Navy Times has an article in the August 25, 2014 print edition, also available on-line here (select page A26 then click on the image to expand it so you can read it, because Navy Times couldn't make this easy) on the history and wide variation of military-themed license plates across the nation. (The article has sample plate pictures from many states.)
Such plates have been around for a long time in some states: my birth state of Michigan was the first to issue veterans' plates, all the way back in 1935. (The article notes that the plate was issued in favour of the Occupy movement of the day: veterans trying to obtain their promised WW1 benefits in Washington.)
More below the orange license plate frame.
Despite being very supportive of the military and veterans, Nebraska has very few plate designs. On the other hand, many states have a wide variety of plates and special decals, such as Massachusetts and Maine.
Navy Times also notes that Eastern states tend to have more variety, as the laws in those states are written that plates move with the car owner; in Western states the plate stays with the car so there are very few.
The article also notes odd juxtapositions: in Maine for example, the Pearl Harbor Survivor plate looks odd with that phrase positioned right over the Maine motto "Vacationland," and South Carolina's POW plate looks a bit odd under the word "permanent."
As for me, I am already eligible for an Amateur Radio Plate (actually, I own one already in case I ever get a second car), and a Disabled American Veterans plate. Starting in 2016 Nebraska will offer plates for each service (so I would be eligible for a US Navy plate).
I have chosen to display Nebraska's Gold Star Family plate (goes to the Nebraska DMV sample image of the plate), honouring the death of my father in the Vietnam War when I was seven.
(My car's registration number is "87." I quipped to the president of the Gold Star Mothers' association that I should have applied a few days earlier to get "86," as I own a Smart car.)
According to many states' Divisions of Motor Vehicles, military-themed license plates are amongst the most popular in each state (plus they bring additional revenue to the states as special issue plates).
Which brings us to a poll question: do you or a family member have such a plate, or are you opposed to the idea? (Senator Ernie Chambers [I-Omaha] held forth in the Nebraska Unicameral that all speciality plates should be abolished in Nebraska, though I am unsure whether that would include military plates. He feels that automobiles in Nebraska should not be rolling billboards with adverts endorsed by the state government.)