George A. Petersen of Alexandria, Virginia died peacefully at home on November 24, 2025.

Mr. Petersen was one of the most experienced and respected collector-dealers in the field of historical military memorabilia, with more than 50 years of expertise spanning World War I through the conflicts of the present day. Known internationally for his deep knowledge of military material, he spent his lifetime immersed in the history, preservation, and study of military uniforms, insignia, equipment, and ephemera.

A specialist in German historical aviation, Mr. Petersen once maintained the world’s largest private collection of Luftwaffe uniforms, medals, badges, flags, and related items. His reputation in the field made him a trusted resource for collectors, museums, scholars, and filmmakers across the United States and abroad.

George A. Petersen was born in 1945 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He served in the U.S. Army from 1964 to 1967 where he was a specialist (Spec-4) with an 111B Light Weapons MOS and a member of B Company, 3rd Infantry Regiment, the Army’s ceremonial Old Guard, based at Fort Myer in Washington, D.C. From December 1965 to December 1966, he served in Vung Tau, Republic of Vietnam, with the 765th Security Platoon as an operations and security specialist.

After his military service, Mr. Petersen worked with Replica Models, Inc., Unique Imports, and other firms in the 1960s and 1970s, developing a career centered on historical military material. He founded NCHS, Inc., in 1979, establishing a retail store in the Alexandria/Springfield area which has served the military collecting community for more than four decades. Well known in military, and private circles, he appeared in numerous domestic and international publications.

Mr. Petersen provided consulting services and sourced artifacts for many museums, including the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum; the Navy Museum in Washington, D.C.; the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla.; the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; the 82nd Airborne Museum at Fort Bragg, N.C.; and major military museums in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Hanoi.

For the Smithsonian’s The Price of Freedom: Americans at War exhibit, which opened on Veterans Day in 2004, he supplied uniforms and insignia for several displays, including items identical to those he wore in Vietnam. He also provided equipment for the figures representing infantrymen, wounded soldiers, and helicopter crewmen in the exhibit’s Vietnam War section.

Mr. Petersen contributed photographs, research, and expertise to more than 100 military reference books and was deeply involved with Bender Publishing’s extensive series on U.S. and World War II German subjects. His consulting work extended to major motion pictures, including The Hunt for Red October, Gardens of Stone, Red Dawn, Born on the Fourth of July, and The Thin Red Line.

From 1976 to 1991, he was active in World War II reenactment, portraying both U.S. infantrymen and German paratroopers. Over the course of his career he traveled widely to historic battlefields and sites, advising government agencies, museums, collectors, and film productions around the world.

Mr. Petersen was a member of numerous military and veteran organizations, including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America, the American Society of Military Insignia Collectors, the Military Vehicle Preservation Association, the American Association of Military Uniform Collectors, Chute N’ Dagger, the Air Force Association, the Experimental Aircraft Association, and others.

George was predeceased by his Father, George Adolph Petersen; Mother, Ada Valentine Petersen; and sisters, Marian Rosalie Petersen and Helen Petersen Larimen. He is survived by many close friends and fellow military collectors.

A private ceremony will be held for close family and friends. He was a private person and per his wishes, no public services will be held.

Dear George, “It is what it is.” We will miss you. Rest in peace.