Lights fade in and out, giving the feeling of sunlight periodically penetrating the jungle canopy above you. Creatively shown on screens that mimic bed sheets strung up between palm trees—a common scene in makeshift outdoor cinemas in the Pacific theater—gripping film footage captures images of island warfare. Then there are the voices, those of old men recalling their youth, when as young Marines they found themselves on the island of Guadalcanal battling the Japanese and the elements.
Such is the dramatic presentation found in “Road to Tokyo: Pacific Theater Galleries,” a permanent exhibit that opened at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans in December 2015—coinciding with the year of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. The exhibit chronicles “the grueling trail that led from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay,” according to the museum.
It incorporates what has become a staple of the museum’s presentation of World War II history, namely the use of a rich collection of oral-history interviews to personalize the wartime experience. This reflects the tradition of historian and museum founder Stephen Ambrose, who relied extensively on interviews with veterans in writing his best-selling books about World War II. Yet “Road to Tokyo” and the companion permanent exhibit “Road to Berlin,” which opened in December 2014 in the museum’s newly unveiled Campaigns of Courage Pavilion, take oral history to a higher level. Digital dog tags issued to visitors allow them to choose a veteran to follow, unlocking his or her experiences and those of other servicemen and servicewomen at various kiosks situated throughout the exhibits. Visitors also can save images of artifacts to their dog tags, a veritable history lesson they can take home with them.
“Road to Tokyo” begins with an overview of the string of conquests that marked the expansion of the Japanese Empire presented on a digital representation of the globe, and footage of early actions at sea shown on screens arrayed in the windows of the mock-up of an aircraft-carrier bridge. As in the aforementioned presentation of the Guadalcanal campaign, each gallery is immersive, with visitors learning about the Battle of Midway amid the welded steel bulkheads of a ship and experiencing the varied terrain features the island-hopping campaign presented—from the coral reef of Tarawa to the caves of the Marianas to the volcanic sand of Iwo Jima. One of the most striking presentations is perhaps the most straightforward: a floor-to-ceiling screen showing flight operations on board the venerable carrier Enterprise (CV-6), the most decorated ship of the war. There is no narration, only the sound of radial engines and views of launches and recoveries, legendary landing-signal officer Robin Lindsey, and flight-deck crews scurrying around taking viewers back in time to when flattops came of age.
While famous battles are the subject of signature displays, “Road to Tokyo” illuminates other aspects of the Pacific war. This includes shipboard life, the prisoner-of-war experience, the role of Seabees in building bases, and military medicine’s challenges in healing wounds inflicted by the Japanese as well as treating diseases borne by what is presented as perhaps the greatest enemy to troops—the mosquito.
Weapons of war abound, from a P-40 fighter with its shark-mouth paint scheme to a case displaying the array of arms and equipment employed by both sides. Yet these are distinctly impersonal; the most poignant stories emerge from the array of personal artifacts. These include a map of Betio Island at Tarawa carried by Marine Captain Osborne LeBlanc, some of its grids stained with his blood when he became part of the 40 percent of his unit listed as casualties during the battle. Another is the shrapnel-pierced helmet of Coast Guard Yeoman Second Class Frederick Leon Ruckert Jr., a member of the crew of USS LST-167, which was supporting the invasion of Vella Lavella on 25 September 1943 when she was attacked by Japanese dive bombers. Ruckert was mortally wounded, and the helmet was returned to his parents, who kept it on their mantel as a memento of their only child.
“Road to Tokyo” ends with footage of the loading of atomic bombs on Tinian. Exiting the exhibit, one can’t help but contemplate the roles of the young men moving across the screen as players in the final act of the sweeping campaigns of the Pacific war and the birth of the Atomic Age.
National WWII Museum
945 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
504-528-1944
www.nationalww2museum.org
Andrew Higgins Drive between Camp and Magazine streets, where the museum entrance is located, is temporarily closed to vehicles and pedestrians for the construction of a new Founders Plaza at the museum. The main entrance during construction is at 945 Magazine Street. The museum has a paid parking garage on Magazine Street.
Hours: Open daily, 0900–1700. Closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Mardi Gras. Tickets: Adults, $24 ($6 second-day pass is available); seniors (65 and up), $20.50 ($6 second-day pass is available); military with ID, $14.50; and students including college students with ID, $14.50. Admission is free for World War II veterans.