New Orleans: The World War II Museum

In the afternoon I went by my own, sweet self to the National World War II Museum, in the Central Business District (or CBD). The museum has an extra focus on the invasion of Normandy, but also covers the domestic policies of America in the Roosevelt administration and the shock of war that came to the nation with Pearl Harbor.

It's interesting to see how small the US armed forces were in 1939 - it was the 18th largest in the world, behind Romania! It is even more interesting to see how the American nation rose to literally produce the Krauts to death during the span of less than 4 years. The incredible, vast, humongous, just fuckin GAAAH American industrial capacity was turned towards making ships, bombs, planes and guns and the outcome was never really in doubt.

The museum also has an incredible movie called "Beyond all Boundaries", which uses 3D effects (you don't need special goggles), smoke, sound and vibration in the seats to create chilling effects. It is a creative masterpiece and at the end I just wanted to stand in my seat and shout "America, fuck yeah!" (admittedly, it doesn't take much). It shows some very disturbing footage of the results of the Japanese conquest, inluding the Rape of Nanking. The movie (and the rest of the exhibit) also makes clear what a bunch of fuckin insane emperor-worshipers the average Japanese soldiers were, and why they had to be defeated utterly.

All pics here.

P-51 Mustang.


Sherman tank.


Replica of a Higgins boat. These were made locally in New Orleans by local businessman Andrew Higgins, of whom Dwight D. Eisenhower said: "Andrew Higgins ... is the man who won the war for us. ... If Higgins had not designed and built those LCVPs, we never could have landed over an open beach. The whole strategy of the war would have been different".


Examples of US anti-Japan propaganda. As is often the case, the enemy is dehumanized. In the case of pre-1945 Japan I'm leaning towards the propaganda being mostly correct.




NOT a Republican election poster.


Ike talking to his men just before the invasion of Normandy.


Trust me, you don't.


Next time someone complains about the US use of nukes to end the war show him this - the photo shows a firebombed Tokyo in March 1945. In one night, 100,000 Japanese were killed through "conventional warfare". Over 500,000 civillians died within the last seven months of this war. Two nukes ended what could have dragged on for years and killed thousands upon thousands of Japs and Yanks alike.


Had the US invaded Japan, this would have been the amount of troops involved. We can only guess at the casualties.