The WW II Museum Will Renew Your American Soul

It opened in June of 2000 as a tribute to the two million men who were members of the Allies D-Day Normandy invasion, the largest military endeavor in history.  Now, in 2013 it has evolved to become the World War II Museum and it is a masterpiece.  Located on Magazine street in New Orleans, the museum is a beautiful, multifaceted encomium to an American generation of men and women who gave their all to save the world from the evil of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan.  Without them most of us wouldn't be here or, if we were, undoubtedly we would be speaking a different language.  

Put this wonderful enterprise on your bucket list and, if you can, see it with a veteran.

Veterans are special at this museum--especially those who served in this world war.

Today my wife and I wound up a five day visit to the Big Easy and the museum; truthfully I can't recall ever having an experience equal to it.  Joining us were good friends Denny Krick and Roger O'Neil.  Roger, like me, is a veteran of the Vietnam Era.  Unlike me he actually spent time in Southeast Asia while I protected cows and made certain that Kansas remained free of commies and Vietcong.  Denny, eighty-seven on his last birthday, is a WW II vet who served in the South Pacific.  All of us are members of the same local California gym and had talked of making the trip to New Orleans for quite some time before finally putting it together.  Now we all want to go again.  

It's that good.

WW II vets like Denny Krick get special treatment at the museum.

Young people were full of questions for Denny.

Another museum visitor thanks Denny for his service.

The World War II Museum

Historian and author, the late Stephen Ambrose, dreamed the World War II Museum and brought it to life with Nick Mueller who carries on the mission with ever expanding exhibits and new pavilions including the recently dedicated Freedom Pavilion sponsored by Boeing.  It will take you more than a full day to begin to see it all, including the John E. Kushner Restoration Pavilion where you can view the continuing restoration of PT 305 and other WW II era boats like the Higgins boat that was conceived and built by Andrew Jackson Higgins in New Orleans.  The Higgins landing craft was critical to our victory at Normandy.

World War II cost 65 million lives.  Try to grasp the enormity of it if you can.  America was one of the more fortunate participants, we lost only slightly more than 400,000 of our best and brightest.  Sixteen million of our fathers and grandfathers served.  Our moms and grandmothers also assisted in uniform and in factories, hospitals and a multitude of other jobs at home.  We all know these people and should thank them in every way we can.

The perfect means to show your appreciation would be to escort a member of America's Greatest Generation to the World War II Museum in New Orleans.  There are only 1.2 million of these wonderful selfless Americans left and we are losing somewhere between 600 and 1500 of them a day.  Do it before you and they run out of time.

 Like hot soup on a cold winter's day, the WW II Museum will warm you and renew your American soul.

Boeing Center at the WW II Museum

Check out the museum at: www.nationalww2museum.org