Lieutenant Alexander R. Nininger received the first Medal of Honor of World War II. 
 

Captain Lucien Laborde was one of nearly 280,000 men and women from Louisiana who served in the Armed Forces in World War II.

When we think of World War II, the first images that enter our minds usually involve battle: armies fighting their desperate struggles on land, huge navies patrolling the oceans, and aircraft soaring sleekly overhead.

May, 8, 1945. Few announcements in modern history have ever been greeted with such joy as the announcement that Germany had surrendered to the Allies, ending World War II in Europe. The iconic images of happy throngs holding up the newspapers of the day found their way into countless scrapbooks and frames. Though Japan remained defiant, the joyous parades and street parties symbolized the relief that the war in Europe had ended.

The story of the men and women who saved cultural treasures from Nazi destruction will be featured in a major gallery inside The National WWII Museum’s upcoming Liberation Pavilion. Known collectively as "The Monuments Men," these museum curators and art experts from 13 nations are also the subject of a major motion picture to be released February 7, 2014.