Come see our newest addition to the Vietnam War exhibit - the F-105G Thunderchief. Read the latest post from Owen Myers: www.americanheritagemuseum.org/2024/07/the-legacy-of-the-f-105-thunderchief/
We are very excited to see 102 year old WWII Pacific War Veteran Mr. Caster Salemi this Saturday. Mr. Salemi trained in Paris Texas before being sent to the South Pacific. He was first stationed in New Guinea from Mar.1944 to Jan.1945 and then made the landing in Luzon, Philippines as part of the 251st Field Artillery battalion- company B. Caster was a T4 (Tech)Sergeant responsible for setting up communications between companies. He was in the Philippines fighting the Japanese from Jan.1945 through Dec.1945 seeing action in Dagupan, Pangasinan, Bayombong, Balette Pass, Cagayan Valley, Iguig, and Manila. Caster Salemi received the Philippines Liberation Medal and Asiatic Pacific Service Medal. ![]()
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He will be here through Saturday during our Pacific War re-enactment. A very rare opportunity to talk with a Pacific War veteran who was in the thick of it.
We are getting ready for our first WWII Pacific Theater Re-enactment and living history event - This weekend! 7/13-7/14.![]()
More information and tickets see: www.americanheritagemuseum.org/event/wwii-pacific-re-enactment-saipan-campaign/
Celebrating our Independence - The American Heritage Museum will be open on Thursday, July 4th, 10 am to 5 pm. We hope to see you here to commemorate this pivotal time in American history. To life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!
- This event has passed.
Speaker Series: MacArthur Reconsidered
September 22, 2023 @ 2:00 pm, ending 3:30 pm
$10 – $20
Join us at the American Heritage Museum on September 22nd to hear a presentation by James Ellman, author of “MacArthur Reconsidered,” as he digs deep, connects the dots, and concludes that General Douglas MacArthur was decidedly not a military genius.
One of America’s most controversial generals, Douglas MacArthur’s rise through the U.S. Army’s ranks was meteoric. However, he did not lead large formations of men in combat until he assumed command of forces in the Philippines in 1941. When war commenced with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, MacArthur’s performance on the battlefield was a failure: he underestimated the Japanese, and his poorly trained forces were outmaneuvered and outfought by a much smaller invading force. However, in what became a repeating hallmark of his career, he successfully portrayed his actions to much of the American people as brilliant and heroic regardless of victory or defeat. After fleeing to Australia, MacArthur famously announced, “I will return,” and followed through on a quest to retake Manila regardless of its impact on Allied global strategy or its cost in American, Australian, and Filipino blood.
In his subsequent role as America’s shogun in Tokyo, MacArthur was again surprised by an enemy he underestimated. The Korean War yielded his greatest victory, at Inchon, but also his greatest defeat, along the Yalu River. Unwilling to accept anything but complete victory, he openly defied President Truman: MacArthur fatally undermined chances for an early peace, planned to seed a great swath of enemy territory with radioactive cobalt, and attempted to widen a conflict which threatened to become a third world war. Raging against his subsequent firing, he only truly faded away after he was publicly criticized by a panoply of America’s greatest WWII generals.
Today, MacArthur still polarizes. Many biographies agree he was a great and patriotic leader marred by a few failures. Ellman argues the opposite: MacArthur was a lackluster battlefield commander who suffered stunning defeats while undermining the command structure of our military.
