more New Orleans

We were up early because the early bird gets the worm . . . or as Colin says the early bird gets the word!  I don't know where he got that version, but I laugh every time he says it and then correct him.  So we woke up early for breakfast and of course had to have a one game rematch of pool before setting out for the day.  We arrived back at The National World War II Museum at 9:05am sharp!  I almost thought it was closed as there were no people.  We grabbed our day 2 ticket and headed back to the train car to pick a new person to follow today for the Dog Tag Experience.  Today we had Robert Capa (Heidi) and Greg "Pappy" Boyington (Colin).  Both of these names sound familiar but did not have a clue why.

Robert Capa

Robert Capa was a Hungarian war photographer.  He covered five wars: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II across Europe, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War.  He documented the course of World War II in London, North Africa, Italy, the Battle of Normandy on Omaha Beach and the liberation of Paris.  At the start of World War II, Capa was in New York City, having moved there from Paris to look for work, and to escape Nazi persecution. During the war, Capa was sent to various parts of the European Theatre on photography assignments.  He was the only "enemy alien" photographer for the Allies.  His most famous images, The Magnificent Eleven, are a group of photos of D-Day. Taking part in the Allied invasion, Capa was with the first wave of American troops on Omaha Beach.  While under constant fire, Capa took 106 pictures, all but eleven were destroyed in a photo lab accident back in London.  

Greg "Pappy" Boyington
Boyington was an American combat pilot who was a United States Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II.  Boyington was initially a P-40 Warhawk fighter pilot with the legendary "Flying Tigers" in the Republic of China Air Force in Burma at the end of 1941 and part of 1942, during the military conflict between China and Japan, and the beginning of World War II.  In September 1942, he rejoined the Marine Corps (had been an aviator before the war). In early 1943, he deployed to the South Pacific and began flying combat missions as a Marine F4U Corsair fighter pilot.  In September 1943, he took command of U.S. Marine Corps fighter squadron VMF-214 ("Black Sheep"). In January 1944, Boyington was out numbered by Japanese "Zero" planes, was shot down into the Pacific Ocean after downing one of the enemy planes.  Following a determined but futile search, Boyington was declared missing in action.  He was captured by a Japanese submarine crew and was held as a prisoner of war for more than a year and a half.  He was released shortly after the surrender of Japan, and a few days before the official surrender documents were signed.  Shortly after Boyington returned to the U.S., he received the Medal of Honor and Navy Cross.  The television series Baa Baa Black Sheep was inspired by Boyington and his men in the "Black Sheep" squadron.  It ran for two seasons in the late 1970s.  

So off to the exhibits we went . . . since it was so crowded yesterday, we back tracked to exactly where we went yesterday but literally had the place to ourselves.  We really did miss a lot with the crowds.  It was so nice and worth the early wake up.  We even found an area that we totally missed called the Road to Tokyo, which turned out to be amazing!  In fact it was probably my favorite exhibit of the day!

We also spent a great deal of time in the Road to Berlin too.  So many video clips to watch; he was so focused the entire time!  The displays and exhibits were amazing and you felt as if you were stepping back in time . . . even the snowy room was colder . . .

Another fun display of D-Day's Smallest Soldier, Rupert . . .

Yesterday I bought tickets for Final Mission:  USS Tang Submarine Experience.  Now I knew absolutely nothing about the USS Tang but so many reviews said it was worth the extra $5.  Here is a short summary of the USS Tang . . .

USS Tang (SS-306) was a Balao-class submarine of World War II, the first ship of the United States Navy to bear the name Tang. She was built and launched in 1943.  In her short career, Tang sank 33 ships totaling 116,454 tons. Commander Richard O'Kane received the Medal of Honor for her last two engagements (23 and 24 October 1944). USS Tang was sunk during the last engagement by a circular run of her final torpedo, going down in 180 feet of water. Seventy-eight men were lost, and the nine survivors were subsequently picked up by a Japanese frigate and taken prisoner. This was the only known occasion on which a Momsen lung was used to escape a sunken submarine.

So for the tour about 20 people are led into a replica interior of a submarine and assigned a station and job . . .

. . . we manned the search periscope . . .

. . . and by we; I mean Colin!  For this experience we are . . .

We then go through a scenario of firing a missile. It is pretty neat. At the end we exit and see if we were one of the survivors; we were not. It is an interesting WWII story that I never knew. Sad how it all ended but interesting story too. We then explored the rest of the US Freedom Pavilion sponsored by Boeing. We then headed to the 4th floor catwalks; not so fun for someone that is scared of heights but we got an eye level view of My Gal Sal, another amazing story!

 "My Gal Sal" has a colorful history. The airplane was flying to Europe as part of the USA’s initial military build-up, when it had to make an emergency landing due to inclement weather in icy Greenland in June 1942. The crew was rescued, but the B-17E was abandoned where she landed. Relatively intact, ‘Sal’ was not recovered from the ice cap until 1995. Meanwhile most B-17s had been sent to the scrap heap. Bob Ready acquired the plane and he, along with the volunteer crew, began the restoration work in 2000.  

