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38 [[preprinted]] [[image - drawing of Smithsonian Institution Castle]] SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION Washington D.C. 20560 U.S.A. [[/preprinted]] December 20, 1974 Mr. S. Dillon Ripley Secretary, Smithsonian Institution Washington, D. C. 20560 Dear Mr. Ripley: I have the honor to report to the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution the findings and recommendations of the National Armed Forces Museum Advisory Board resulting from its participation in the investigation and survey of lands and buildings in and around the District of Columbia suitable for the display of military collections, pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(a), Public Law 87-186. In participating in this investigation and survey the Advisory Board has been guided by Section 3(b), Public Law 87-186, which provides that "buildings acquired ... shall be used to house public exhibits and study collections that are not appropriate for the military exhibits of the Smithsonian Institution on the Mall." Section 3(b) provides further that, on lands acquired, "facilities shall be provided for the display of large military objects and for the reconstruction, in an appropriate way, ... of exhibits showing the nature of fortifications, trenches, and other military and naval facilities characteristic of the American colonial period, the War of the Revolution, and subsequent American military and naval operations." The Advisory Board's participation in the investigation and survey extended from 1962 to 1974. During that period, with the assistance of the Advisory Board, and with the approval of the Board of Regents, the Smithsonian Institution made a series of efforts, without success, to acquire lands whereon to establish a National Armed Forces Museum Park as a separate entity, with facilities such as are described in Section 3(b), Public Law 87-186. The principal difficulty encountered lay in acquiring a site which lay in or near the District
