New Orleans WW2 museum.

[belgian]

As a history buff, I have been to all major war museums and battlefields in Europe. Also visited the impressive National Pacific war museum in Fredericksburg. 

As I am planning to visit New Orleans during Jazzfest, is the museum in New Orleans worth visiting?  (and miss half a day of music...)

[cynic]

I've heard very good things about it and will be there in six days.  I'm sure others will chime in by then, but I can offer a fresh review at that time.

[kizanski]

JeffR took me to the WWII Museum in 2005 when my flight out of New Orleans was cancelled due to Hurricane Katrina.

It's amazing. I highly recommend it.

[Jeff R]

You will definitely want to go and plan your visit time-wise accordingly. It is a Smithsonian affiliate site and it consistently ranks among the top U.S. museums and world military history sites in consumer reviews, travel media stories, etc. And you will want to budget your visit accordingly - the rare but consensus complaint I hear is that visitors regrettably didn't budget as much time for that travel stop and wished they could stay longer. I'd recommend showing up after an early lunch and planning to spend the entire afternoon considering you're a military site buff.

The museum started as the National D-Day Museum in the late 90s but it has expanded to encompass all WWII theaters. Expansions so great that new adjacent buildings to house the collection and exhibits ensued. Make sure to watch the "Beyond All Boundaries" film in the museum theater - they call it a "4-D" film and the fourth dimension is "feel." When the tanks plow through the forest, the theater seats' shaking will bounce you around and they literally vibrate your skull. I seem to recall it also snows in the theater briefly during one of the European winter campaign accounts. They have other on-site sims that will definitely enhance your experience.

Exhibits are informative without being overbearing. Multiple storylines within each theater are explored - like what was going on within the civilian populations and homefronts. Many exhibits have recorded narratives of soldiers and civilians telling their stories as they pertain to the exhibits.

There are also many veterans who man the facility on any given day, who are more than willing to mingle, interpret and tell their personal stories. The fun comes when those guys interact with veterans groups visiting as tourists. I've seen impromptu scholarly lectures pop up on the gallery floor, with stories that are far more educational, entertaining and graphic than the stories in the exhibits.

Insider tip: A few blocks away is Cochon, an incredible restaurant owned and overseen by one of NOLA's most notable chefs and a good friend, Donald Link. Donald fused the Cajun cooking niches with which he grew up with local Creole cuisine staples to devise their menu. One of my favorite eateries in the city. Highly recommended. 

[belgian]

56 minutes ago, Jeff R said:

You will definitely want to go and plan your visit time-wise accordingly. It is a Smithsonian affiliate site and it consistently ranks among the top U.S. museums and world military history sites in consumer reviews, travel media stories, etc. And you will want to budget your visit accordingly - the rare but consensus complaint I hear is that visitors regrettably didn't budget as much time for that travel stop and wished they could stay longer. I'd recommend showing up after an early lunch and planning to spend the entire afternoon considering you're a military site buff.

The museum started as the National D-Day Museum in the late 90s but it has expanded to encompass all WWII theaters. Expansions so great that new adjacent buildings to house the collection and exhibits ensued. Make sure to watch the "Beyond All Boundaries" film in the museum theater - they call it a "4-D" film and the fourth dimension is "feel." When the tanks plow through the forest, the theater seats' shaking will bounce you around and they literally vibrate your skull. I seem to recall it also snows in the theater briefly during one of the European winter campaign accounts. They have other on-site sims that will definitely enhance your experience.

Exhibits are informative without being overbearing. Multiple storylines within each theater are explored - like what was going on within the civilian populations and homefronts. Many exhibits have recorded narratives of soldiers and civilians telling their stories as they pertain to the exhibits.

There are also many veterans who man the facility on any given day, who are more than willing to mingle, interpret and tell their personal stories. The fun comes when those guys interact with veterans groups visiting as tourists. I've seen impromptu scholarly lectures pop up on the gallery floor, with stories that are far more educational, entertaining and graphic than the stories in the exhibits.

Insider tip: A few blocks away is Cochon, an incredible restaurant owned and overseen by one of NOLA's most notable chefs and a good friend, Donald Link. Donald fused the Cajun cooking niches with which he grew up with local Creole cuisine staples to devise their menu. One of my favorite eateries in the city. Highly recommended. 

Looks like I'll have to extend my visit there then. Going with a mutual friend (Wendy), Jeff. Her granddad was a real Cajun and one of the personal tank drivers for Gen. Patton. 

 

[Jeff R]

You'll appreciate this, Conrad ... why the museum is in New Orleans. You will recall the site began as the National D-Day Museum. The American military brass, specifically Eisenhower, credited much of the success of the Normandy invasion and ultimately the liberation of Europe to the amphibious landing craft the Allied forces used on D-Day, specifically their ability to swiftly move large numbers of troops through and over underwater obstacles to the beachhead. Those crafts were designed and built by Andrew Higgins in New Orleans. The grounds for testing and refinement the boats were the surrounding swamps. Anyone who has navigated a cypress and lowland hardwood stump-laden swamp, as you personally have (!), will tell you they too have their fair share of underwater obstacles. I've been told the catalyst for the Higgins boats was actually the swamp timber industry, to move harvested logs from the work zones, and if true I guess somebody notice the potential military value and ran with it.

