The National WWII Museum, formerly known as The National D-Day Museum, is a military history
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
located in the
Central Business District
A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
of
, U.S., on Andrew Higgins Drive between Camp Street and
Magazine Street. The museum focuses on the contribution made by the United States to Allied victory in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Founded in 2000, it was later designated by the
U.S. Congress as America's official National WWII Museum in 2004. The museum is a
Smithsonian Institution affiliated museum,
as part of the
Smithsonian Institution's
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded o ...
outreach program.
The mission statement of the museum emphasizes the American experience in World War II.
History
The museum opened as the D-Day Museum, on June 6, 2000, the 56th anniversary of
D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
, focusing on the amphibious invasion of Normandy. As the
Higgins boats
The landing craft, vehicle, personnel (LCVP) or Higgins boat was a landing craft used extensively by the Allied forces in amphibious landings in World War II. Typically constructed from plywood, this shallow-draft, barge-like boat could ferry a ...
, vital to amphibious operations, were designed, built, and tested in New Orleans by
Higgins Industries, the city was the natural home for such a project. Furthermore, New Orleans was the home of historian and author
Stephen Ambrose, who spearheaded the effort to build the museum. Ambrose also wrote a book entitled ''D-Day'' in 1994, which describes the planning and execution of
Operation Neptune
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
, which was launched on June 6, 1944. The early emphasis of the museum on D-Day, the location of Higgins Industries, and Ambrose's connections to New Orleans were all factors in the museum being established in New Orleans.
Museum description
In addition to opening a second gallery exploring the amphibious invasions of the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
in the original building, known as the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion, the museum has since opened the Solomon Victory Theater, the John E. Kushner Restoration Pavilion, the US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center, and the Campaigns of Courage pavilion. As of February 2022, the Liberation Pavilion is in construction.
Within the large atrium of the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion several aircraft are on display, including a
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
and a
Douglas C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...
suspended from the ceiling. A
LCVP, or "Higgins boat," is also usually on display in this pavilion. The exhibits in this pavilion focus on the amphibious landings in the European theater of the war and on the contributions of the home front. The Louisiana Memorial Pavilion is also home to rotating temporary exhibits, as well as the immersive and interactive train car (part of the larger "Dog Tag Experience" interactive), which opened in 2013.
This part of the museum includes several permanent galleries, including the
Home Front
Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the full participation of the British public in World War I who suffered Zeppelin#During World War I, Zeppelin raids and endured Rationin ...
, Planning for
D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
, and the D-Day Beaches. The third floor of the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion includes an observation deck for closer viewing of the hanging aircraft.
In January 2013, the museum opened the US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center, which is the now largest building on the campus.
[National World War II Museu]
press release of January 13, 2013
Retrieved on July 12, 2020. The collection in the US Freedom Pavilion includes a
B-17E Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theate ...
bomber, a
B-25J Mitchell bomber, an
SBD-3 Dauntless, a
TBF Avenger
The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval a ...
, a
P-51D Mustang,
Corsair F4U-4 and an interactive submarine experience based on the final mission of the
USS ''Tang''.
The B-17E is the airplane dubbed ''
My Gal Sal
''My Gal Sal'' is a 1942 American musical film distributed by 20th Century Fox and starring Rita Hayworth and Victor Mature. The film is a biopic of 1890s composer and songwriter Paul Dresser and singer Sally Elliot. It was based on a biographi ...
'', famous for having been lost over
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
and recovered 53 years later.
The US Freedom Pavilion was paid for with a $15 million donation from the
Boeing Company and with a $20 million grant from the
US Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
with congressional approval.
[D. MacCash]
New Orleans Times-Picayune, January 9, 2013
In December 2014, the museum opened the Road to Berlin portion of the Campaigns of Courage pavilion, focusing on the European theater of war. A
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...
hangs in the building. The Road to Tokyo portion of this same pavilion, which focuses on the Pacific war, opened in 2015.
The entire pavilion, including both galleries, measures 32,000 square feet.
In June 2017, a new exhibit, ''The Arsenal of Democracy'', opened in the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion, dealing the experience on the
Home Front
Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the full participation of the British public in World War I who suffered Zeppelin#During World War I, Zeppelin raids and endured Rationin ...
.
The museum also has plans to open what will be called the Liberation Pavilion by 2020 with assistance from the
Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art. Its goal would be to explore the "joys, costs, and meaning of liberation and freedom," as well as how the legacy of World War II affects us today. The museum part of the Monuments Men and Women Museum Network, launched in 2021 by the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art.
