The National WWII Museum was sort of right in the middle between where we were staying and the French Quarter. We put it off until our last day, a huge mistake, but I will get to that soon, and decided to check it out. The price is extremely fair, and they also applied Ben’s veteran discount to both our tickets, which I thought was super nice. The museum has many sections, and while we looked at the names of the exhibits beforehand, we did not realize just how big they were and how many parts each section had.

We were able to visit the part that was devoted mostly to D-Day. The planning, the importance, and the day itself. We also briefly went through the Road to Tokyo and Road to Berlin. There is also a 4D movie that is a breakdown of the war as a whole. We saw a bit of a few other exhibits. But I am not lying when I say we had to rush through what we did see and didn’t even get to half of the museum.

This thing is MASSIVE and extremely detailed. Online you will find places saying a few hours, I would say a few days. I think you could see it all in a day if you get there right at opening and leave right at closing, but you’d probably want to schedule two.

Still, I am happy we went and liked what we saw. I learned a lot more information about the parts we did see. I also like that there is an emphasis on both aspects of the war because we tend to just talk about Europe. I have a lot of theories as to why I think that is, but that is for another time.

Museums can be tricky, and I feel like, and please don’t be mad at me saying this, there is a level of propaganda that goes into all of them. Some aspects I was a bit iffy about others, I thought the museum was extremely fair and honest. I was more pleased than not, but I just feel there should be honesty about the nature of museums as a warning for those that may visit. I will also warn that a huge aspect of this museum is just how much more technologically forward WWII was than WWI, and the brutality that was the result of that. This was a different type of war, and everybody played a role in that, and the price for it was high.

I would have liked to see more about different aspects of WWII, but again we saw less than half the museum. Looking at the exhibits on the website in the aftermath to see what we missed, some of the things I felt were lacking are for sure there, and others I can’t say either way.

The whole thing, though, is rough. It is sad, it has a lot of graphic pictures, and again the museum is not shy about talking about the brutality of this war. The heavy use of bombs, the things the Nazis and Japanese did, the scale of lives lost, you will see it and be reminded of it A LOT. The movie warns people with PTSD to be cautious, which I can fully understand, and I would just tell everybody to prepare to be emotional. I cried.

This one is harder for me to recommend, if only because it is so sad, and it will eat up a lot of your time in New Orleans if done right. If you are going long enough to spend a whole day, or again possibly two, at this museum, do so if you think you can handle the content. I would not judge people for wanting to pass, though.

If we go back, I want to go long enough to return to this museum and do it properly. There was also a massive amount of construction while we were there, so I am curious about what they are adding. Of course, given the scale, it might turn it into a three-day event.