Our Mission
The National WWII Museum tells the story of the American experience in the war that changed the world—why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today—so that all generations will understand the price of freedom and be inspired by what they learn.
Event Recaps
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Lunchbox Lecture: "Fort Benning and Columbus, Georgia: A Community Transformed" by Rebecca Bush
Join Rebecca Bush, Curator of History at The Columbus Museum, as she discusses how Columbus became known as “Mother-in-Law of the Army” and how World War II made both Columbus and Fort Benning integral components of US military training for generations.
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Dr. Seuss and WWII: Analyzing Political Cartoons
Learn about Dr. Seuss's role in the war through his political cartoons and the hidden messages in some of his most famous children's books.
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Reel History Filmmaker Talks: Path to the Past
Join Nathan Huegen, Director of Educational Travel, and filmmaker Lou Baczewski in a discussion of the documentary film by Baczewski entitled Path to the Past.
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"The German Military, the Third Reich, and World War II:" A Conversation with Michael Geyer, PhD
Join us for this fascinating exchange about the career and work of Dr. Michael Geyer, one of the foremost authorities on the German military, the Third Reich, and World War II.
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"Pearl Harbor, Dorie Miller, and WWII Memory:" A Webinar Conversation with Robert K. Chester, PhD
Join us virtually for an enlightening program about one of the first American heroes of World War II, Doris “Dorie” Miller.
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Pearl Harbor Day Commemoration
Join us as we remember Pearl Harbor. The surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, forever known as a "day of infamy," plunged the United States into World War II. Each year, The National WWII Museum commemorates the lives lost on December 7, 1941.
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From Christmas Lights to Bomb Fuses
Learn more about this important breakthrough and some of the science behind it.
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Electing Roosevelt: 1940 and 1944
Join The National WWII Museum as we look back on these two historic elections and Roosevelt’s legacy as President of the United States.
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Honor and Duty: The Chinese American WWII Veterans Panel Discussion
Following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, nearly 20% of the Chinese American population signed up and served honorably in every branch of the US Armed Services and all four theaters of combat.
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Wheels of Courage: How Paralyzed Veterans from World War II Invented Wheelchair Sports, Fought for Disability Rights, and Inspired a Nation
Join us for a webinar about a book that has received great press and even better reviews, Wheels of Courage: How Paralyzed Veterans from World War II Invented Wheelchair Sports, Fought for Disability Rights, and Inspired a Nation.
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On Deck of Patrol Torpedo Boat 305
Join museum educators for the ride of a lifetime on PT Boat 305!
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The American Soldier: Service and Storytelling through Art and History
Join Hannah Dailey, Oral Historian from The National WWII Museum, for a conversation with Douglas Taurel—writer, director, and actor of The American Soldier.
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Agent Sonya: Moscow's Most Daring Wartime Spy
Join us to hear the incredible story of the greatest female spy in history from one of Britain’s most acclaimed historians: Ben Macintyre.
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Meet the Author: Alan Gratz
Join The National WWII Museum for a Meet the Author webinar with New York Times bestselling author Alan Gratz. Museum educator Kate Fitzgerald will interview Alan Gratz about his young adult book, Refugee.
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Lunchbox Lecture: "The Munich Agreement: From Versailles to Blitzkrieg" by Rick Jacobs
On September 30, 1938, Nazi Germany entered an agreement with the United Kingdom, France, and Italy approving the annexation of the Sudetenland. This lecture will describe the efforts that led to the signing of the agreement and how it kicked off what became World War II.
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Reel History Filmmaker Talks: History Speaks
Join Dr. Kristen Burton, Teacher Programs and Curriculum Specialist, as she moderates a conversation with the filmmakers behind History Speaks: The Diary of a Generation. Viewers will also be able to watch a segment of History Speaks: Hooray for Hollywood.
Oral History Profiles
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Mark Gordon Hazard, 79th Infantry Division
Mark Hazard discusses a patrol he led behind German lines just before the assault on Hagenau with the objective of capturing a German soldier to interrogate for information about enemy strength in the area.
