Authorized during the one of most difficult periods during the air war, the Air Medal was an effort to rally the US Army Air Forces crews.

The National WWII Museum President and CEO Gordon H. “Nick” Mueller today received the French Legion of Honor alongside Tom Brokaw and Tom Hanks at a private ceremony at the Grand Chancellery in Paris. The Legion of Honor Medal, which was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, acknowledges services rendered to France by persons of exceptional merit and accomplishments. It is the highest distinction awarded by the French government.

Jennifer Popowycz, PhD is the Leventhal Research Fellow at The National WWII Museum. Her research focuses on the Eastern Front and Nazi occupation policies in Eastern Europe in World War II. 

The National WWII Museum and its Board of Trustees officially broke ground  on The Higgins Hotel & Conference Center. The 230-room Hotel, which is scheduled for completion in 2019, will operate as part of the exclusive Curio Collection by Hilton, one of Hilton’s 14 market-leading brands. The first Curio Collection hotel in Louisiana, the property will support the Museum’s expanding educational programs while offering guests the unique experience of full-service hotel accommodations with a convenient way to maximize their time at the Museum.

In conjunction with the special exhibit <em>Fighting for the Right to Fight: African American Experiences in World War II</em>, The National WWII Museum is welcoming an authentic, newly restored P-51D Mustang fighter to Museum grounds, replacing a replica P-51 in US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center. The warbird, which is painted in the likeness of the 332nd Fighter Group’s Red Tail plane flown by Tuskegee Airman Roscoe Brown, will be unveiled during a special dedication ceremony on April 21.