Celebrate women’s history with a visit to a new female forward exhibit at the National WWII Museum
In honor of the upcoming International Women’s Month the National WWII Museum will celebrate the women who served in the war and whose contributions should never be forgotten with new exhibit and Symposium.
New Orleans, LA - The National WWII Museum honors the "Greatest Generation" of Americans that fought in the war that changed the world through immersive exhibits, multimedia experiences, and an expansive collection of artifacts and first-person oral histories. In honor of the upcoming International Women’s Month the National WWII Museum will celebrate the women who served in the war and whose contributions should never be forgotten.
This past Veterans Day, the museum debuted Our War Too: Women in Service, a groundbreaking special exhibit honoring the nearly 350,000 American women who answered the call to serve their country during World War II. The exhibit goes beyond popular and historical narrative of American women on the Home Front and explores the efforts, struggles and accomplishments of servicewomen who volunteered for vital roles in the uniformed services. Through new, innovative technology, artificial intelligence and interactive video displays visitors have the opportunity to hold conversations with three WWII servicewomen through stations featuring We Were There interactive biographies. Our War Too examines the struggles of servicewomen who often waged personal battles with families, combated negative stereotypes and public resistance, and grappled with discrimination, all while facing physical danger in the skies, seas, and battlefronts across the world.
The Museum will additionally hold a Our War Too: Women's History Symposium, a scholarly symposium that will feature topics expanding upon the Our War Too: Women in Service special exhibit, providing guests with additional content about women’s role in the war (February 29 to March 01, 2024).
For those unable to visit the Museum, it offers free online resources such as oral histories, transcribed interviews, interactive and dynamic Virtual Field Trips, webinars, and more including Women in World War II on its YouTube channel.
- Hazel Ying Lee: As the first Chinese American woman to join the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) during World War II, Hazel Ying Lee earned her pilot’s license in October 1932. In 1942, Lee applied and was accepted in WASP, the program training women to fly military aircraft. Proving herself as a leader on top of being a talented pilot, she was one of just over 130 WASP who trained to fly fighters like the P-51 Mustang and P-63 Kingcobra until the program was disbanded.
- SixTripleEight: In 1945 the U.S. Army sent the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, comprised of 800 Black women, to England to sort and distribute backlogged mail. Mail was the troops’ main connection to their loved ones and when delivery slowed, it negatively impacted morale. Their journey overseas started several years earlier when Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, an adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, advocated with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to find a meaningful role for Black women in the war. At peak efficiency, they processed more than 65,000 pieces of mail for delivery per shift. By war’s end, it totaled up to 17 million pieces of mail. As a result of their service, a several month-long backlog was solved in a matter of three months.
- Martha Gellhorn: Although widely known as one of the many wives of fellow journalist and literary giant, Ernest Hemingway, Martha Gellhorn was a budding journalist herself while witnessing and covering many pivotal moments of World War II. During the war Martha was able to find her way onto the beaches of Normandy, meet with Chiang Ka-Sheik and Mao during a visit to China, witness the liberation of Dachau, and much more.
- Josephine Baker: An iconic entertainer of the Jazz Age, famous for her risqué performances, Josephine Baker fearlessly called out the racism she endured while in the U.S. throughout her life. She eventually became a French citizen, and her bravery shined as a spy for the French Resistance after her adopted country fell to Nazi forces. Known as the “Creole Goddess” of France, Baker used her celebrity to gain access to high-ranking Axis officials.
The National WWII Museum
945 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
info@nationalww2museum.org
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/
504-528-1944
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