Edward C. Ezell 1939-1993

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In collaboration with the Smithsonian's Office of Printing and Photographic Services, Dr. Edward C. Ezell wrote the narration and assisted with the editing of Reflections on the Wall: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a dramatic collection of photographs by Smithsonian photographers recording the first five years of activity at the memorial.

Ezell was acting chairman of the Department of the History of Science and Technology at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in addition to his duties as Supervisory Curator of the Armed Forces History Division.

He joined the Smithsonian in 1982 as a curator in the Division of Armed Forces History in the Department of the History of Science and Technology. He subsequently became a supervisory curator and in 1991 was named acting department chairman.

During his tenure at the museum, Ezell served as curator for several major exhibitions, including:

• "M*A*S*H: Binding Up the Wounds"
• "A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans the U.S. Constitution"
• "Personal Legacy: The Healing of a Nation"
• "World War II G.I.: The American Soldier Experience"

Ezell was known worldwide as the foremost expert on small arms technology. Among his publications were:

• Personal Firepower
• The Black Rifle: M16 Rifle Retrospective
• The AK47 Story: Evolution of the Kalashnikov Weapons
• The Great Rifle Controversy: Search for the Ultimate Infantry Rifle from World War II to Vietnam and Beyond
• Small Arms Today
• Handguns of the World

Through a series of videos for the Smithsonian Video History program, Ezell created the first oral histories of M.T. Kalashnikov, designer of the Soviet AK47 assault rifle, and Eugene Stoner, designer of the M16 assault rifle.

He was also director of the Institute for Research on Small Arms in International Security, a nonprofit organization in Alexandria, Virginia.

Prior to joining the Smithsonian, Ezell worked for eight years for NASA at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. He represented the agency at the Space Science Exposition in Tokyo in 1978 and 1979 and co-wrote two books on space projects.

For several years, Dr. Ezell also had been vice president in charge of operations in Singapore for Interarms, an international small-arms trading company.

He had been a college professor six years for North Carolina State University in Raleigh, and Sangamon State University in Springfield, Ill.

Ezell earned a bachelor's degree in history from Butler University, a master's degree in American Industrial history from the University of Delaware, and a doctorate in the history of technology from the Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland.

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