 A view from way up high . . . it was scary being up so high . . .

. . . and looking up from the ground . . .

We had seen just about all we could see so decided to do one more photo in the main building before we left . . .

. . . as we were leaving one of the volunteers asked if we had visited with the  "I was there" guest of the day?  We had not so decided to stop by and chat.  For me, it was probably the most memorable part of our day.  After over 10 hours of exploring the museum the last 10 minutes were priceless . . .

. . . I think Colin enjoyed it too and even asked a few questions.  Can you believe Mr. Forrest Villarrubia is 90 years young?  He was so kind and what a great asset to the visitor's of the museum!  Before we left, we went to hear the rest of the story of our Dog Tag Experience people . . .

Robert Capa

In the early 1950s, Capa traveled to Japan for an exhibition.  While there, Life magazine asked him to go on assignment to Southeast Asia, where the French had been fighting for eight years in the First Indochina War.  On May 25, 1954 at 2:55 p.m., the regiment was passing through a dangerous area under fire when Capa decided to leave his Jeep and go up the road to photograph the advance.  About five minutes later, there was an explosion; Capa had stepped on a landmine.  When they arrived on the scene, he was alive but had serious injuries.  Capa was taken to a small field hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Greg "Pappy" Boyington

Boyington was a tough, hard-living character known for being unorthodox. He was also a heavy drinker, which plagued him in the years after the war, and possibly contributed to his multiple divorces. He freely admitted that during the two years he spent as a P.O.W. his health improved, due to the enforced sobriety. He worked various civilian jobs, including refereeing and participating in professional wrestling matches.  He died on January 11, 1988.

Today, I was left with a WOW and shocked when I heard what happened to our two people.  It was a great experience and would love to do it again!  And just like that our time here was done . . .

. . . until next time!  We needed a sweet treat so headed to Cafe du Monde.  Now every time I have been there has been a line.  As we were about to get in the line, a man with his family says to me, "hey no need to stand in this just walk past the next three columns, go in,  find a table, and just sit down.  So we did . . . Colin was nervous that we were skipping the line and that our table was dirty but I also knew they didn't clean the tables until a new crew rolled in to order.  Colin had no idea what a beignet was, but he was willing to trying; is this a new kid?  Maybe he is more open since he is now 12.  I also knew that I did not want to share so two orders of beignets and two hot chocolates.

He wasn't sure what to think when he saw all that powdered sugar . . .

. . . but didn't take him long to clean his plate!  Of course I already knew what I was getting and was finished faster than him and then he took another one of those photos!

They were yummy!  We walked around the area and enjoyed being outside.  We strolled over to Jackson Square with a pop in at St. Louis Cathedral.  We I decided we should walk back to the hotel down Royal Street since it is more family friendly.  We did not step foot on Bourbon Street . . . he can do that later in life!  I enjoyed the street musicians . . .

. . . it was just a great day and hanging out with no real plan.  At one point on Royal Street some of the shops were questionable and I noticed Colin's eyes were big . . . I can only imagine what he would have thought of Bourbon Street.  He would make comments about things he saw that were inappropriate but used it as a teaching moment.  Our trip was coming to an end and the airport was calling but before going we stopped by LUKE to grab a quick bite to eat . . . it was next to the hotel so would be easy to grab our bags, catch a cab, and head for the airport.  I was not that hungry but had Crab Bisque with some awesome bread!  Colin had small burger with a huge portion of fries.

He was most impressed with his small glass bottle of Dr. Pepper . . .

Our time was still plenty so I had a bribe in my head.  I wanted to ride the street car, but Colin wanted absolutely nothing to do with the idea.  He did ask for ice cream and just so happens the waiter at the restaurant mentioned a place that was about a block from one of the street car stops.  So it was a win, win!  I love the houses in the Garden District area which is close to the ice cream shop we would go try.  I am sure there were many in the French Quarter but it is nice to branch out.  So to Creole Creamery we went . . . boy was it yummy!  The server at LUKE had told us they have some unique flavors and the most unique I saw was called Pine Needle . . . yes, like the tree and no, I did not try it.  There was no way I was wasting one of my sample flavors.  I ordered a mini scoop sampler which was four small scoops; Creole Cream Cheese, Amaretto Chocolate Cheesecake, Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Pie, and Cookie Monster . . . did I mention they had a separate section of all things chocolate?

Oh yes, it was that good; so creamy and yummy!  Well worth the $1.25 fare each way; be sure to have the exact change.  It was fun to get out of the tourist area and see how the real locals live . . . too bad the houses in this area are so expensive!  The street car arrived . . .

. . . and just like that we found ourselves back in a cab headed to MSY.  It was a great trip.  I am now thinking we should do more of these types of trips on long weekends especially if we find cheap airfare!