When History Comes to Life: The National World War II Museum
Greetings, Tin Can Conservative reader. I meant to post this article on Wednesday this week, but I have been enjoying this little thing called “freedom” that we have in Texas! You should try it some time whenever your state government decides to stop ruing you life. To make up for my error, I will make sure post another blog article on Sunday. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this post.
In New Orleans, we have a gem that does not get a lot of press. This gem is not actually a piece of jewelry. In reality, that metaphorical gem is the National World War II Museum in downtown New Orleans. Rated as one of the top museums in the country by TripAdvisor, the National WWII Museum draws in hundreds of thousands of visitors annually (pre-COVID) to teach Americans about this important time in our nation’s history. Let’s get into why I think everyone should visit this amazing museum.
What is The National WWII Museum?
In 2000, this Museum opened up on the 56th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Originally called the “National D-Day Museum,” the US Congress officially named this museum as the “National World War II Museum in 2003. The museum’s stated mission is to “tell the story of the American experience in the war that changed the world—why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today.” Even with such lofty goals in mind, the museum accomplishes all of its objectives. Once you attend this museum, you will definitely agree with me. In its 20 year history, the National WW2 Museum has truly gone from good to great. There is no other museum that brings “WW2 history alive” better than this museum does. The museum’s interactive exhibits, wartime footage, and countless artifacts—from jeeps and planes to uniforms and letters—all make this museum an unforgettable experience.
At its inception, this museum started off as one building in the Warehouse District of New Orleans. Now called the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion, this original building mainly focused on the D-Day landings of WW2. To broaden the museum’s scope to the American experience in WW2, the museum constructed several new exhibits overall the past twenty years. The 2010s became a landmark decade for the museum. By the end of the decade, the museum went from a couple of buildings to a sprawling campus in the heart of downtown New Orleans.
Here is an all-encompassing list of the buildings that the National WW2 Muesuem constructed in the 2010s: the Solomon Victory Theater, the Campaigns of Courage Building, the Hall of Democracy, the US Freedom Pavilion, the John Kushner Restoration Pavilion, and the Higgins Hotel. In the next year (i.e. 2021), the Museum’s directors plan on completing two more building projects: Bollinger Canopy of Peace and the Liberation Pavilion.
Now that I’ve given you a fair bit of information about this fantastic museum. I will provide some specific highlights of the museum.
Best Of the National WW2 Museum:
-Final Mission: USS Tang Submarine Experience— The US Freedom Pavilion Building
Just to note, this museum attraction does cost extra money above the ticket price. If you have a time to hit tis experience, I would recommend doing it. This exhibit allows visitors to experience the final mission of a famed American submarine—the USS Tang. As you will learn in this experience, the USS Tang was a successful American submarine in the Pacific Ocean. On its fifth and final mission in 1945, an enemy Japanese torpedo sunk the USS Tang—leaving only a handful of survivors.
-Beyond All Boundaries Film—Solomon Victory Theater
Again, this museum attraction also costs extra. For people attending the museum for the first time, I highly recommending watching this 4-D film. Narrated by famed actor Tom Hanks, Beyond All Boundaries is an hour-long film that “brings WW2 to life” by combining archival footage, CGI animation, and booming special effects.
One more point, the remaining exhibits mentioned in this post are all included in the standard ticket price. So, your wallet will stop thinning out for the remainder of this post.
-Road to Tokyo & The Road to Berlin—The Campaigns of Courage Building
These two exhibits are some of the newest parts of the museum; personally, these two exhibits are my favorite parts of the whole museum.
These exhibits are essentially an updated/more interactive version of the original D-Day museum building. What I enjoy most about the Road to Tokyo and Road to Berlin exhibits is that they take you an immersive experience through the two main theaters of World War II: the Pacific and European theaters. Both exhibits chronologically regale the major events and battles of their respective theaters. No joke, I felt as though I was traversing the island of Iwo Jima the first time that I attended the Road to Tokyo exhibit. Certainly, the level of immersion in this museum is quite astounding. You sure don’t want to miss part of the museum on your next trip.
-The D-Day Invasion of Normandy—Louisiana Memorial Pavilion Building
The D-Day exhibit is the original part of the museum that I was discussing earlier. This exhibit is housed in the third floor of the main building of the museum’s campus—the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion. So, it’s not hard to miss. I recommend going to this exhibit just because you would have to backtrack through the rest of the museum to get back to it.
Briefly put, this exhibit focuses on the famed D-Day invasion of Normandy in June 1944. After visiting this exhibit, you will have a greater appreciation of the risks that the Allied armies took in storming the five beaches of Normandy, France.
–The Arsenal of Democracy—Louisiana Memorial Pavilion Building
The Arsenal of Democracy is located right next to the D-Day exhibit. Consequently, I would recommend it as your second exhibit to visit in my opinion. This exhibit brings the visitor back to the United States homefront. The war could not have been won if it had not been for all the sacrifices that American citizens made back home to support our boys overseas.
-“Warbirds” (Airplane exhibit)—The US Freedom Pavilion Building
This exhibit is fairly self-explanatory. In the US Freedom Pavilion Building, visitors can get a close-up look at several different aircraft used during WW2—including the is the famed B-17 flying fortress.
The museum restored these planes and has suspended them from the ceiling. So, visitors can walk right up these planes if you decide to walk to 2nd and 3rd story catwalks in the building.
Summary
I hope this article did just some justice in showing why I absolutely adore this museum. I have many fond memories from visiting this museum with my family and friends over the years. For anyone visiting New Orleans, the National World War II Museum should become a part of visit of New Orleans.
To close, I want to point out just how important this museum is becoming. Every days, World War 2 veterans pass away. Within the next decade or so, virtually all of the participants in WW2 will not longer be with us. This museum will serve as a reminder to future Americans about the sacrifices that these brave men made over seventy years ago. The National World War 2 Museum can and will preserve this glorious part in our nation’s history.