In the late 1930s, the U.S. military began developing small boats that could carry troops from ships to open beaches. Andrew Jackson Higgins of New Orleans, who had been manufacturing shallow-water work boats to support oil and gas exploration in the Louisiana bayous, adapted his Eureka Boat to meet the military’s specifications for a landing craft. Designated the Landing Craft Personnel (Large), or LCP(L), it was used in the invasions of Guadalcanal and North Africa in 1942. He was, according to Dwight D. Eisenhower, "the man who won the war for us."

In the late 1930s, the U.S. military began developing small boats that could carry troops from ships to open beaches.

Family members and Higgins Industries workers and their families gathered at the Museum in October 2017 to remember New Orleans boatbuilder Andrew Jackson Higgins. 

The National WWII Museum has long highlighted the wartime contributions of Andrew Higgins and his company, Higgins Industries, in building thousands of landing craft that were vital to amphibious invasions. Now the institution is exploring a little-known role the New Orleans company played in the Manhattan Project as America raced to develop an nuclear weapon.

As The National WWII Museum grows into a world class institution, the need to serve a rapidly increasing number of visitors, students, scholars, and educators also continues to grow.