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Benjamin Carson, 2nd Marine Raider Battalion
Benjamin Carson talks about volunteering for the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion and the brutally realistic training they received in San Diego to prepare for combat in the Pacific.
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Jack Glass, USS Enterprise (CV-6)
Jack Glass describes his experiences aboard the USS Enterprise (CV-6) during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in August 1942.
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Frank Buschmeier, 100th Bomb Group
Frank Buschmeier discusses his capture and subsequent imprisonment after his B-17 was shot down during a mission to Merseberg, Germany in July 1944.
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James “Horse Collar” Smith, 1st Marine Raider Battalion
James “Horse Collar” Smith describes his experiences during the Battle of Bloody Ridge on Guadalcanal in September 1942.
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Walter Jacobs, 77th Infantry Division
Walter Jacobs talks about encountering a wounded Japanese soldier during the fighting on Ie Shima and how he believes that his sparing of an enemy soldier’s life resulted in him surviving the fighting there and later on Okinawa.
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Florence Reynolds, WASP
Florence Reynolds describes a negative encounter she had with an Army Air Forces maintenance officer when she questioned the condition of an aircraft she was ordered to fly.
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William S. Jones, 7th Infantry Division, Attu
William S. Jones describes his experiences during the fight to recapture Attu in the Aleutian Islands in May 1943.
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Mike “Iron Mike” Mervosh, 4th Marine Division
Mike Mervosh describes his experience with the flag raising on Iwo Jima.
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Herbert Helibrun, 301st Bomb Group
Herbert Heilbrun describes the Christmas 1944 mission he took part in to bomb the oil refineries at Brux, Czechoslovakia and how well defended the area was.
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Stanley Wolczyk, 7th Infantry Division, Attu
Stanley Wolczyk discusses his experiences on Attu in May 1943 and being wounded late in the fight, a wound which ended his Army service.
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Charles McGee, 332nd Fighter Group
Charles McGee discusses flying bomber escort for 15th Air Force heavy bombardment groups and downing a German Focke Wulf Fw 190 during one of those missions.
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George Peto, 1st Marine Division
George Peto describes an uphill assault he took part in on Okinawa that ended up being his proudest day in the Marine Corps, despite the tremendous casualties his company suffered.
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Maynard David, 504th Bomb Group
Maynard David talks about a particularly harrowing mission he and his crew flew to Tokyo, Japan in May 1945.
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Theodore “Dutch” Van Kirk, Navigator on the Enola Gay
Theodore “Dutch” Van Kirk, navigator on the Enola Gay, describes arriving at Wendover Field, Utah and figuring out that he would be taking part in a mission to drop an atomic bomb.
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Joseph Sasser, 50th Engineers, Attu
Joseph Sasser discusses his experiences on Engineer Hill during the final hours of the Battle of Attu in May 1943.
"To The Best of My Ability"
Season 2: Episode 3 – Ezra Weston Loomis Pound
After more than 20 years living abroad as an expatriate in Italy, poet and Nazi sympathizer Ezra Pound was charged with 19 counts of treason against the United States. During World War II, Pound broadcast pro-Facist propaganda into the US, accepting payment from the Italian government. He expressed support for Hitler and Mussolini, criticized FDR, and blamed the Jews for the outbreak of the war--all staples of Nazi propaganda. Pound was eventually found mentally unfit to stand trial, and was incarcerated at St. Elizabeth’s psychiatric hospital for more than 12 years. While institutionalized, he managed to befriend white supremacists and members of the Ku Klux Klan, including John Kasper, a staunch segregationist who was suspected of committing multiple synagogue, church, and school bombings.
Latest "Service on Celluloid" Podcasts
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Stalag 17
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Minisode To Flags of Our Fathers
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Flags of Our Fathers
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Minisode To Guadalcanal Diary
Trending Topics
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European Theater