Museum Expansion Opening To Teach About--Not Glorify--War
Written by WGNO ABC26 News
Friday, 06 November 2009 12:30
ABC26 News
Nearly a week of parties and celebrations is leading into Saturday's public opening of the latest expansion of the National World War Two Museum.
Friday, actor Tom Hanks topped the list of state leaders and famous faces to encourage people to see the museum's new building and to learn from it.
But one famous face was absent from Friday's celebration-- historian and author Stephen Ambrose who lost his battle with cancer in 2002. Ambrose was one of the founders of the D-Day Museum which later became the National World War Two Museum.
"He thought there needed to be a museum. Not a monument; not a memorial. A museum," said Pete Wilson, the former California governor and past chairman of the museum's board.
When asked if the museum is, or is on its way to becoming, the best place to learn about World War II, actor Tom Hanks, who is the executive producer of a film that will show in the museum's new Victory Theater, was quick to respond.
"Well I think the best source is actually going to be a library that is going to be filled with all sorts of books, many of them written by the godfather of this museum, Stephen Ambrose," Hanks said.
Sunday's events at the museum include a tribute to ambrose. Saturday, along with the expansion's public opening, there's a street party scheduled.
Friday's festivities included a short parade of WWII veterans. 350 in all, accompanied by more than 150 active service members.
"It's good to be an American, isn't it? God bless you all," said WWII Army veteran Jim Beller of Kentucky as he walked in the procession.
A group of 5th graders watched. Among them, Stefan Suazo who watched the troops and heard the speaches from Hanks and others about learning from the museum.
"It honors the country and how it celebrated how we won and how we did it," he said.
