Army White Mess Jacket with four stars worn by General Colin L. Powell
date: label: Date
content: ca. 1989-1993
name: label: Manufactured by
content: Marlow White, American, founded 1879
label: Subject of
content: United States Armed Forces, American, founded 1775
label: Worn by
content: General Colin L. Powell, American, 1937 - 2021
label: Subject of
content: United States Army, American, founded 1775
label: Owned by
content: General Colin L. Powell, American, 1937 - 2021
notes: label: Caption
content: Colin Luther Powell was born in Harlem, New York, on April 5, 1937. He graduated from Community College of New York in 1958 and earned his commission through the ROTC as a second lieutenant in the Regular Army. After a distinguished and highly decorated military career, Powell was promoted to four-star general in 1989. That same year he became the first African American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), serving under President George H.W. Bush and President Bill Clinton. General Powell retired from the Army in 1993 after 35 years of service. In 2001 he became the first African American Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush before resigning in 2004. General Powell died on October 18, 2021, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. After a funeral service at Washington National Cathedral in D.C., General Powell was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
label: Description
content: A US Army White Mess Jacket with four gold officer stars worn by General Colin L. Powell. This single-breasted jacket is made from an off-white polyester fabric, designed with a v-tapered front and back hem, and closes at the center front with one (1) gold button featuring the US Army insignia in relief. Three (3) decorative gold US Army insignia buttons are attached in vertical spacing at each side of the jacket. The sleeves are full-length straight cut without a cuff, with a wide band of gold woven tape sewn around each sleeve three (3) inches from the wrist hem. At each sleeve, above the gold woven tape, are four embroidered gold and black stars. The interior of the sleeves are fully lined in an cream synthetic fabric, and the interior body is partially lined with the same at the front sides and around the back shoulders, with the bottom edge of the lining at the shoulder blades unattached from the back facing fabric. There are two (2) interior welted breast pockets, one at each front side. There are two (2) black fabric manufacturer's tags sewn into the middle area of the proper right pocket. One tag has with red, white, and blue embroidered text reading "MARLOW WHITE / LAWTON, OKLAHOMA / FT. LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS. The second tag, sewn above the Marlow White tag, features gold stitching and embroidery reading, “INDIVIDUALLY TAILORE FOR / Gen. Colin L. Powell”. The back of the jacket is tailor styled with four (4) curved seam and one (1) straight seam.
place: label: Place used
content: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Clothing and dress
label: Topic
content: Government
label: Topic
content: Local and regional
label: Topic
content: Military
label: Topic
content: Politics
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, 1969-2001
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Clothing - Military Uniforms
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Alma J. Powell
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: A2022.101.1.36
objectType: label: Type
content: jackets
label: Type
content: military uniforms
label: Type
content: insignias
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No known copyright restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: polyester with brass and silk
label: Dimensions
content: Chest: 19 7/8 in. (50.5 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: L x W: 25 3/16 × 17 11/16 in. (64 × 45 cm)