PENSACOLA, Fla. — The final piece. The end of a 20-year journey. That’s how officials describe the $400 million Liberation Pavilion Project at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.
The goal of this Liberation Pavilion — to pay tribute to those who served, as well as show how the war continues to impact our lives more than 80 years later.
“I think liberation really gets to the cost of victory and helps our visitors understand that our victory in WWII came at a tremendous cost, loss of life destruction.” WWII Museum President and CEO Stephen Watson said. “There’s this great sense of urgency here in our mission to building this campus so that we could complete it while there are still members of the WWII generation alive.”
Opening before Veterans Day, this comes just in time for the last surviving members of the world war generations to experience what was built in their honor.
“We think that it’s incredibly important that their legacy their service their sacrifice remains at the forefront of the American public,” Watson said.
There were 16.4 million people who served in the war — now, less than 120,000 are still alive.
“We believe it makes our mission even more important that we become their storyteller as we pass on,” Watson said.
This pavilion alone features over 300 artifacts.
Watson told WEAR News each one has a personal story that gives a different perspective to a visitor beyond just looking at the numbers of those who were lost.
The three-story pavilion also has two floors of exhibit space highlighting personal experiences, immersive settings as well as a brand-new cinematic experience.
All of this to remember the sacrifice of those who served and to tell what Watson believes is one of the most important stories of human history.
You can learn more about the new Liberation Pavilion and buy tickets for the museum by clicking here.