One cannot go to war and come back normal
Richard Proulx, Infantryman, US Army
There are some museums that transcend words. Where you can feel the weight of the souls whose stories are being told. A place that must be experienced to truly understand its gravitas. The National World War II Museum, in New Orleans, Louisiana, is one of those.
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Roughly 11% of the United States population served in World War II. 24% of the male population. But the sacrifices weren’t just borne by the men in uniform. Every American was asked to bear the responsibility for the war effort. Rationing of everyday materials became commonplace across the country. Imagine today, being rationed to 3 gallons of gas per week. All of this, and more, is expertly displayed in the museum.
Originally planned as the D-Day Museum, and spearheaded by famed author Stephen Ambrose, the museum opened its doors on June 6th, 2000. The 56th Anniversary of the D-Day landings. Over the years, the museum has expanded to commemorate the entire war. The European Theater, the Pacific Theater, and the Homefront. The museum plays host to rotating temporary exhibits as well as immersive and interactive exhibits. Additionally, there are plans and projects to expand.
The museum is spread over 6 acres and houses nearly 250,000 artifacts. While many are on exhibit, the majority are safely kept in storage either for research and future exhibits or are undergoing restoration. Along with these artifacts are a large collection of wartime memoirs and a collection of oral histories of more than 9,000, conducted with veterans who served in all branches and on all fronts.
As the home of historian and author Stephen Ambrose, as well as Higgins Industries, New Orleans was a natural fit. Higgins Industries, owned by Andrew Higgins, designed, built, and tested the boat bearing his name in New Orleans. The amphibious landing craft referred to as LCVP (landing craft, vehicle, personnel) was used extensively by Allied forces in the D-Day landings.
Andrew Higgins is the man who won the war for us. If Higgins had not designed and built those landing craft, we never would have landed over an open beach. The whole strategy of the war would have been different.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower
As you start your journey through the museum, you are issued a digital “dog-tag” of a real veteran from either the European or Pacific Theater. Readers placed throughout the exhibits scan it and reveal information regarding your veteran. This amazing artifact personalizes the entire experience. From there, you “board” a train car for your trip. As you sit on seats just as real soldiers would have experienced, video screens start to tell you the story of being a young man and leaving home for possibly your first time. Depending on the theater of war your veteran served in, you head off into one of the two main galleries. (Although, regardless of your “dog-tag”, you are encouraged to visit the whole museum)
“You talk about fighting when you’re back in training but this is the real thing. This is where you see people dying.”
Takashi Kitaoka, Infantryman, US Army
Mock-ups using real vehicles, weapons, uniforms, and other items work to give you a sense of what life was like for a World War II soldier. In some displays, light, and sound is used to aid in its realism. But there is no true comparison to what it would have been like for the men who served. What they saw. What they heard. How they felt.
The museum does an amazing job of telling the story of the American experience during World War II. By telling why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today, all generations will understand the price of freedom. Some are even told by those who personally sacrificed so much. Aside from the galleries in the museum itself, they are online collections, virtual field trips, webinars, educational travel programs, and a renowned International Conference on World War II. These offer new ways to connect to history and honor the “Greatest Generation”.
No other war in history has so definitely lined up the forces of arbitrary oppression and dictatorship against those of human rights and individual liberty.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower in a letter to his son
It is my hope, and indeed the hope of all mankind, that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past-a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish for freedom, tolerance, and justice.
General Douglas MacArthur, aboard the USS Missouri, 02 September, 1945
