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Press ReleaseNEW ORLEANS (April 2, 2024) — The National WWII Museum is proud to announce the 2024 recipients of the American Spirit Award, the Museum’...
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Press Release
The National WWII Museum, Commemorative Air Force and Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation Announce WWII AirPower Expo 2016
The National WWII Museum, Commemorative Air Force (CAF) and Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation are proud to present WWII AirPower Expo 2016 – a celebration of historic 1940s warbirds and the American aviators who flew them. Taking place at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport, the three-day air show will offer thrilling aerial demonstrations, up-close aircraft tours, authentic WWII-era entertainment, hands-on activities and an opportunity to meet some of the men and women who helped win World War II. Visitors will also have the option to purchase tickets for a memorable ride aboard some of the majestic aircraft.
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Major Glenn Miller, US Army Air Forces
The Glenn Miller Orchestra was at the top of the charts when Miller gave it all up to support the war effort. This two part series will highlight Miller’s career and untimely disappearance.
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Before Montgomery: Bayard Rustin and the Fight for Racial Justice During World War II
For civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, World War II was a crucial time when he explored nonviolent direct action as a philosophy and a method for challenging racial inequality.
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Eyewitness to Pearl Harbor and the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
Eleven months after witnessing the attack on Pearl Harbor, Harold Ward stood watch aboard the USS San Francisco as the heavy cruiser "steamed right into a mess."
Past Events
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Meet The Author
10/10/2018 | 5:00 PM - 8:00 PMPresented by the Institute for the Study of War and Democracy with generous support from the Strake Foundation, Sandra Bolzenius will present her new book Glory in Their Spirit: How Four Black Women Took on the Army during World War II.
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Photographer Phil Stern in World War II
09/11/2018 | 5:00 PM - 8:00 PMLiesl Bradner presents “Snapdragon: The World War II Exploits of Darby's Ranger and Combat Photographer Phil Stern”
The Gen. Mason Distinguished Lecture featuring William Hitchcock
The Gen. Mason Distinguished Lecture featuring William Hitchcock lcm-mercedesThe Gen. Mason Distinguished Lecture featuring William HitchcockOn the anniversary of V-E Day, come hear an original and penetrating assessment of President Dwight D. Eisenhower from one of the country’s preeminent scholars, William I. Hitchcock, PhD, as he discusses Ike’s enormous influence on modern America, the Cold War, and on the presidency itself.
William I. Hitchcock, PhD, presents The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s
5:00 p.m. Reception | 6:00 p.m. Presentation | 7:00 p.m. Book Signing
On the anniversary of V-E Day, come hear an original and penetrating assessment of President Dwight D. Eisenhower from one of the country’s preeminent scholars, William I. Hitchcock, PhD, as he discusses Ike’s enormous influence on modern America, the Cold War, and on the presidency itself.
In a 2017 survey, presidential historians ranked Eisenhower fifth on the list of great presidents, behind the perennial top four: Lincoln, Washington, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Teddy Roosevelt. Through his presentation, Hitchcock shows this high ranking is justified through Eisenhower’s enormous accomplishments which loom ever larger today from the vantage point of our own tumultuous times.
A former general, Eisenhower kept the peace, Hitchcock argues, pointing to the following accomplishments: he ended the Korean War, avoided a war in Vietnam, adroitly managed a potential confrontation with China, and soothed relations with the Soviet Union after Stalin’s death. Through his guidance, he was able to influence the Republican Party to embrace central aspects of the New Deal like Social Security. He thwarted the demagoguery of McCarthy and he advanced the agenda of civil rights for African Americans. As part of his strategy to wage, and win, the Cold War, Eisenhower expanded American military power, built a fearsome nuclear arsenal, and launched the space race. In his famous farewell address, he acknowledged that Americans needed such weapons in order to keep global peace—but he also admonished his citizens to remain alert to the potentially harmful influence of the “military-industrial complex.”
From 1953 to 1961 no one dominated the world stage as did President Eisenhower. The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s is Hitchcock’s definitive account of this presidency, drawing extensively on declassified material from the Eisenhower Library, the CIA and Defense Department, and troves of unpublished documents. In his masterful account, Hitchcock shows how Eisenhower shaped modern America, and he astutely assesses his close confidants, from Attorney General Herbert Brownell to Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. The result is an eye-opening reevaluation that explains why the former chief of state, criticized as a “do-nothing” president in the 1950s, is rightly regarded today as one of our country’s greatest leaders.
Don’t miss this fascinating discussion! Register online today to reserve your spot.
About the Author
William I. Hitchcock is Professor of History at the University of Virginia and the Randolph P. Compton Professor at UVA’s Miller Center. His work and teaching focus is the international, diplomatic, and military history of the 20th century, in particular the era of the world wars and the Cold War. He has written widely on trans-Atlantic relations, the politics of the 1950s, and European history and politics.
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