Currently On View

Manufacturing Victory: The Arsenal of Democracy

May 19, 2023 - September 4, 2023

Manufacturing Victory tells the inspiring story of the Home Front effort that produced tanks, planes, ships, and guns with staggering speed and unparalleled energy. It was a surge in productivity that not only brought the country out of depression, but also created mighty military forces, supplied the Allies abroad, and opened new doors of opportunity and social change. Manufacturing Victory includes compelling photographs, oral histories and interactive audio-video components that immerse the visitor in the story of America’s mighty industrial war engine. The exhibit debuted at The National WWII Museum in 2014, before embarking on a national tour to expand access and educational opportunities across the country.

 

From Shangri-La to Tokyo: The Story of the Doolittle Raiders

April 18, 2023- April 21, 2024

 

One of the most compelling factors of the Doolittle Raid was the enormous amount of secrecy afforded to the mission. Despite the need of tests, training, and modifications made to the B-25s to be used on the mission, neither the airmen, nor the crew of the U.S.S. Hornet were aware of the intended target until just days before their arrival. This secrecy continued even after the raid’s conclusion.  Not wanting to alert the Japanese to the launch site of the raiders, the U.S. government would reveal limited information on the attack to the press. In order to evade the question from journalists, President Roosevelt would historically state that the B-25s took off from “Shangri-La,” a fictional city found in James Hilton’s novel, Lost Horizon. This exhibit will set this secrecy as its backbone, using it as major takeaway that will highlight the heroic undertakings of Lt. Colonel Doolittle and his crew of raiders. 

Undaunted Courage; Proven Loyalty: Japanese American Soldiers in World War II

When World War II began for the United States, Japanese Americans, many of them citizens, faced a difficult predicament. Even though they lived in a country created on the concept that, "all men are created equal," the President, the military, the federal government, and much of the population perceived Japanese Americans as "more Japanese" and "less American." 

 

Imagery and Irony: The Fight for Women's Suffrage through the Political Cartoons of Nina Allender

Nina Allender's political cartoons illustrated the fight for women's suffrage in ways that no other medium could. The battle for equality became accessible, tangible, funny and gut-wrenching through her art. From 1914 until her final cartoon appeared in 1927, Allender created more than 300 illustrations during the woman's suffrage campaign. This exhibit explores the power of those illustrations and their connections to government propaganda created to support World War I. 

Vietnam, America’s Conflict

Vietnam, America’s Conflict brings together the powerful photography of Jim Guy Tucker and Bruce Wesson, graduates of Little Rock's Hall High School class of 1961. The work of these two schoolmates captures the faces of men, women, and children learning first hand their own profound lessons of war. Using the portraits in this exhibit, Tucker and Wesson remind museum patrons of the reality of war. 

War and Remembrance

Learn how photos, letters, other memorabilia and events help us to understand the Civil War perspective through memory and time.