National D-Day Museum

June 6, 2000 marked the opening of the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans. It honors those who fought in World War II, and also those who stayed behind to build the tools and weapons that the military needed for the war effort. The sidewalks are paved with bricks bearing the names of World War II veterans. My father's name is on one of those bricks.

One of the main attractions of the museum is an exact reproduction of the Higgins Landing Crafts (produced by the Higgins Boat Project) that were used, not only at Normandy on D-Day, but in the Mediterranean and in the Pacific. In addition, you will see some vintage WWII aircraft (including a U.S. Avenger, and a British Spitfire), military weapons, armament, and artifacts form that era. In December of 2002, the museum opened its Pacific Wing, to honor those wh faught the war in the Pacific. It will be an eye opener for those who are too young to feel the importance of that war, in terms of national and personal survival.

For those who want to learn more of the history, there is a small theater for viewing WWII film clips, and galleries filled with photographs, and the written and oral accounts many of the battles fought during the War, as told by the veterans. It is important to note, is that for every story that is told, there are hundreds, if not thousands of untold stories, which can't be told.

Many of the veterans came home to pick up their lives, and refused to talk about the war. They just wanted to forget. Often, when one of these veterans would open up, it would only be an account of some insignificant, humorous incident. You might think that all of the fighting and killing would harden them. Not at all. They didn't like the job, and it only reaffirmed their profound respect for life, and for freedom.

Adjacent to the D-Day museum is the University of New Orleans Eisenhower Center for American Studies, which together with Dr. Stephen Ambrose is largely responsible for the creation of this museum. Dr. Ambrose, a professor at the University of New Orleans (UNO) is the author of the book "D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II".

New Orleans has a long history and partnership with this country in its national defense. It began in 1805, when the U.S. Revenue Cutter Louisiana first defended the sovereignty of U.S. territorial waters off of the mouth of the Mississippi River, and again in 1814-1815, with the Battle of New Orleans. Jackson Barracks, still an active military reservation, is named for New Orleans hero, General (and later, President) Andrew Jackson.