national nonprofit that provides life insurance to military families is helping the University of Southern Mississippi document the history of the National Guard.
The Armed Forces Benefit Association, as a founding partner, donated $200,000 to the Center for the Study of the National Guard.
Friday’s donation to the USM Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families will help build the center’s archives.
“There is a lot of documentation from the 54 states and territories that is not even available in archives, so it takes a lot of work to gather it together,” says Michael Moser, sales and legal representative for the Armed Forces Benefit Association.
“And then (USM) will use that archive and promote the good academic work they’re doing here at Southern Miss.”
The center, established earlier this year by Southern Miss and the National Guard Bureau, will serve as a repository for documents, oral histories and other records related to the National Guard.
“This investment will just be a catalyst for all the things we will do to curate and tell the stories of not just the Mississippi National Guard, but all National Guardsmen across our great country,” said Joe Paul, president of the University of Southern Mississippi.
The Armed Forces Benefit Association was founded in 1947 at the Pentagon.
The association currently supports more than 200,000 members of the National Guard.
Want more WDAM 7 news delivered to your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
All rights reserved.
