National World War II Museum

Lonely Planet review

The extensive, heart-wrenching National World War II Museum collects the sobering eyewitness accounts of life and conflict during WWII, and houses actual planes, weaponry and landing craft, as well as excellent exhibits on all phases of the war. Many of the volunteer docents are war survivors. A multi-million-dollar expansion, in progress at the time of research, will include an interactive theater and a United Service Organization cantina.

A special feature with a local angle is a pair of Higgins boats, the landing craft that enabled the Allies to invade Normandy by sea.The boats were designed and produced by New Orleans entrepreneur Andrew Higgins. According to historian Stephen Ambrose, General Dwight D Eisenhower once said that Higgins 'won the war for us.'

The museum is currently undergoing an ambitous expansion project, due to be completed sometime in 2009, that will quadruple the museum's size and also broaden its mission. The end result will be the National WWII Museum, with exhibits on great campaigns of the war, a large theatre, and a USO-style canteen featuring latter-day Bob Hopes and Betty Grables as a tribute to the entertainers who helped keep troops' morale up during the war.