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.
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Learn MoreWWII Medal of Honor Recipients
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Event Recaps
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Tables Turned on Them: Jews Guarding Nazi POWs Held in the United States
Tune in for a discussion of the little known group of Jewish soldiers in the US Army who were tasked with guarding German POWs and also with the process of reeducating them before they were returned to a defeated and peaceful Germany, the last of whom were sent 75 years ago.
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Lunchbox Lecture: Weird War II
Join Rusty Nix, Communications Manager of the former Virginia WWI and WWII Commemoration Commission, as he dives into the weirder and wilder side of the war you THOUGHT you knew and discusses some of the most incredible and bizarre stories of World War II.
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The Indispensables: The Diverse Soldier-Mariners Who Shaped the Country, Formed the Navy, and Rowed Washington Across the Delaware
A unique program brought to you by the Institute for the Study of War and Democracy comparing and contrasting WWII History with the American Revolution, based on Patrick O’Donnell’s latest book.
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Stalin's War: A New History of World War II
Two prize-winning historians discuss one’s new work that reveals how Stalin—not Hitler—was the animating force of World War II in this major new history.
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2021 American Spirit Awards
The American Spirit Awards is an awards gala celebrating individuals and organizations whose work reflects the values and spirit of those who served our country during the World War II years.
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Virtual Innovation Studio: The Science of Communication
Join Museum Educators and learn how to communicate using signal flags and semaphore signals as well as how to make your own secret decoder to send messages that only YOU will be able to crack.
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Dr. Hal Baumgarten D-Day Commemoration Ceremony
The National WWII Museum marked the 77th anniversary of D-Day and 21st birthday of the Museum on Sunday, June 6, 2021, highlighted by the on-campus Dr. Hal Baumgarten D-Day Commemoration Ceremony in US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center.
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X Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos of World War II
Tune in for a conversation about the men of X Troop, who were the real Inglorious Basterds: a secret commando unit of young Jewish refugees who were trained in counterintelligence and advanced combat to deliver decisive blows against the Nazis.
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The Aftermath of "Liberation"--Jewish Displaced Persons in the American Zone of Occupation, 1945-1947
Tune in for an enlightening conversation about the trials and tribulations that tens of millions of Europeans faced in the years following Victory in Europe in 1945.
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Conversation with WWII Veteran Alan Moskin
Join us as for a unique opportunity to hear directly from a WWII Veteran, who is featured in the Museum’s installation of Dimensions in Testimony: Liberator Alan Moskin, an interactive biography from USC Shoah Foundation, on display in New Orleans from February 4–September 11, 2021.
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Victory in Europe: One Year Later
Join The National WWII Museum as we commemorate the surrender of Nazi Germany and V-E Day by taking a look back at the events of the year after surrender and how they shaped the modern world with Dr. Rob Citino, Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian and the Executive Director, The Institute for the Study of War and Democracy.
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S. Neil Fujita: Cover To Cover
S. Neil Fujita was an American citizen born to parents of Japanese American ancestry. Like more than 120,000 other Japanese Americans, Fujita and his family were forcibly relocated and incarcerated during World War II.
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Tinkering with Found Objects: A STEAM Webinar
Learn about the story of Edwin Nye, an American Prisoner Of War held by the Japanese during World War II and later the father to Bill Nye “The Science Guy.”
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Lunchbox Lecture: "The Making of Trench Art" by Tom Czekanski, Senior Curator, The National WWII Museum
Senior Curator Tom Czekanski discusses some of the methods and techniques used to create brass trench art.
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"Paper Bullets: Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis"
A conversation with author Jeffrey Jackson, PhD, and Jeremy Collins about a new book that offers a glimpse into the history of World War II at the ground level.
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Lunchbox Lecture: Creating & Coping: POW Life and Craftsmanship by Curator Kim Guise
More than 120,000 Americans were held prisoner by the enemy during World War II. In order to pass the time and to make life easier, POWs used the scarce resources available to design and build practical and artistic pieces.
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 9 – 33 Months
Rising racial tensions on the west coast of the United States came to a head after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and a mandatory forced evacuation was carried out, sending Japanese Americans to incarceration camps. The event echoed for decades afterwards across multiple presidential administrations in the courts, politics, and minds of those wrongfully incarcerated.
Latest "Service on Celluloid" Podcasts
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Learn MoreFlags of Our Fathers
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Learn MoreMinisode To Guadalcanal Diary