National WWII Museum Unveils New Show To Share Stories

There’s a new immersive show at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. It brings home the story of the Greatest Generation in a way that’s never been seen at a museum.

Last week, a traditional New Orleans second line band ushered WWII veterans down a red carpet, for the world premiere of “Expressions of America,” an outdoor, nighttime sound and light show projected on to the facades of buildings, featuring the real-life words of those who lived through the war. “In developing this show, we were challenged with finding a balance between entertainment, education and history,” says the show’s creative executive producer, Daren Ulmer.

Twenty WWII veterans attended the premiere, including 97-year-old Paul Hilliard, who served in the marines from 1943-46. He says the show “tells a great story about America in that era, in that troubled world.” The show features a soundtrack from the past but is designed to engage a younger audience that’s more focused on the future. The museum’s president & CEO, Stephen Watson, says, “We have to be relevant. We have to use technology and all of the tools to appeal to a broad audience.”

The high-tech show took seven years to create. It will run three to four nights a week at the museum. Hilliard says, “I’m happy now that I had the privilege of serving and if I had to do it over again, I’d do the same thing probably, but do it sooner.” The show brings that experience alive, with fewer and fewer WWII veterans still with us to share stories of their service.

World War Two veterans are now generally at least 93 years of age or older. Of the 16 million Americans who served, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates only about 167 thousand are still alive today.