The Military Women's Memorial

The Military Women's Memorial (MWM), located at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, serves as a vital historical repository dedicated to documenting the service of women in the military. Iron Mountain Media & Archive Services was entrusted with the task of digitising and extracting metadata from the audiovisual media within the MWM. 

The Military Women’s Memorial possesses a rich collection of historical materials, including oral histories in legacy formats such as CDs, DVDs, and Video Cassettes. The challenge was to preserve and organise these valuable artifacts while ensuring accessibility and ease of retrieval for future generations. Iron Mountain Media & Archive Services was tasked with digitising historic content and processing the associated metadata to migrate it to align with military specifications. 

Iron Mountain Media & Archive Services’ comprehensive digitisation process employed state-of-the-art equipment and expertise to capture and preserve the content effectively. The team meticulously digitised the 74 pieces of content, resulting in a total of 85 hours of digitised material. The metadata associated with each piece was carefully extracted, allowing for improved searchability and categorisation. 

To ensure the captured data aligned with military specifications, Iron Mountain Media & Archive Services reconfigured the standard fields to match the designated criteria, including service branch and rank. This step was crucial in creating a seamless integration of the digitised content within the MWM's existing archival systems and databases.

This project played a pivotal role in enabling the MWM to make these histories accessible to the public. The digitised material became an integral part of the MWM's mobile exhibition titled "The Color of Freedom: Honoring the Diversity of America's Servicewomen," showcased as part of their AppreSHEation Tour. 

By capturing and showcasing the sacrifices and contributions of all women, with a particular focus on women of color, who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, the MWM's mobile exhibition aimed to raise awareness and appreciation for their invaluable service. The digitised content and associated metadata significantly enriched the exhibition's interactive experience, allowing visitors to access and explore the historical narratives and personal stories of these remarkable women.