We arrived at this beautiful museum in downtown New Orleans, and were invited to view the great displays of Higgins boats and other memorabilia- some of which we had seen earlier. We proceeded to the newest addition which was a splendid 4 dimensional movie theater depicting many historical scenes of actual World War II battles. All these were narrated by Tom Hanks, Ernie Pyle, Edward R. Murrow and others.
We remembered the actual bombing of Pearl Harbor. I was walking downtown in El Dorado, when I saw people rushing out of a drug store, screaming, "The Japs have just bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaiian Islands". I did not know where Pearl Harbor was located, but we soon found out.
Virginia was at her home that Sunday morning in Strong, practicing the piano. Her parents were listening to their radio, when the program was interrupted with the news of the Pearl Harbor bombing. They were particularly distressed since William, her older brother, was already in the Army, stationed in California.
The very next day President Roosevelt made his "Day of Infamy" speech declaring war on Japan. We heard the radio address at each of our high schools. (Years later we visited Hyde Park, New York - Roosevelt's home- and saw the yellow page tablet on which he had personally written this speech).
Three weeks later, William and his unit were dispatched to Pearl Harbor from his base in Ft. Ord, California. Smoke was still rising from the wreckage of the earlier attack when he arrived.
The actual battle scenes revived our own memories of that time, both in the Pacific and European theaters of action. Virginia's brother William, had served in the Pacific since the end of December 1941. He served continuously until November, 1944 - shortly after the death of his and Virginia's father. And then returned to Saipan and Okinawa for the remainder of the war.
We heard the the June 6, 1944 D-Day invasion as it was being broadcast on the radio, narrated by Edwin R. Murrow. I remember hearing the " BOOM, BOOMS" of the bombs as they exploded.
My brothers, Wren and Malcolm entered France a month after D-Day. They met each other in Liege, Belgium at the time of the Battle of the Bulge.
This museum is magnificent, with a screen covering the entire side of a large room, from floor to ceiling. The seats shake when bombings were taking place in the movie, and "snow flakes" would float down into the audience to depict the freezing weather. This movie is the most realistic portrayal of war history to be seen anywhere.
I TRULY BELIEVE WE COULD HAVE LOST THAT WAR IF NOT FOR LEADERS LIKE PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT, CHUR CHILL, GENERAL EISENHOWER, AND ADMIRAL NIMITZ.
A VISIT TO THIS MUSEUM SHOULD BE REQUIRED FOR ALL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.
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