National Museum of the American Sailor

As an official Department of the Navy Museum under the Naval History and Heritage Command, the National Museum of the American Sailor’s mission is to collect, preserve, and interpret the history of the United States Navy’s Enlisted Sailor for the benefit of the US. Navy and the people of the United States.The museum seeks to make the history of the Enlisted Sailor relevant to Navy personnel and local and national audiences. NMAS fulfills this mission by:

The National Museum of the American Sailor is located at Naval Station Great Lakes, the home of the Navy’s only boot camp. The museum is housed in the “Hostess House,” which was designed in 1942 by prominent architect Gordon Bunshaft. During World War II, the facility served as a welcome center and place of comfort to the hundreds of thousands of sailors who came to boot camp at Naval Station Great Lakes before joining the fleet. By adopting the “Hostess House” as its home, GLNM connects both Navy personnel and the general public to this unique cultural artifact and important part of the Navy’s history.