D-Day Museum - mostly intact

Seth · 09-15-2005, 10:53

Long article. Posting the last paragraphs regarding the status of the D-Day Museum's status.

....

Jake Staples, the museum’s assistant director of facilities:
______________________________________________

At 8 p.m., Staples heard breaking glass as looters smashed
through the door to PJ’s, the museum’s coffee shop. Around 2 a.m.
Staples heard intruders break the plate glass double doors into the
museum gift shop, where they rummaged through the T-shirts, hats
and other souvenirs. At sun up they smashed through the doors into
the atrium. Nothing else stood between Staples and them.

By his estimate 30 to 40 looters at a time scurried beneath the
bomber and fighter planes. Some tried to access the cash inside an
ATM machine, chipping futilely at the strong box.

Staples retreated to the darkened exhibit, often taking refuge
in a tiny theater dedicated to the battle of Leyte Gulf, located in
what the museum calls the “serpentine wall.” Using his
flashlight, he positioned benches to create stumbling blocks here
and there in the deep darkness as a crude early warning system.
Occasionally he ventured out to assess the situation. To his
horror, he found that looters had begun venturing to the second
floor.

For the next 48 hours, Staples caught 20-minute catnaps as he
strained to hear disturbances in the darkness of his hideaway.
“I was so intent on hearing, that I didn’t really think about
things, he said. “This museum makes a lot of noises. I had my ears
up with such an intensity that there wasn’t time to be a
philosopher about the situation.”

It wasn’t Staples first brush with danger. As a pilot in the
Vietnam War he twice was forced to land in rice paddies where he
had to await rescue by helicopter. He said he feels those
experiences helped prepare him for his lonely vigil after Katrina.

Even when his wait for rescue was over, the ordeal continued.
“At 2:34 Saturday morning — I looked at my watch — I saw
flashlights in the exhibits. I thought, ‘Oh my God, these punks
have flashlights.’ Then I heard voices that sounded military. They
said, ‘Call down and tell someone there may be someone behind the
wall.’ I was in a well-hidden place; it took observant men to find
me.

“So I rattled the door and said ‘There is someone.’

In the aftermath of his ordeal Staples was relieved to discover
that the looters took little interest in the antique engines of war
that surrounded them. Overall the heart of the museum was intact.

Staples says that he would do it all again if the need arose.
“I’ll stay during any future problems because I want to. It’s in
my blood. I’m very proud of this place. This will be my last job.
The day I pass on, I plan to spend working here. It’s a place I
look forward to coming to every day.”

JM END MacCASH<QA>

**The Reaper** · 09-15-2005, 10:57

Too bad they didn't see fit to arm him and let him dispatch the "economically disavantaged victims", desperately searching for food in a military museum.

TR

jasonglh · 09-15-2005, 19:39

I have been to NO twice. Once was in 1989 and I left with the impression it was a sh*t hole. My wife wanted to see it so I took her in 2000 just a few months after the museum opened. I left with the impression that I was right the first time but I really liked the museum. I would venture to say that the museum and getting to show her the USS Alabama on the way back made the trip it.

Lothar · 09-23-2005, 00:39

After reading about the devastation in NO caused by the hurricane I got to thinking about that town. The one redeeming quality it has is the D-Day museum. My wife and I went on vacation to NO after returning home from my first AFG tour and we both enjoyed the museum immensely. I am glad to know that it is relatively intact. Priceless history of our forefathers.

D9 (RIP) · 09-26-2005, 12:14

That is without a doubt the best museum I've yet visited. The subject matter is, of course, very interesting. But the chronological layout, excellent mixture of digital, text, and model exhibits, make it a cut above the rest. Hopefully it's open for business soon. Last time I was there, they were just doing the Pacific Wing and I would really like to go back and see that.

Schutze74 · 09-26-2005, 13:45

I thought the D-Day museum was awesome, until I went to Normandy and saw the beaches and was just in Awwww! My grandfather was Malarkey from Band of Brothers, so I have heard some pretty cool stories. Unfortunately, my other grandfather, who was a german officer in the Gebirgsjager (mountain warriors) died before I could talk to him about his experiences. Truely the greatest generation!

Ret10Echo · 06-25-2007, 18:45

I spent 4 hours in the museum yesterday afternoon and only got through about half of it. There were so many different audio clips, personnel interviews, footage etc that I wonder if you could get through the whole thing in a single day should you get there at opening.
Had the pleasure and honor of shaking hands with a gentleman who went in on Omaha Beach. He was very well spoken....and believe it or not he thanked us for our service...

Demolition has started across the street in order to expand the site. It is worth a stop here in NO just to check out the museum.

Something that caught my eye was as you enter into the "Prelude to War" section on the second floor there are flags of Japan, United States, and Nazi Germany with toy soldiers lined up on shelves to indicate the size of their standing army. The U.S. at the time had the 18th largest army in the world. Pretty amazing.....

By the way if you are interested in membership:

www.nationalww2museum.org

of email

membership at nationalww2museum dot org