Author Meredith Hindley introduces a 75th anniversary Museum screening of the 1942 Warner Bros. classic. 

Kenneth Newton Walker, Brigadier General, US Army Air Corps received the Medal of Honor for his actions during a fatal bombing mission over Rabaul, New Britain, on January 5, 1943.

Americans like to think of World War II as a “great crusade,” but if it was, the country certainly didn’t seem all that fervent about rushing into it. Think of it: by the usual reckoning, World War II lasted six years, from the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, to Japan’s surrender on board the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945. US participation spanned less than four years of that total, a little over half the war. Of seven campaigning seasons, the United States missed the first three and was active only in the final four.

On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, that ultimately laid the foundation for the forced removal and subsequent incarceration of over 125,000 individuals of Japanese ancestry, two thirds of whom were American citizens.

On July 21, 2017, The National WWII Museum will unveil a new special exhibit called The Pelican State Goes to War: Louisiana in World War II. Presented by The Alta and John Franks Foundation, the exhibit will feature artifacts, photographs, oral histories and associated educational programming to highlight Louisiana’s extraordinary contributions toward America achieving victory in World War II.