Having been born less than two decades since the end of WWII, I grew up with so many war movies and war stories, that the imprint has lived on with me for half a century -- even though I personally never went through and air raid drill, rationing or loss of a loved one.
I certainly remember many of my school teachers in NE Ohio being WWII vets.
One whacky science teacher always said the other equally eccentric science teacher across the hall suffered from the effects of war.
We always thought teacher one was telling tales about teacher two.
Until one set up a chemistry experiment that went wrong with a minor explosion that sounded like a gun shot.
Rather than racing to our lab to check for injuries, teacher two was found cowering behind his desk.
And he made it home.
My dad, turning 80 next year, is a Korean War Vet.
Though proud of his service, he rarely told stories of his military service -- miffed that he already had a good full-time job when he was drafted and sent thousands of miles from his young wife.
He showed some old 8mm films from his base, but otherwise complained that he had to delay starting a family nearly five years because of his time in the army.
Exactly one month before Veterans Day 2014, my wife and I visited the National World War 2 Museum in New Orleans.
It is super wheelchair-accessible, which is a good thing to report.
We didn't see the films -- an additional cost and stuck in the main building.
The displays, including propaganda, of the European and Pacific Theater were the most impressive.
The enormity of a worldwide conflict is a sobering history lesson.
Our visit started with the completely barrier-free Train Car Experience, a new permanent exhibit that opened Veterans Day 2013.
The exibit recreates the sights and sounds experienced by those going off to war.
A 26-passenger replica 1940s Pullman sleeper car, along with news broadcasts, film clips and Big Band music from the era, gives visitors a sense of what it was like to leave home for basic training, and ultimately, deployment.
Servicemen and women took an estimated 44 million U.S. train rides between 1941 and 1945.
Museum admission $23 ($14 for active military and free for WWII vets)
945 Magazine St, New Orleans, open seven days a week, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm.
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