[belgian]

1 hour ago, Jeff R said:

You'll appreciate this, Conrad ... why the museum is in New Orleans. You will recall the site began as the National D-Day Museum. The American military brass, specifically Eisenhower, credited much of the success of the Normandy invasion and ultimately the liberation of Europe to the amphibious landing craft the Allied forces used on D-Day, specifically their ability to swiftly move large numbers of troops through and over underwater obstacles to the beachhead. Those crafts were designed and built by Andrew Higgins in New Orleans. The grounds for testing and refinement the boats were the surrounding swamps. Anyone who has navigated a cypress and lowland hardwood stump-laden swamp, as you personally have (!), will tell you they too have their fair share of underwater obstacles. I've been told the catalyst for the Higgins boats was actually the swamp timber industry, to move harvested logs from the work zones, and if true I guess somebody notice the potential military value and ran with it.

 Heard that story too - but also because of Nola was the main harbor for shipping men to the European theatre.

 I was on Utah beach last year where I took this pic.

 

[kenjones]

Go and spend an entire day. My family went November 2013. They had not completed the new addition at that time and I want to go back to check it out. My son loved it and thought the coolest thing was getting to talk to a WW2 vet who drove a tank at The Battle of the Bulge. I sent you a message on Facebook that has a bunch of photos from our visit. 

I thought the eeriest part of the visit was the Hiroshima section. I walked in to a room and the music playing was "An Ending (Ascent)" from Brian Eno's "Apollo" album. Both beautiful and haunting. 

 

[LucSulla]

My Uncle is a muckety muck up there and also one of the guys who has been restoring the Higgins boat they have.  It's a fantastic museum that I think has grown amazingly since it first opened. 

ETA - He's the director of volunteer workers and visitor services. 

If you let me know when you might go, I can try to give him a heads up if he's going to be up there.  Sometimes he has time to give a bit more behind-the-scenes tour up there. 

[belgian]

Well - I'll start my trip in Austin half April (my daughter lives there and has a business there) - so I'll contact you.  It would be great to meet somebody from behind the scenes, I am volunteering myself for the Flanders Fields museum over here. http://www.inflandersfields.be/en

 

10 minutes ago, LucSulla said:

My Uncle is a muckety muck up there and also one of the guys who has been restoring the Higgins boat they have.  It's a fantastic museum that I think has grown amazingly since it first opened. 

ETA - He's the director of volunteer workers and visitor services. 

If you let me know when you might go, I can try to give him a heads up if he's going to be up there.  Sometimes he has time to give a bit more behind-the-scenes tour up there. 

 

[LucSulla]

He'd probably be fascinated to talk to you then.  He's a Vietnam vet himself, and his father (my grandfather) was a WWII vet.  It's definitely more than a job for him. 

[cmatthes]

I'd HIGHLY recommend it!  

 

Great museum.

[Roshark]

Belgian you are in for a treat . I LOVE this museum ! It is one of my favorite in the world . I typically go to New Orleans every year for Jazz Fest . This year I have a son being born other wise I would be happy to meet you there . The place is massive and has multiple buildings . You will not be able to see everything in a full day (from the moment they open until they force you to leave) at the pace you will want to go at . There is so much to see and do and you WILL want to talk to all the volunteers . They are all such characters with stories for days . I hope you love it as much as I do . Enjoy your stay in New Orleans . It is a very special place on this Earth .

[tommy p]

Great timing to see this post.  I'll be in NOLA for 8 days in May.  I'll add this to the agenda.

Any other tips for things to do, places to eat, etc?

[mc2]

My dad liked the New Orleans WWII Museum.  He went during a reunion of his shipmates from his carrier that went down during Iwo Jima. He was a Navy airman and hard to impress.....but he actually came back from New Orleans impressed that his one shipmate was running a prison in Louisiana and told him how the whole,system down there is run like a big, crooked, for-profit corporation.

You DON'T want to get arrested while in New Orleans.

I have a 1-800-NOT GUILTY hat, hanging on my wall, that they throw out to the crowds from Mardi Gras floats, as promotion

The New Orleans Parish Sheriff has more displays with his name on it in the Christmas Lights exhibit in City Park every year...built by prisoners.

The NOPD stole all the Cadillacs from the downtown car dealership after Katrina, so they could ride around in style.

....it's a magical place. Hahahaha

But the music and food is amazing and the folks are nice.

[Jeff R]

3 hours ago, tommy p said:

Great timing to see this post.  I'll be in NOLA for 8 days in May.  I'll add this to the agenda.

Any other tips for things to do, places to eat, etc?

Favorite common guy places to grab a great, conveniently-located bite: Parkway Bakery and Tavern, a few minutes from the Quarter off Canal Street - this is my wife and I's favorite place to eat in New Orleans. Inside the Quarter, I have a soft spot for the roast beef po-boy at Johnny's on St. Louis Street. Can't go wrong with a muffaletta from Central Grocery on Decatur Street either. Ask to have it cut in quarters to make it easier to eat and to share, it's a big sammich. All these venues can sport serious lines during peak eat times, so best to show up a little early or behind the rush to avoid waits.

Favorite live music venues: Rock 'n' Bowl (Thursday night is my favorite, always "zydeco night" with acts from the Cajun prairie driving in); Maple Leaf uptown for local R&B flair; the venues lining Frenchmen Street are fun to hop-'n'-skip, you can find something cool somewhere most any night. You'll find my favorite rare jazz fix here too, Snug Harbor. More contemporary versus traditional/Dixieland.