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National World War II Museum, New Orleans

 

The National World War II Museum is a massive collection that tries to represent the vast scope of the war through the eyes of individuals. You start off on a virtual train, as a member of the military would have started their experience, and are assigned a person to follow throughout the museum. Mine is below.

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Each of the rooms covers a different aspect of the war, but all try to give you a first-hand experience of what it was like to be there. It’s an immersive experience, with multimedia surroundings, artifacts, first-hand histories and personalized stories throughout.

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Interactive jungle scene

You get to follow your soldier/sailor/airman/woman through the various stages of their war experience, all the while "virtually" collecting various artifacts as you read and discover what the war was like.

The museum is housed in 3 main buildings with more to come. The pavilions are designed around specific aspects of the war: the first is for special exhibits; the Campaigns for Courage: The Tokyo and Europe wars; the Boeing Pavilion for the major aircraft; and the museum shop and theater. 

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The Boeing Pavilion, housing WWII aircraft

We started with one of the special exhibits, Fighting the Right to Fight, which houses memorabilia of the various black and minority service people trying to get to work in the military. WWII was the first time all were allowed to fight together side by side, although not at first.

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European battlefront gallery

The Campaign of Courage building’s upper floor is ‘The Road to Tokyo’, covering the Pacific part of the war effort, while the lower level houses ‘The Road to Berlin’, covering the war in Europe. Told from the perspective of Americans, it shows how the US was drawn into the war, and how the war changed that generation and all that followed. Below, model of Battle of Berlin.

2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 093The Road to Tokyo  takes you from the bombing of Pearl Harbor through the battles to re-capture lost islands and territories, and ultimately to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan that ended the war. The various brutal battles and harrowing losses are realistically portrayed, and issues of disease and death are also presented. At the end, you feel as if you were a “fly on the tent,” watching what happened as sacrifice, courage and ingenuity won the day.

The exhibition all for the planes also houses a very nice interactive display of Medal of Honor winners, while showing uniforms and various tanks, trucks and planes. It is housed
in a very tall building that can accommodate the planes.      

The museum started in 2000 as the D-Day Museum, but later was named by Congress as the WWII Museum. It’s an immense experience, over 6 acres, and best seen in at least 3-4 hours, so as not to rush (and an hour more if you plan to see any of the movies.) Pre-ordering tickets is also a good idea to avoid the long lines at the museum. There are prices based on what you want to see, and discounts for seniors, military, students and WWII veterans.

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Soldier's rations

Some of the exhibits are very graphic, perhaps not fit for the very young, and of course some of the scenes show naked and destroyed humans--as you would expect from a war. Many of the 100,000+ artifacts are one of kind, collected by the founder, the historian Stephen Ambrose, who amassed them while interviewing veterans.

2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 074While shown from the perspective of the US, Axis and Allied forces are both represented with artifacts and materials. Each of the nearly 20 galleries represents an actual location to give a feel of what it might have been like. You might be in a jungle, on a beach, high up in a mountain, or in a wintry forest.

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There are many oral histories, spoken by the people who experienced what they are describing. That makes the war so much more personal and meaningful than just the objects and the scene. The artifacts, uniforms, letters, and more are from the people whose stories are shown or whose personal accounts you can hear. The stories are from ordinary soldiers and not the people "running" the war.

2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 019All branches of the services are covered, including a special exhibit just for the Merchant Marines, above. So, you explore the war from the first battles in North Africa through the various battles, through Normandy and into the final stages of the battle to capture Berlin. You are housed in a Nissen hut, hearing how the war was being waged by air against the Germans. The exhibits are interactive and easy to view.

2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 090aWe also enjoyed seeing the multimedia film, "Beyond all Boundaries,", narrated by Tom Hanks. During the film, which shows actual footage from the war, you are suddenly exposed to the elements as if you are physically present. Your seat vibrates, you feel the wind blowing, bright searchlights shine in your eye! You truly are completely immersed in the experience, while still learning a lot about the war.

For even more images of the museum, see the 'slideshow' below!

Attachments

Images (47)
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 001: Lines to buy tickets
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 008: Dog Tags to follow
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 010a: My Assigned Soldier
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 016: Rosie the Riveter
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 019: Merchant Marine Exhibit
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 023: Start of the Japan Exhibit
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 023a: Axis and Allied leaders
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 025: Wheel-house view of the ship
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 030: Interactive jungle exhibit
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 033: Rations
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 035: Medical kit
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 040: Medal of Honor
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 041: Example of the Virtual Tagging in the Museum
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 042: Island Bombing Raids
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 045: Helment
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 048: Last letter home
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 049: Condolence letter
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 054: Hidden canteen letters
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 060: Atomic bomb damage
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 061: Watch worn on the Enola Gay flight
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 065: Melted bottles from the bomb-blast site
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 071: Card issued on surrender day
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 074: North Africa campaign
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 079: Medic arm band
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 081: Helmet and Goggles worn by soldiers
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 086: "Eisenhower" style jacket
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 089: Shrapnel goggles worn by soldiers
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 090a: War room Nissen hut
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 091: View through the roof of a Nissen Hut
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 093: Interactive display of the Battle of Berlin
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 094: Pinup Girls
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 112: D-Day Room
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 115: Shaving kit
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 116: European Battle front
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 121: Letter to home with drawings
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 123: Winter scene in Bulge Battle
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 123a: Red Ball highway -- crew patch for builders
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 126: Example of a map display
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 128: Arm band for poor soldiers
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 132: Cutlery from Hitler (Adolph Hitler--AH)
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 134: Military issued service pistol
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 140: Donation bricks in the entryways
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 142: Boeing Pavilion
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 193: Medal of Honor Winners
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 195: Close-up of Medal of Honor winners
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 196: Planes of the war
  • 2016-04-13 New Orleans WWII National Museum 199: Tank up close

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