Jerry Sanson Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum February 2026 Photo taken by a Louisiana Maneuvers visitor Military vehicles sometime become a symbol of the era in which they are used. The most famous example is probably the Jeep that is the first image some people envision when they think about World War II. Another is […]

Jerry Sanson Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum February 2026 Military museums across the country, including the Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum, display American Army uniforms from the late nineteenth and very early twentieth century eras complete with helmets that have a sharply pointed metal spike on top. Visitors sometimes comment that the helmets are similar […]

Jerry Sanson Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum January 2026 It is possible to find many stories about military figures who visited Louisiana during the years of World War II and who later became prominent and famous because of their roles in the conflict. Dwight Eisenhower and George Patton come to mind for many people. Did […]

Jerry Sanson Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum January 2026 The Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum displays a horse wearing the saddle and bridle of the 1940 and 1941 Maneuvers eras and an accompanying human mannequin wearing a summer uniform of a mounted Cavalry officer. Why do we have a mannequin of a horse in a […]

Jerry Sanson Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum January 2026 Ronald Schaffer wrote in his article about Gen. Stanley Embick published in the journal Military Affairs during 1973 that “In the shadows of America’s highly publicized generals and admirals there have long stood senior officers whose importance far exceeded their fame.” Gen. Stanley Dunbar Embick was […]

Dr. Jerry Sanson Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum President Franklin Roosevelt learned early during his first term that he had a natural ability to communicate effectively with the American people using the radio waves. His first Fireside Chat on March 12, 1933, explaining his initial New Deal legislation approved by Congress, especially the National Banking […]

Dr. Jerry SansonLouisiana Maneuvers and Military MuseumDecember 2025 Many studies of the World War II home front include information on the dedication of the American people to the war effort. People in Central Louisiana, for example, hosted events for soldiers in training, bought war stamps and bonds, contributed tons of material to scrap drives, volunteered […]

Dr. Jerry SansonLouisiana Maneuvers and Military MuseumNovember 2025 Thanksgiving dinner, Italy, 1944. https://www.wwiimemorialfriends.org/blog/thanksgiving-1944 World War II affected virtually every aspect of life in the United States including holiday celebrations. Some holidays became occasions to promote the war effort as when characters wearing Mardi Gras dress roamed Canal Street in New Orleans selling war bonds in […]

Reforming the Country’s Morals Dr. Jerry Sanson Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum November 2025 Louisiana residents generally maintained a good relationship with Army planners and the thousands of troops sent to the Pelican State for training during World War II. One of the reasons the Army chose Central Louisiana as the site of the Louisiana […]

Dr. Jerry Sanson Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum November 2025 The Lewis machine gun is often identified with the British Army which used it in large numbers during World War I. It was, however, developed by an American who offered it first to the United States Armed Forces whose leadership turned down the offer because […]