A life-size mannequin depicts a driver looking out the front windshield of his military vehicle as he drives a wounded colleague to safety during the fighting in Luxembourg during World War II. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

In 2016, at a NATO base in northern Afghanistan, military officials introduced me to the only soldier from Luxembourg deployed to the country.

His situation intrigued me, and after chatting for a while, I asked if I could write a profile of him. He told me I couldn’t publish his name or describe exactly what he did in Afghanistan, so the story never materialized.

I was reminded of that soldier recently when I learned that the National Museum of Military History in Diekirch, Luxembourg, was hosting an exhibition on the evolution of the tiny country’s army, which today numbers only a few hundred volunteer soldiers, but its history is anything but small.

“Our Army at Härebierg,” named for the historic Härebierg barracks near Diekirch, offers a detailed look at one of NATO’s smallest forces and a striking contrast with the alliance’s largest, the U.S. military.

The temporary exhibition offers far more insight than the Luxembourg soldier in Mazar-e-Sharif was ever able to share with me.

According to the museum’s permanent exhibition, which is in English, Luxembourgers by and large were not patriotic until 1939, the year the Grand Duchy celebrated a century of independence, and its people “truly became aware of their belonging to a small yet independent nation with its own traditions.”

But little more than a year later, after remaining neutral during the first months of World War II, Luxembourg was invaded and occupied by German forces.

More than four years passed before U.S. troops initially liberated Luxembourg in September 1944, and shortly afterward the Grand Duchy’s army was built virtually from scratch at the request of the government in exile, marking a fundamental break with its previous policy of neutrality.

A poster displayed as part of the “Our Army at Härebierg” exhibition at the National Museum of Military History in Diekirch, Luxembourg, shows the correct use of uniforms and equipment for the Luxembourgian armed forces. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

The “Our Army at Härebierg” exhibition, which focuses on the evolution of Luxembourg’s army, will run at the National Museum of Military History in Diekirch until mid-September. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

A uniform of a Luxembourgian UNPROFOR soldier is displayed at the National Museum of Military History in Diekirch, Luxembourg, Jan. 17, 2026. In 1992 and 1993, soldiers from Luxembourg took part in the UNPROFOR peacekeeping mission in Croatia. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

“Our Army at Härebierg” starts in 1944 with Luxembourg’s first organized military contribution to the Allied cause, when volunteers joined Belgium’s Brigade Piron.

From there, visitors learn about the rebuilding of the army, the development of military infrastructure and the armed forces’ anchoring in Luxembourg society.

Various weapons used by Luxembourg’s troops over the years, many American-made, and photos of Luxembourg soldiers over the past eight decades are among the highlights of the exhibition, as is a section devoted to female soldiers.

According to the exhibition, 128 women were serving in Luxembourg’s army in 2024, accounting for about 12% of all personnel.

An undated British newspaper that appeared to be from the 1950s also caught my attention. The headline read, “The army with only one colonel,” which again made me think of the soldier I met in Afghanistan.

The museum’s permanent exhibition is a perfect complement to “Our Army at Härebierg,” providing an in-depth look at Luxembourg during World War II, including U.S. efforts to liberate the country in 1944, its reoccupation by German forces during the Battle of the Bulge and its final liberation in January 1945.

The standout section of the museum is a display depicting the Sauer River crossing by U.S. soldiers with the 5th Infantry Division in January 1945, which led to the liberation of Diekirch.

Life-size mannequins depict U.S. soldiers with the 5th Infantry Division crossing the Sauer River, which led to the liberation of Diekirch, Luxembourg, in January 1945. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

Life-size mannequins show U.S. troops using a 60 mm mortar for direct fire support. The soldiers are wearing the official Army camouflage uniforms. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

Personal items of soldiers who fought in the World War II Battle of the Bulge, including cigarettes and matches, are displayed at the National Museum of Military History in Diekirch, Luxembourg. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

Life-size mannequins are positioned in a vast winter scene meant to give visitors a realistic sense of what it was like for the troops there. Some are trudging through the heavy snow, while others tend to wounded comrades.

A German command post and an American field hospital are depicted in other sections.

The museum also features a large hall packed with World War II vehicles and heavy equipment, including armored vehicles, artillery pieces and anti-aircraft guns.

Various items from American and German soldiers who fought during the Battle of the Bulge are also on display.

Visitors are reminded how this tiny country has been pulled into various global conflicts.

It helped me understand how one Luxembourger ended up serving on a remote base in Afghanistan with NATO allies, sharing the type of story that he himself could not.

National Museum of Military History

Address: 10 Rue Bamertal, Diekirch, Luxembourg

Hours: Tuesday-Sunday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Closed Monday.  “Our Army at Härebierg” exhibition runs until Sept. 15, 2026.

Price: Adults, 5 euros; adolescents 10-18, 3 euros; students, 3 euros; children under 10, free. Groups of 10 or more, are 3 euros each.

Information: www.mnhm.net/mnhm