National WWII Museum

On our road trip to the Gulf Coast we made a point during our time spent in New Orleans to visit The National WWII Museum.  From a purely sensory point of view it was close to overwhelming.  I don't mean that in a negative sense; but unlike other museums this venue makes significant use of personal testimonials and multimedia lighting and sound technology to add realism to many of its experiences.

I recommend a visit - particularly if you like military history or have a personal connection.

Most of you readers likely know that my father was an infantryman during WWII. 

Howard landed at Utah Beach as an infantry replacement shortly on the heels of the initial invasion. He was assigned to M Company, 47^th Infantry Regiment, Ninth Division. He served in a weapons platoon and including mortar his MOS was - 605 - heavy machine gunner.   

He was a gunner on this...

The M1917A1 Browning Machine Gun

Introduced in the waning days of the First World War this heavy machine gun saw service in multiple global conflicts from 1917 into the 1970s.  

This was a crew-served, belt-fed, .30 caliber, water-cooled machine gun.  The weapon had a cyclic rate of 450 to 600 rounds per minute and unlike the lighter, air-cooled, Browning Model 1919, was capable of a longer sustained rate of fire.  Because of its weight (gun, tripod, water chest and ammo) this was frequently a regimental-level support weapon and on rare occasion crews were assigned a Jeep for ease of movement.

During my dad's war his crew made use of M2 ball, armor-piercing and tracer rounds to provide both offensive and defensive fire in support of infantry.  If he were alive, dad would tell you that when on the move his crew ditched the water chest, preferring to carry additional ammo.  Urine was always available to pee in the barrel.

National WWII Museum

This machine gun was gradually phased-out of service in the late 1960s - replaced by the lighter M60 machine gun chambered for the 7.62 mm NATO cartridge.

If you are interested you can read an account of my fathers story about Operation Cobra and the Breakout from the Bocage at Saint-Lô.  On the home page of the blog you can search under "Normandy" or "D-Day', etc. for similar accounts and references.

The museum in New Orleans has an extensive exhibit hall on the European Theater of Operations if that interests you.