At the AHM this weekend! WWII Pacific War Re-enactment – Battle of Okinawa, July 12th & 13th, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM![]()
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The American Heritage Museum will host a WWII Pacific Theater re-enactment. Infantry representing Japanese and American forces will clash in this extraordinary living history event. Camps will be set up with authentic gear and appearance. WWII aircraft will fly in the battle (weather permitting).![]()
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The Battle of Okinawa, fought from April to June 1945, was the largest and bloodiest battle of the Pacific Theater in World War II. The intense combat was marked by kamikaze attacks, brutal ground fighting, and high civilian casualties. The battle was the fiercest in the Pacific Theater, with some 50,000 Allied and 100,000 Japanese casualties, not including the local Okinawans who were conscripted into the Japanese Army. It is estimated that over 149,000 Okinawan people were killed. The Allied victory at Okinawa provided a critical staging ground for a potential invasion of mainland Japan, but the staggering loss of life and the fierce Japanese resistance significantly influenced the U.S. decision to use atomic bombs to end the war swiftly. Okinawa underscored the heavy cost of victory in the Pacific and hastened the final chapter of the war. Pacific war camps and aircraft will be set up and on display throughout the day. The battle re-enactment starts around 1 PM.![]()
For tickets see: www.americanheritagemuseum.org/event/wwii-pacific-re-enactment-saipan-campaign-2025/
Starting at 1pm at the AHM: Author George Hayward will talk about his book The Party Dolls. He delves into a dramatic and morally charged episode from the Vietnam War: the daring 1969 escape attempt—code-named “The Party”—by U.S. Air Force Captains John Dramesi and Ed Atterberry from Hanoi’s notorious Annex prison camp.
Start your 4th of July celebrations with a visit to the American Heritage Museum! We will be open July 4th from 10am to 5pm.
What is your favorite military car of all time?![]()
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Join the conversation and share your thoughts! 💭 Each week, We're posing a question about historical military vehicles, and we want YOU to weigh in. Whether you’re a history buff, or just curious—we want to hear your thoughts! Leave a comment below to cast your vote! 👇![]()
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#QuestionOfTheWeek
Here is this week’s challenge for “What is it Wednesday?” - What is it?! ![]()
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Thanks to everyone who played last week… the answer for June 25th is a part of the running gear on our LVT(a)-4… see the previous post for the full details!![]()
Good luck on this week’s challenge! ![]()
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#americanheritagemuseum #historymuseum #visitma
- This event has passed.
Speaker Series: Task Force Hogan
May 24 @ 3:00 pm, ending 4:30 pm
Join us on Saturday, May 24th, 3:00pm to 4:30pm, for a talk by author, historian, veteran and professor William Hogan. He will share a fascinating story about a daring escape and survival of an American armored unit during WWII. This talk falls on our WWII Tank Demonstration Weekend.
Task Force Hogan is a narrative nonfiction book about a WWII US Army tank battalion. The unit was a reinforced tank battalion in the 3rd Armored Division led by Samuel Hogan, the youngest tank battalion commander in the US Army during WWII. At the helm of 500 soldiers riding to battle aboard 54 Sherman tanks plus assorted other vehicles, they participated in some of the toughest battles in the European Theater. Also known as “Hogan’s 400” the unit is best known for rushing back to Belgium from their forward positions in Germany towards the Battle of the Bulge. Arriving with vehicles half full of fuel to help parry the German offensive they fought the 116th Panzer Division to a standstill. Outnumbered, surrounded and without fuel they held off the better part of two German divisions at the hilltop village of Marcouray, about 20 miles north of Bastogne. On Christmas Day 1944, they were ordered to destroy their vehicles and make out on foot as best they could. They did so Christmas Night, marching 12 miles through enemy held forest back to US lines. By 2 January they were rearmed and spent the first two weeks of January helping push back the “Bulge” to the German border.
William R. Hogan was the last US Army soldier on active duty with a parent who fought in WWII. His most recent assignment was as liaison to French Army Headquarters in Paris, France. He retired from the Army after 22 years of service in the summer of 2024. He is an adjunct professor at Paris School of International Affairs, Political Science University (Sciences Po).
