r/WorldWar2

Two MP guards from the US 3^(rd) Army guarding a pontoon bridge over the Rhine, cities Kripp to Linz, in the beginning of March, 1945.

Finally got a chance to visit the World War II museum in New Orleans. Did not disappoint. Spent over five hours there and easily could have spent days.

The oral history material is pretty incredible. The exhibits are amazing. The volunteers are great to chat with.

They did a wonderful job trying to pack a lot into a museum. But some things I personally would like to see more of:

-an exhibit on code breaking and traffic analysis (Station Hypo, on the roof gang)

-i dont recall seeing much of Tom Lea's work

-maybe something on WWII in popular culture (movies, television especially)

-on going historical debates or debates of the time would be good too (e.g. Nagumo's dilemma, Kurita and his withdrawal, MacArthur and the Philippines)

For those who have visited, anything you would like to see more of?

(Again not a criticism. I really loved visiting it)

Born in Stuart, Virginia to William & Anna Tatum on February 27, 1923, Frank Wilson Tatum had six sisters and one older brother who passed away in 1939.
Frank was working as a mechanic when he enlisted in the USAAF on February 23, 1943.

Trained as a gunner, Frank served with the 703rd Bomber Squadron, 445th Bomber Group, based at RAF Tibenham.
On August 16, 1944 he was a waist gunner on B-24H 42-51098 with a crew of ten for a bombing mission to Dessau, Germany.

Their B-24 was hit by flak and the pilots lost their controls, as they went into a dive they collided with another B-24H; 42-52447, knocking a wing off, resulting in both B-24s crashing.
Only two crewmembers managed to bail-out from 42-51098 and were taken prisoner, although one later died as a POW.

Seven crewmembers from the bomber they hit; B-24H 42-52447, also perished, locals buried any recovered crew remains next to the crash sites.
Postwar, most of these buried remains were recovered, although not all of them were identified.

His remains were recovered and identified after the war and S/Sgt Frank Tatum is buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, Netherlands - Plot N Row 13 Grave 4.

Inv. No. 6138

German artillery in flames, 15. X 1944. in the King Aleksandar Street - today the Revolution Boulevard \[now King Aleksandar Boulevard\].

Photo gifted by Vojin Đorđević, journalist, Draže Pavlovića 3.

Courtesy of Museum of Yugoslavia.

British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery studying maps in his wartime caravan located at his home, Isington Mill near Alton in Hampshire, England, September 1949. On the wall of the caravan hang portraits of defeated World War II Axis generals, from left, Erwin Rommel, Walter Model and Albert Kesselring.

If you’ve never been, I highly recommend it. Some of the artifacts they have at the museum are truly incredible. (I had never seen Roosevelt’s final unfinished portrait in person.) The staff were also remarkably knowledgeable and helpful. This place is a really neat hidden gem.

Edit: I should mention that the house itself is currently undergoing renovations, unfortunately, so we couldn’t enter the actual house (something about needing to update the old electrical wiring due to a fire risk). But the staff presented a slideshow and guided us through a 30-minute virtual tour and told us more about so many aspects of the house than we ever probably would have learned if we had just done a walkthrough. Photos are of artifacts from the museum on-site, which is not actually part of the house.

Thought this sub might appreciate it. A snapshot of a truly unique moment in modern history, and more than a year before the United States entered the conflict.

My grandfather was born in Silesia (now Poland) in the early 1920s. His service records suggest he joined the Wehrmacht in 1940 and was captured in the Mons Pocket in 1944, shortly after having spent June in Calais as part of the forces seeking to occupy that part of the coastline. He had spent the war attached to reconnaissance divisions on a bicycle. He was interred and remained as POW in Kent, England, until 1948(!) whereby he remained and married my grandmother, a Sussex woman.

Here attached are some photos we were sent by his brother. Forgive the quality-they were scanned at the advent of digital technology back in the early 2000s. The watermark has been recently added. Any information or collective thoughts about would be so interesting.

His name was Viktor Mika and he is pictured in a British service uniform whilst a Prisoner of War.