End of WWII anniversary: Has anyone been to the WWII Museum? And an amazing online find!

[kevinbgoode]

With the Japanese surrender anniversary coming up late this week, I was thinking a lot about that conflict. My father was a Seabee in the Pacific during that war, a conflict he never talked much about - all we know is that he was on Wake and Midway Islands and that he sometimes worked with desalinization of water.

Anyway, I know we have a major WWII history museum in New Orleans - has anyone been there? It's an outgrowth (apparently) of the old D-Day Museum located there, and they supposedly have a lot of good programs. I've thought of traveling there many times, but wondered if some of you have gone.

On another note, I recently located this amazing archive of stories written by people who endured the war in Britain. The BBC, I gather, has hundreds of stories compiled for access somewhere online - I've seen those before and it is huge. I stumbled on this one while reading a bit about the Channel Islands - I just rented the PBS series Island at War and wanted to read up on the history before watching the film. It's about the German occupation of the islands (the only part of Britain they conquered) and they were occupied until the German surrender. Anyway, I didn't realize it, but those islands have the largest remaining collection of German fortifications from the war - since they were never invaded by the Allies, everything the Germans constructed was left relatively intact.

But more than that, I...found..stories people have been writing about their memories and lives (not only the Channel Islands, but in Britain) and many are compelling. There is also a "Happy Ending" link in which people looking for lost persons from the war ask questions and researchers help them reconnect or confirm a death or burial. It..just brings the whole experience so much more to life. . .I thought some of you might find it enjoyable reading/browsing, and perhaps you can offer reflections of this anniversary and your own perceptions.

Anyway, here is a link: http://www.wartimememories.co.uk/map.html

You can view some of the pictures and the story of the German occupation of the Channel Islands at this Jersey site. Some amazing pictures of German fortifications built there:

http://www.ciosjersey.org.uk/

Are there many American sites depositing these kinds of stories online? I can't seem to find any - not even at the WW II Museum site.

[Behind the Aegis]

1. I have been to the WWII museum here in NOLA.

It is very impressive and the display they had for D-Day was outstanding. They are now in the process of building a complex in that area. There were all kinds of things on all theaters of war, propaganda from many countries (some I had never seen nor even knew about), and a variety of short films. It is a great place to see should one come to the Crescent City. It isn't but a stone's throw from the Vieux Caree (French Quarter), near Lee's Circle and the Civil War Museum. They also have private tours, check out their website: http://www.ddaymuseum.org/

[kevinbgoode]

2. Thanks! It does look impressive. . .

I wish we had some...well, online archives. I've been reading some of these British stories and they are just so alive:...

One short example:

Which explains why our family came to have a soldier living with us for nearly a fortnight. Our Very Own Soldier One afternoon a platoon of soldiers marched into Priesthorpe Avenue and came to a halt whilst their sergeant and corporal knocked at every door and asked if there was a spare room. Dad said that Philip must share my bedroom which would leave us with a spare room, and that was how we got our very own soldier. He carried a backpack and a tin hat. His boots were huge and black. Mum whispered that we were to be very kind to him, as he had come from a dreadful battle and needed to time to rest. Dad brought him inside and introduced him.



At bedtime we heard him talking to Mum and Dad down stairs, and when Mum came to tuck us in she told us to say a special prayer for him and for all the other soldiers who had escaped, and to ask God to bless the ones explained was that many of Jim’s friends had been killed as they waited on the beaches to be rescued. Some fishermen, in a small boat had saved Jim, snatching him up from the sea where he had waded up to his neck in the water. Thousands of soldiers had stood like this in the water waiting for someone to help them whilst the Germans shot at them and planes dived bombed them. Perhaps that was how the dent was made in Jim’s helmet, but we were not to talk about it, because it made him feel sad.



At school, the next day, we discovered that most children had a soldier staying with them. Some of the children from the bigger families were disappointed that they hadn’t the room for one. Our next-door neighbours had a very unusual guest. Their soldier was black! Most of us kids had never met a black man before. When we arrived home from school we were disappointed that Jim was not there. He and the other men spent the day at the local football field, drilling. They had been issued with kit to replace that which they had lost. He came home at teatime and after the meal Dad took him to the Farmers Inn for a drink. Dad was very happy to have a real soldier to talk to. When they walked down the street together Dad swung his arms high as if he was back in uniform.

Jim brought a ration card for Mum to get extra meat, butter, sugar, cheese and eggs for him. He also brought us some sweets, which were a great treat. Even so early in the war sweets and chocolate were scarce. Mum beamed when he told how much he liked her cooking, especially her steak and kidney pie! He was with us about ten days, then one morning early troops lined up and on an order from the Sergeant they marched away. Before he left he promised to write to us. He gave Philip his cap badge as a keepsake. We did get two letters from North Africa, but nothing else. Maybe he was killed or wounded, maybe he was taken prisoner, or maybe he was too busy to write. I shall never know.

http://www.wartimememories.co.uk/northeast.html#rations (Kath O'Sullivan)

Maybe I'm being sentimental, but for some reason it seems important to try to understand just how much suffering and sacrifice and life-altering that war was to...well, everyone.

Thank you for the museum reference - I think that is somewhere I might like to go over winter break.