Chuck and all, There is a difference between war trophies and historical property. Historical property is artifacts collected or captured by US Armed Forces units or collected US Armed Forces Museum recovery teams. War trophies are items that have been collected by an individual. The Army Provost Marshall provides guidelines on what can be collected by returning troops. These guidelines can change from one conflict to another. Because of the materials the brought back after WWII,these guidelines enacted. I believe the statute of limitations is up for these type materials. The exception is automatic weapons, explosives, and cultural items. For more information on subject, please contact Mr. Dave Cole, US Army Center of Military History, 1-202-761-5373. -----Original Message----- From: Chuck Stout [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Monday, August 21, 2000 1:20 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: I am very concerned! I'm glad this subject came up. What's the legal situation with U.S. military stuff that former servicemen have kept since thier discharge? Do they own it, legally, or is it still owned by the government? Is there a statute of limitations? I'm not talking about tanks or jet engines--more like flight jackets, flare guns, headsets, survival kits, or junked equipment "found in the trash." What about war trophies? (If a pilot retrieves the altimeter from an enemy airplane he shot down, does he have title to it?) Since ethical museums are careful about provenance, can they accept such items from the veterans who "liberated" them? Can a museum get in any trouble if things like that find their way into the collections? Can the museum cover its (figurative) backside by requiring donors to state that they legally own what they intend to donate? Are potential donors frightened away by having to make such an assertion? I'm sure many on the list have dealt with these situations. How did it work? Chuck Stout Exhibits Design and Development Denver Museum of Nature and Science (Formerly Denver Museum of Natural History) 303-370-8364 [log in to unmask] ========================================================Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).