Since its inception, the National World War II Museum’s goal was to not only explain the machinations of the war that stretched around the globe, but to tell the stories of those who fought in it. On Veterans Day, the New Orleans museum opened “Expressions of America,” a multimedia show created from personal correspondence and accounts from soldiers, nurses, factory workers and more.
Their words, songs and memories of the war are projected on the exteriors of buildings surrounding the Col. Battle Barksdale Parade Ground, which is part of the museum’s campus. These personal reflections span 90 feet above and 180 degrees around visitors along with music, special effects and archival footage.
“It literally encapsulates you,” said Keith Darcey, director of communications for the museum.
The 20-minute nighttime show is hosted by actor and veterans’ advocate Gary Sinise and includes stories from the museum’s archives, such as a father writing for news of the birth of his first child, someone working on the home front and a nurse serving in the Pacific wishing to make her Louisiana gumbo. The city’s Preservation Hall Jazz Band performs the original score.
In addition, this spring, the museum will open the final addition to its campus. The Liberation Pavilion — located at the end of the Parade Grounds and used as one of the backdrops of “Expressions of America” — examines the concentration camps of World War II, as well as today’s ongoing struggle to maintain democracy. The three-story building will include a rotating theater with a movie, an exhibit on faith in wartime in the Interfaith Chapel and stories of Anne Frank and the Monuments Men, among others.
“I think it will be an amazing addition because it will be a reflective pavilion,” Darcey said. “It will likely be the last thing geographically on the self-guided tour and the perfect end to a visit.”
The creation of “Expressions of America” and the Liberation Pavilion concludes the museum’s initial capital campaign fundraising, which has been ongoing since the museum opened on June 6, 2000, the anniversary of D-Day. The museum will now focus on programming and bringing the museum to the world, Darcey said.
Tickets to “Expressions of America” can be purchased online.
