During World War II, American fighter pilots coped with the dangers of combat through dark humor and evocative aircraft nicknames like “Live Bait” and “Flak Bait,” reflecting their bravery, their gallows wit, and the intensity of their experiences.

In recognition of 25 years of collecting at the Museum, our curators have highlighted pieces with special significance.

Volunteers have helped keep things running smoothly at the Museum since it opened in 2000—and a very special group has been here from the very beginning.

Through partnership, research, and remembrance, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and The National WWII Museum help ensure that no family is forgotten and no hero is left behind.

The Oyneg Shabes Archive, created by historian Emanuel Ringelblum and other Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, meticulously documented their lives, suffering, and resistance during the Holocaust, ensuring their stories would survive even as they faced annihilation by the Nazis.

The liberation of Mindanao was, in some respects, an unnecessary campaign militarily, but it had important political implications, as it enabled the United States to fulfill its promise of independence to the Philippines. 

Women warrant officers made up a small portion of the Women’s Army Corps but were trailblazers who created opportunities for women in the US Armed Forces for decades to come.

During the war, nearly 1,100 highly trained women tested, flew, and ferried 12,650 aircraft over 60 million miles as Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).

In her My Day column on May 9, 1945, the day after V-E Day was officially confirmed, Eleanor Roosevelt reflects on the cautious mood, the devastation in Europe, and the unfinished task of winning peace.

The concept of genocide has fundamentally altered international law, history, and global geopolitics forever, transforming the way we understand mass violence in the modern world. 

Whether it played the role of the “Black Cat,” “Mad Cat,” or “Dumbo,” the PBY Catalina proved itself as one of the most instrumental amphibious planes as it struck fear in the Axis and provided hope for the Allies.

Regarded as the “most beautiful woman in the world,” Hedy Lamarr was not only a famous Hollywood actress who sold millions in war bonds during World War II, she was an inventor. Her creations included a frequency-hopping radio communications device for Allied torpedoes during the war.