When my husband, Bobby, and I traveled to New Orleans we happened into a tourism information shop. I say “happened,” but I usually try to get to a travel center or something that has tourism information wherever we go. We talked to Al, the guy behind the counter, about things we should do while in town. He told us about tours we could take and then he told us about the National World War II Museum.
The museum was built in New Orleans because the city was instrumental in the war effort. It was the home of Andrew Higgins, the inventor and manufacturer of the Higgins Boat or the Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) boat. These are the boats that were used to allow the troops to land on the beach of Normandy on June 6, 1944. In fact, the museum used to be known as the D-Day Museum.
We got to the museum around 11:15. One of the things I definitely wanted to do while we’re there was to watch the 4-D movie “Beyond All Boundaries.” It is a film narrated by executive producer, Tom Hanks, that not only gives you a history lesson along the way but almost makes you feel you are there in the middle of the action a few times. The seats move, the surround sound makes it sound like cannon and gunfire is happening all around, you fly in the bombers and at one point snow falls from the ceiling! In total the time to view the movie was around one hour. It costs $7 above the general admission ticket, but it is totally worth it.
Before the film started we had just enough time to visit the aviation wing of the museum. This part of the museum has actual airplanes and vehicles used in the war on display. The planes were hanging from the ceiling in the massive building. There were four levels that afforded us views from all all levels to see the planes.
We rode the elevator the top. They have a warning in the elevator to discourage people with vertigo or other health problems from going on the breezeways, which are the only way to see the planes. So even though I struggle with motion sickness, I decided to give it a go. I could definitely understand the reason for the warning once I was out there. If I focused on the displays I was O.K., but let me tell you I was glad to get to the ground floor level.
I did enjoy seeing the pictures of Medal of Honor recipients that were hanging on the wall on the second and first level as well as the uniforms from the different branches of the military. The uniforms were donated by actual veterans of the war. I was surprised to see the Merchant Marines were also represented. The placard stated that sometime after the war the Merchant Marines were recognized for the part they played in the war by delivering supplies across the waterways. Because we had to get to our scheduled time for the movie that was all we really got to see in the aviation wing.
After the movie we went to another building on the museum’s campus. This building had two levels. The lower level takes the visitors through the European side of the war. The upstairs is dedicated to the Pacific front. I probably should say they immerse you in the war.
The displays are amazing as you walk through the forests and villages of war-torn Europe or walk through the ships on the Pacific and jungles on the islands in the Pacific.
Throughout the museum are short videos explaining different battles or other key points of the war. When we watched the video about Midway, I knew I would have to watch the film that had come out recently in the movie theaters. (The movie was pretty good, but it was helpful for me to know more of the specifics ahead of time, because I probably wouldn’t have understood the significance of some things that occurred.)
One thing that struck me while at the museum was how much the United States of America and all the nations that made up the Allies pulled together to defeat the Axis countries. Because our time was short, we didn’t get to the building that was dedicated to the home front, which I’m sure would have made this even clearer. However, there were mentions of it in other parts of the museum. If I ever make it back, I will go to this portion of the museum first.
Another thing that struck me was just how ambitious the Axis Nations were to conquer the world. If you ever doubt evil in the world, just look at history and how terrible one group of people treat another for no good reason other than they can. That’s why visiting the museum is a must. The people who built, designed and executed the exhibits in the museum have done an amazing job capturing the history of the war. It would be a pity not to learn from our past.
Bobby and I really only had one day to tour New Orleans. We were only there because of a conference/trade show Bobby was working. We had originally planned a pretty packed day with tours and a short stop at the museum. Due to how things unfolded, we didn’t do as much as we expected, which is actually a good thing. We were able to spend about 4 hours at the museum. Believe me, you need at least that long, if not longer. There is so much to see and take in! We actually had more than one person tell us that it would take 4-5 hours to visit the museum. Beforehand Bobby didn’t understand why we couldn’t do it in a couple of hours. Afterwards he told me he was wrong. “You need at least 4 hours and that is just scratching the surface.”
