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National WWII Museum opens exhibit on Black participation in war, offers free entry on Veterans Day
NEW ORLEANS — The National World War II Museum in New Orleans offered veterans free admission on Veterans Day as the museum opened an exhibit honoring Black participation at-home and abroad.
The museum will admit all veterans for free and hold a special ceremony to commemorate Veterans Day. The museum's ceremony, in partnership with the City of New Orleans and the Mayor's Military Advisory Committee, will start at 11 a.m.
The federal holiday is celebrated every year on Nov. 11, the anniversary of the end of World War I more than a century ago. It began as Armistice Day, but in 1954, Congress changed the name to Veterans Day.
The holiday should not be confused with Memorial Day, which honors those who have died while serving in the military.
The ceremony will also mark the opening of Fighting for the Right to Fight: African American Experiences in World War II, an exhibit honoring the significant role of millions of Black servicemembers and Home Front workers in securing Allied victory, even as they faced discrimination.
The exhibit is a reimagined and expanded version of the original Fighting for the Right to Fight exhibit, which opened at the Museum in 2015 and spent six years traveling to other institutions nationwide.
"We tell a complete story of African American participation, men and women in the military but also their participation on the homefront, and how they served to fight for a double victory. Number one, victory against an enemy abroad and number two, victory against racism at home," guest curator Krewasky Salter said.
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After a morning ceremony, veterans were able to reminisce on their experiences.
Pvt. First Class Roy J. Caldwood came all the way from New York to see the exhibit. When he turned the corner and pressed a screen and saw his face pop up.
"I had already showed his daughter, and so she got her father over and he stood up and when his picture came up, he was just like 'Wow, that's me,' and that was a great event to experience," Salter said.
The Buffalo Solider — United States Army regiments composed exclusively of African American soldiers — went to Europe in 1944 to recapture Italy.
He shared his story with the room when he saw his photo was placed on a map pinpointing the Purple Heart Stretch, where he was wounded by German mortars.
"They were walking on the Purple Heart Stretch before I got there and they stopped and knew we were on Purple Heart Stretch and they looked at us, waiting for us to be killed," Caldwood, who was also awarded a bronze star for heroic action in the field, said.
The exhibit will be open through July 2025 before traveling the country.
Tickets and more information about the museum can be found here.
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