[3] Beginning in the early 1980s and continuing for the next 20 years, Jacques Littlefield, a Stanford University graduate and former Hewlett Packard engineer, amassed a $30 million collection of military vehicles and engaged in a program of restoring many of them and giving educational tours to the public.

[2] Meanwhile, in August 2015, the Planning Board of the Town of Stow initially rejected the Foundation's application to build the museum,[11] questioning the propriety of locating such a large facility on land that was zoned for residential use.

Visitors next enter the "War Clouds" room, which is a short movie which covers the Interwar period and the rise of Nazi Germany.

Visitors then exit to the main display room of the museum, in which artifacts are arranged roughly chronologically and grouped under major campaigns and theaters of war.

The museum also includes a section of the Berlin Wall, and a September 11 memorial featuring a twisted steel beam from one of the World Trade Center towers.