The Eldred World War II Museum is located in Eldred, Pennsylvania, 80 miles south of Buffalo, New York and 175 miles north east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Established in May 1996, the museum has continually expanded from one room to three stories. The Eldred World War II Museum is a non-profit organization that offers visitors an array of exhibits and information about World War II.
Eldred is a borough in McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 825 at the 2010 census.
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 70 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
The Eldred World War II Museum is home to several permanent displays. Mitchell Paige Hall, named after Medal of Honor Recipient USMC Col. Mitchell Paige, features many of Paige's war souvenirs and personal items including Paige's dress whites and Medal of Honor.
The Medal of Honor is the United States of America's highest and most prestigious personal military decoration that may be awarded to recognize U.S. military service members who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the President of the United States in the name of the U.S. Congress. Because the medal is presented "in the name of Congress", it is often referred to informally as the "Congressional Medal of Honor". However, the official name of the current award is "Medal of Honor". Within the United States Code the medal is referred to as the "Medal of Honor", and less frequently as "Congressional Medal of Honor". U.S. awards, including the Medal of Honor, do not have post-nominal titles, and while there is no official abbreviation, the most common abbreviations are "MOH" and "MH".
Colonel Mitchell Paige was a United States Marine and a recipient of the Medal of Honor from World War II. He received this, the highest military honor awarded by the United States of America, for his actions at the Battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands on October 26, 1942, where, after all of the other Marines in his platoon were killed or wounded, he operated four machine guns, singlehandedly stopping an entire Japanese regiment.
The European and Pacific theaters are highlighted in multiple displays throughout the museum.
Highlights are a submarine display with an authentic World War II periscope, and the "Tank Mountain" interactive display in which visitors can operate remote-controlled tanks on mountainous terrain.
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. It is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely operated vehicles and robots, as well as medium-sized or smaller vessels, such as the midget submarine and the wet sub. Submarines are referred to as "boats" rather than "ships" irrespective of their size.
A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position.
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat. Tanks have heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield manoeuvrability provided by tracks and a powerful engine; usually their main armament is mounted in a turret. They are a mainstay of modern 20th and 21st century ground forces and a key part of combined arms combat.
Visitors can enter a life-sized European command post equipped with period communications equipment. Throughout the museum dioramas bring the conflict to life for visitors. A section on the Eastern Front details the conflict between Russia and Germany that would become the largest front of the war.
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Southeast Europe (Balkans) from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945. It has been known as the Great Patriotic War in the former Soviet Union and modern Russia, while in Germany it was called the Eastern Front, or the German-Soviet War by outside parties.
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe and North Asia. At 17,125,200 square kilometres (6,612,100 sq mi), Russia is, by a considerable margin, the largest country in the world by area, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area, and the ninth most populous, with about 146.79 million people as of 2019, including Crimea. About 77% of the population live in the western, European part of the country. Russia's capital, Moscow, is one of the largest cities in the world and the second largest city in Europe; other major cities include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a wide range of environments and landforms. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares land borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk and the U.S. state of Alaska across the Bering Strait. However, Russia recognises two more countries that border it, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which are internationally recognized as parts of Georgia.
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic and North Seas to the north and the Alps, Lake Constance and the High Rhine to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west.
Thousands of other items are on display, constantly being rotated. These include weaponry, uniforms, field gear and video.
Library
Library
The Eldred World War II museum is home to over 10,000 volumes of books, magazines, newspapers, memoirs and other items, one of the largest World War II collections in the United States. Visitors are welcomed to these resources, but no item can leave museum grounds. The library is broken into categories, some of which are "European Theater of Operation", "Pacific Theater of Operation", "Aviation", "Espionage", "Atlases and Maps", "Reference", "Business and Industry", "Biographies and Autobiographies" and "Russian Book Collection".
Gallery of Valor
Gallery of Honor
The Gallery of Valor was unveiled November 11, 2006. The displays take visitors through six areas: Training, Shipping and Transportation, U.S. Navy in Action, North Africa-Sicily-Italy, Sabotage and Spy War and the Eastern Front.A diorama depicting Omaha Beach sits in the center of the Gallery of Valor. Also present is a weapons display featuring a training rifle, M1 carbine, M1 Garand and a Colt .45 pistol.
Displays
Lower Level
The Lower Level of the museum features exhibits utilizing war-time artifacts. Categories include World War I (Prelude to World War II), the Rise of the Nazis, Pearl Harbor, the Home Front, the Soviet-German War and a Diorama of Kursk, the largest armored battle of the war. Some artifacts on display in the Lower Level are a German Sturmgewehr 44, the precursor to the modern assault rifle, a Russian uniform and decorations, a Civil Defense helmet and brochures, rations and various other items.
Pearl Harbor is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It has been long visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is now a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet. The U.S. government first obtained exclusive use of the inlet and the right to maintain a repair and coaling station for ships here in 1887. The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan on December 7, 1941, was the immediate cause of the United States' entry into World War II.
Kursk is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German struggle during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in history. Population: 415,159 (2010 Census); 412,442 (2002 Census); 424,239 (1989 Census).
Guadalcanal is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of the nation of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. The island is mainly covered in dense tropical rainforest and has a mountainous interior.
The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African-American military pilots who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces. The name also applies to the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks and other support personnel.
The Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of 60,000–80,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war from Saysain Point, Bagac, Bataan and Mariveles to Camp O'Donnell, Capas, Tarlac, via San Fernando, Pampanga, where the prisoners were loaded onto trains. The transfer began on April 9, 1942, after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II. The total distance marched from Mariveles to San Fernando and from the Capas Train Station to Camp O'Donnell is variously reported by differing sources as between 60 and 69.6 miles. Differing sources also report widely differing prisoner of war casualties prior to reaching Camp O'Donnell: from 5,000 to 18,000 Filipino deaths and 500 to 650 American deaths during the march. The march was characterized by severe physical abuse and wanton killings, and was later judged by an Allied military commission to be a Japanese war crime.
A code talker was a person employed by the military during wartime to utilize a little-known language as a means of secret communication. The term is now usually associated with United States service members during the world wars who used their knowledge of Native American languages as a basis to transmit coded messages. In particular, there were approximately 400 to 500 Native Americans in the United States Marine Corps whose primary job was to transmit secret tactical messages. Code talkers transmitted messages over military telephone or radio communications nets using formally or informally developed codes built upon their native languages. The code talkers improved the speed of encryption and decryption of communications in front line operations during World War II.
The Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum was a Civil War museum located in Atlanta, Georgia, its most noted attraction being the Atlanta Cyclorama, a cylindrical panoramic painting of the Battle of Atlanta.
The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum is situated at Peninsula Barracks in Winchester, England. The museum is one of several regimental museums that form part of Winchester's Military Museums.
The National Museum of the United States Navy, or U.S. Navy Museum for short, is the flagship museum of the United States Navy and is located in the former Breech Mechanism Shop of the old Naval Gun Factory on the grounds of the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., United States.
Joe Madison Jackson served as a career officer in the United States Air Force and received the Medal of Honor for heroism above and beyond the call of duty during the Vietnam War. On 12 May 1968, he volunteered for a dangerous impromptu rescue of three remaining Air Force members trapped at an overrun Army Special Forces camp. While the camp was still under heavy enemy fire from North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, he skillfully piloted his C-123 cargo plane and rescued the three men.
Frank Nicias Mitchell was an American combat Marine and first lieutenant who served in World War II and the Korean War. He posthumously received the United States' highest military decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his actions on November 26, 1950, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.
The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout for distinguished service in his profession and to his community for a period of at least 25 years after attaining the level of Eagle Scout. Other requirements include significant accomplishment in one's career and a solid record of continued community volunteer involvement. It is one of only two BSA awards given to adults that is dependent upon the recipient's having been awarded Eagle Scout as a youth; the other is the NESA Outstanding Eagle Scout Award (NOESA). Recipients of the DESA are known as Distinguished Eagle Scouts.
Van Thomas Barfoot was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.
Michael Joseph Daly was an Irish-American United States Army infantry officer who received the United States military's highest decoration for valor—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II. He received the medal for single-handedly eliminating 15 German soldiers including a German patrol, and destroying three machine-gun nests.
Charles Patrick Murray Jr. was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.
The Gold Medal of Military Valour is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia "....per bassi ufficiali e soldati che avevano fatto azioni di segnalato valore in guerra".
Charles William Shea was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.
Joseph Edward Schaefer was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.
Robert Lee Howze was a United States Army major general who was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Indian Wars.
Hill College is a public community college in Hillsboro, Texas. It opened its doors in 1923, one year before North Central Texas College, which is the oldest continuously-operating community college in Texas because Hill College was closed during the 1950s.
The Tiffany Cross Medal of Honor arose immediately after World War I, as the US Navy decided to recognize via the Medal of Honor two manners of heroism, one in combat and one in the line of a sailor's profession. The original upside-down star was designated as the non-combat version and a new pattern of the medal pendant, in cross form, was designed by the Tiffany Company in 1919. It was to be presented to a sailor or Marine who "in action involving actual conflict with the enemy, distinguish[es] himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty and without detriment to his mission." This pendant became the Tiffany Cross.
The Armed Forces History Museum (AFHM) was a 501(c)(3), non-profit museum in the city of Largo in the Tampa Bay region of Florida, United States. The museum opened in August 2008, with 35,000 sq. ft. of indoor displays and an additional 15,000 sq. ft. of outdoor viewing space. The AFHM housed historical memorabilia including fully restored, fully operational jeeps, tanks, halftracks and armor. The museum also had a large replica of Chuck Yeager's Supersonic Jet Bell X1, the aircraft he used to break the sound barrier. The museum closed permanently on January 29, 2017.
The Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum is located at 600 Interstate 30 East, in the city of Greenville, county of Hunt, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was established in 1987. Cotton was Hunt County's largest cash crop in the early 20th century, and the museum features a "History of Cotton Exhibit".
The American Heritage Museum is a military history museum located on the grounds of the Collings Foundation in the town of Stow, Massachusetts, 21 miles west of Boston. The collection consists of over 100 artifacts, most of which were formerly part of Jacques Littlefield's Military Vehicle Technology Foundation collection in Silicon Valley. Over half of the items on display are from the World War II era, but World War I, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Gulf War, Iraq War, and September 11, 2001 and the War on Terrorism are also represented. Most of the items on display are American, German, Russian, or British in origin.
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