Beyond All Boundaries

April 12, 2015

Beyond All Boundaries

Situated in the heart of the central business district of New Orleans is the amazing National World War II museum. Neither Kathy or I had ever been and we had read that it was a must see attraction in the city and so we took time to head over and check it out before activities got underway at the NOLA motorsports park. 

The Museum which opened on June 6, 2000, the 56th anniversary of D-Day has a large atrium where aircraft including a Supermarine Spitfire, Messerschmitt Bf 109, Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber, and Douglas C-47 Skytrain are suspended from the ceiling. The building is several stories high and consists of two multi-level sections that are connected only by the main floor atrium. The Museum does not solely discuss the invasion of Normandy, but also represents the Allied strategy of island hopping, culminating with nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.



The Museum has several permanent galleries, including the Home Front, Planning for D-Day, The D-Day Beaches, and Pacific D-Days galleries. The third floor of the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion includes an observation deck for viewing the hanging aircraft. The second floor has reserved space for visiting exhibits and for special exhibits that change every few months. In January 2013, the museum opened its newest exhibit, The US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center, which is the largest building on the museum campus.





The collection in the US Freedom Pavilion includes a B-17E Flying Fortress bomber, a B-25J Mitchell bomber, a SBD-3 Dauntless, a TBF Avenger, a P-51C razorback Mustang, Corsair F4U-4 and an interactive submarine experience based on the final mission of the USS Tang. The B-17E is the airplane dubbed My Gal Sal, famous for having been lost in a mission over Greenland and recovered 53 years later. The US Freedom Pavilion was paid for with a $15 million donation from the Boeing Company and with a $20 million grant from the US Department of Defense with Congressional approval.





The entire museum is fantastic and the incredible 4-D movie “Beyond All Boundaries” is worth the visit on its own. It was especially cool to be visiting the museum on the same day as a number of WWII veterans, which just added to the resonance and poignancy of the visit.













After visiting the museum it was on to the NOLA Motorsports Park for the opening practice and support races for the New Orleans Indy Car Grand Prix. Threatening weather overshadowed the festivities but they did get some action in and the facility was very nice. I watched sports car racing and wondered around the paddock and pits, getting a feel for the place before the rain moved in.











That evening Kathy & I visited a couple of Garden District hotspots, the NOLA Brewing Company where we sampled craft beer and then moved on to the famous Tipitina’s uptown bar to check out the scene. It was another great day in New Orleans.

http://www.nationalww2museum.org/