Visitors to the museum are encouraged to allocate roughly 2½ to 3 hours to tour the museum. An award-winning
4-D film, ''
Beyond All Boundaries
''Beyond All Boundaries'' is a 2009 short film depicting the battles of World War II. The film is shown in 4D film, 4-D, and includes archive footage and special effects. The short, produced and narrated by Tom Hanks and directed by David Briggs, ...
'', is shown in the Solomon Victory Theater and gives the visitor an overview of the war on every front. Other multimedia displays are integrated into most of the museum's exhibits, notably the dozens of video oral histories conducted with veterans of the war by museum staff. The museum currently houses two restaurants, the
American Sector Restaurant & Bar and the Soda Shop.
The museum sponsors a
wargaming club and holds a wargame convention each year called "Heat of Battle". The museum hosts an annual robotics challenge where teams compete using the Lego Mindstorms components. The museum also hosts a World War II-themed
quiz bowl tournament, which is televised on
Cox 4
YurView Louisiana (previously Cox 4) is an American local cable-only public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV station in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Lafayette owned by Cox Communications. It first signed on as Cox 4 in 2001. ...
New Orleans.
Relation to New Orleans
The museum closed for three months after
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
ravaged New Orleans on August 29, 2005, re-opening on December 3 of that year. A museum banner promoted the re-opening by proclaiming "We Have Returned," a phrase made famous by General
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...
regarding his eventual return to the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
in 1944.
As of 2015, the museum is in the midst of a $400 million capital expansion campaign
called The Road to Victory: A Vision for Future Generations. The expansion has resulted in significant increases in attendance.
[National WWII Museum Sees Busiest Month Ever](_blank)
11 April 2012. Accessed 9 May 2012. The Solomon Victory Theater, Stage Door Canteen, and American Sector restaurant opened in November 2009. The John E. Kushner Restoration Pavilion opened in June 2011.
[National WW II Museum published expansion plans](_blank)
, accessed June 5, 2011. The US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center opened to the public in 2013, followed by the opening of the first phase of the Campaigns of Courage pavilion in 2014. The second phase of the Campaigns of Courage Pavilion, Road to Tokyo, opened in 2015.
The final project in the expansion will be the Liberation Pavilion. Initially, the intended date of completion of the expansion project was 2015, but has since been pushed back due to a series of delays causing it to be set to finish in 2022.
Visitation at the museum continues to grow, with 406,251 in 2010 having grown to nearly 700,000 in
fiscal year
A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
2016.
The museum helps the
economy
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
of
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
substantially with a total of about $132 million annually. The museum also is one of
New Orleans' biggest employers. It directly supports 300 jobs and indirectly supports another 142 jobs.
Gallery
Airplanes
See also
*
American Heritage Museum - Stow, Massachusetts
*
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...
- London, England
*
The International Museum of World War II - Natick, Massachusetts (closed in September 2019)
*
Marine Corps War Memorial
The United States Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial) is a national memorial located in Arlington County, Virginia. The memorial was dedicated in 1954 to all Marines who have given their lives in defense of the United States since 177 ...
- Arlington County, Virginia
*
Museum of La Coupole - German-built V-2 launch site in Pas-de-Calais, France
*
Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression - Beijing, China
*
Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Moscow
The Museum of the Great Patriotic War, also known as the Victory Museum (Russian: ''Музей Победы'') is a history museum located in Moscow at Poklonnaya Gora. The building was designed by architect Anatoly Polyansky. Work on the museum b ...
- Poklonnaya Gora, Moscow, Russia
*
Museum of the Second World War
The Museum of the Second World War () is a state cultural institution and museum established in 2008 in Gdańsk, Poland which is devoted to the Second World War. Its exhibits opened in 2017.
The ''Kwadrat'' architectural team won an architect ...
- Gdańsk, Poland
*
National D-Day Memorial
The National D-Day Memorial is a war memorial located in Bedford, Virginia. It serves as the national memorial for American D-Day veterans. However, its scope is international in that it states, "In Tribute to the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of ...
- Bedford, Virginia
*
- Kiev, Ukraine
*
National Museum of the Pacific War - in home of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz in Fredericksburg, Texas
*
National World War I Museum and Memorial
The National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri was opened in 1926 as the Liberty Memorial. In 2004, it was designated by the United States Congress as the country's official war memorial and museum dedicated to World War ...
- Kansas City, Missouri
*
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust hi ...
- National Mall, Washington, DC
*
World War II Memorial - National Mall, Washington, DC
References
External links
*
New Orleans Museums
{{DEFAULTSORT:National WWII Museum, The
Museums established in 2000
Museums in New Orleans
Military and war museums in Louisiana
World War II museums in the United States
2000 establishments in Louisiana
Smithsonian Institution affiliates
National museums of the United States
Private congressionally designated national museums of the United States