Eldred World War II Museum
Encyclopedia
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
.
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 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.
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.
Thousands of other items are on display, constantly being rotated. These include weaponry, uniforms, field gear and video.
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.
(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.
Navajo Code Talkers-Navajo Indians who used their language as code to confuse the Japanese
Col. Mitchell Paige
-Medal of Honor
recipient for acts of bravery at Guadalcanal
Col. Spann Watson-A member of the Tuskegee Airmen
Master Sergeant Abie Abraham-Survivor of the infamous Bataan Death March
Col. David Glantz
-Prominent author on the Soviet-German War
Captain John J. McGinty III-Medal of Honor recipient during Vietnam
Eldred, Pennsylvania
Eldred is a borough in McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 858 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Eldred is located at ....
, 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
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Exhibits
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
Recipient USMC Col. Mitchell Paige
Mitchell Paige
Mitchell Paige was a recipient of the Medal of Honor from World War II...
, features many of Paige's war souvenirs and personal items including Paige's dress whites and Medal of Honor.
The European and Pacific theaters are highlighted in multiple displays throughout the museum.
Highlights are a submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
display with an authentic World War II periscope
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation from a concealed position. In its simplest form it consists of a tube with mirrors at each end set parallel to each other at a 45-degree angle....
, and the "Tank Mountain" interactive display in which visitors can operate remote-controlled tanks on mountainous terrain.
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
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
details the conflict between Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
that would become the largest front of the war.
Thousands of other items are on display, constantly being rotated. These include weaponry, uniforms, field gear and video.
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
Lower Level
The Lower Level of the museum features exhibits utilizing war-time artifacts. Categories include World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(Prelude to World War II), the Rise of the Nazis, Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, the Home Front
Home front
Home front is the informal term commonly used to describe the civilian populace of the nation at war as an active support system of their military....
, the Soviet-German War and a Diorama of Kursk
Kursk
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 site of a turning point in the Russian-German struggle during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in history...
, the largest armored battle of the war. Some artifacts on display in the Lower Level are a German Sturmgewehr 44
Sturmgewehr 44
The StG 44 was an assault rifle developed in Nazi Germany during World War II and was the first of its kind to see major deployment, considered by many historians to be the first modern assault rifle...
, the precursor to the modern assault rifle, a Russian uniform and decorations, a Civil Defense
Civil defense
Civil defense, civil defence or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state from military attack. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation, and recovery...
helmet and brochures, rations and various other items.
Navajo Code Talkers-Navajo Indians who used their language as code to confuse the Japanese
Col. Mitchell Paige
Mitchell Paige
Mitchell Paige was a recipient of the Medal of Honor from World War II...
-Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
recipient for acts of bravery at Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
Col. Spann Watson-A member of the Tuskegee Airmen
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....
Master Sergeant Abie Abraham-Survivor of the infamous Bataan Death March
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer, by the Imperial Japanese Army, of 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of prisoners.The march was characterized by...
Col. David Glantz
David Glantz
David M. Glantz is an American military historian and the editor of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies....
-Prominent author on the Soviet-German War
Captain John J. McGinty III-Medal of Honor recipient during Vietnam