Press Release

Tom Brokaw to speak as part of new lecture series at The National World War II Museum

Only a few tickets remain for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

 

UPDATE: As of November 25, this event is sold out.

NEW ORLEANS – On Friday, December 5, 2008 at 6:30 pm, The National World War II Museum will present one of the most famous witnesses to history of the modern era, NBC newscaster, Tom Brokaw. Brokaw will be speaking as part of the Museum’s newly launched General Raymond E. Mason, Jr. Distinguished Lecture Series on World War II.
 
Among Tom Brokaw’s many honors and distinctions, he is the only person in the history of NBC to host all three of its major news programs: The Today Show, NBC Nightly News and Meet the Press. He was the only American anchor on the scene for the fall of the Berlin Wall and the first American anchor to interview both Mikhail Gorbachev and the Dalai Lama. He has interviewed every U.S. President since Lyndon Baines Johnson and has covered every Presidential election since 1968.

Brokaw is the author of five best-selling books including The Greatest Generation and, most recently, Boom! Voices of the Sixties: Personal Reflections on the ‘60s and Today. He has been a longtime supporter of The National World War II Museum and is active with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

Devoted to the legacy of America’s largest war, the Mason Lecture Series is the latest in a series of events both locally and nationally that the institution has underwritten to underscore the war’s continuing relevance to both the 21st-century and the Greatest Generation’s heirs – the sons and daughters of the men and women who fought in the conflict.

The Mason Lecture Series is made possible through the generosity of Major General and Mrs. Raymond E. Mason, Jr. and the Raymond E. Mason Foundation.  A native of Columbus, Ohio, General Mason graduated from Ohio State University in 1941. He served in the European Theater of Operations during World War II in the 4th Armored Division of General George S. Patton’s Third Army. Prior to retiring from the military in 1976, he held several high-ranking Pentagon positions, including Assistant Deputy Chief for Operations and Special Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Logistics.
 
The National World War II Museum is proud to present the Mason Lectures as free community events, but seating is limited.  Reservations are required. For more information on this and future lectures in this series, please call 504-527-6012 x 331 or email jeremy.collins@nationalww2museum.org. Registration is also available online at www.nationalww2museum.org.

The next presentation in the Mason Lecture Series will be on Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 6:00 pm, featuring Alex Kershaw. Kershaw, a historian and best-selling author of The Bedford Boys, The Longest Winter and The Few, will follow three Americans and their paths through Europe during World War II in a presentation entitled "Liberators: Three Americans who helped free Europe from Nazism".
 
The National World War II 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.  Dedicated in 2000 as The National D-Day Museum and now designated by Congress as the nation’s official World War II Museum, it celebrates the American Spirit, the teamwork, optimism, courage and sacrifice of the men and women who fought on the battlefront and the Home Front. For more information, call 504-527-6012 or visit www.nationalww2museum.org.