I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2109

To authorize reference to the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, 

Louisiana, as ‘‘America’s National World War II Museum’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 14, 2003

Mr. VITTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Armed Services 

A BILL

To authorize reference to the National D-Day Museum in 

New Orleans, Louisiana, as ‘‘America’s National World 

War II Museum’’.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘America’s National 

5 World War II Museum Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The National D-Day Museum Foundation, 

9 Inc., a nonprofit corporation under section 503(c)(3) 
2

•HR 2109 IH 

1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, was estab2 lished ‘‘to celebrate the American Spirit’’. 

3 (2) The National D-Day Museum Foundation, 

4 Inc., is responsible for the finances and management 

5 of the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, 

6 Louisiana. 

7 (3) The National D-Day Museum is the only 

8 museum in the Nation that exists for the exclusive 

9 purpose of interpreting the American experience in 

10 the World War II years (1939–1945), both on the 

11 battle front and the home front, including all 

12 branches of the Armed Forces (including the United 

13 States merchant marine). 

14 (4) The National D-Day Museum was founded 

15 by the preeminent American historian, Stephen E. 

16 Ambrose, as a result of a conversation with Presi17 dent Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1963. During that 

18 conversation, the former Supreme Allied Commander 

19 credited Andrew Jackson Higgins, chief executive of20 ficer of Higgins Industries in New Orleans, as the 

21 ‘‘man who won the war for us’’ because the 12,000 

22 landing craft designed by Higgins made possible all 

23 the amphibious invasions of World War II and car24 ried American soldiers into every theater of the war. 
3

•HR 2109 IH 

1 (5) Since the grand opening of the National D2 Day Museum on June 6, 2000, the museum has at3 tracted nearly 1,000,000 visitors from around the 

4 world, of which 85 percent are Americans from 

5 across the Nation. 

6 (6) There is an urgent need to preserve the sto7 ries, artifacts, and heroic achievements of the 

8 ‘‘greatest generation’’ of World War II, who are 

9 dying at a rate of more than 1,200 each day. 

10 (7) The Nation has a need to preserve forever 

11 the knowledge and history of America’s most deci12 sive achievement in the 20th century and to portray 

13 that history to citizens, visitors, and school children 

14 for centuries to come. 

15 (8) The Congress recognized this need first in 

16 1992 with an appropriation to fund the design and 

17 construction of the National D-Day Museum to com18 memorate the epic 1944 Normandy invasion and 

19 later in 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2002, with appro20 priations to help expand the museum’s exhibits to 

21 the D-Days of the Pacific and other campaigns of 

22 World War II. 

23 (9) The State of Louisiana and thousands of 

24 donors and foundations across the Nation have con-
4

•HR 2109 IH 

1 tributed millions of dollars to help build this national 

2 institution. 

3 (10) The board of trustees of the National D4 Day Museum is national in scope and diverse in its 

5 makeup. 

6 (11) The World War II Memorial now under 

7 construction on the National Mall in Washington, 

8 D.C., should always be the Nation’s memorial where 

9 people go to remember America’s sacrifices in World 

10 War II. 

11 (12) The National D-Day Museum should al12 ways be America’s museum of the American experi13 ence in the World War II years (1939–1945) where 

14 people go to learn about this critical period and 

15 where the history of the Nation’s monumental strug16 gle will be preserved so that future generations may 

17 understand the role the United States played in the 

18 preservation and advancement of democracy and 

19 freedom in the middle of the 20th century. 

20 (13) The National D-Day Museum seeks to 

21 educate a diverse group of audiences through its col22 lection of artifacts, photographs, letters, documents, 

23 and firsthand personal accounts of the participants 

24 in the war on the home front during one of history’s 

25 darkest hours. 
5

•HR 2109 IH 

1 (14) The National D-Day Museum is devoted to 

2 the combat experience of America’s citizen soldiers 

3 in all theaters of the war and to the heroic efforts 

4 of the men and women on the home front who 

5 worked tirelessly to support the troops and the war 

6 effort. 

7 (15) The National D-Day Museum continues to 

8 add to and maintain one of the Nation’s largest per9 sonal history collections of the men and women who 

10 participated in World War II and on the home front. 

11 (16) No other museum seeks to describe the 

12 volunteer spirit that arose throughout the United 

13 States during the war years of World War II—the 

14 spirit that united the country. 

15 (17) The National D-Day Museum is currently 

16 engaged in a 250,000-square-foot expansion to in17 clude as the core exhibitions of the museum the Cen18 ter for the Study of the American Spirit, an ad19 vanced format theater, and a new United States pa20 vilion. 

21 (18) The planned ‘‘We’re All in This Together’’ 

22 Exhibit will describe the role played by every State, 

23 commonwealth, and territory in World War II, and 

24 the computer-driven database and software of the 

25 National D-Day Museum’s educational program will 
6

•HR 2109 IH 

1 be made available to the teachers and school chil2 dren of every State, commonwealth, and territory. 

3 (19) The National D-Day Museum is an official 

4 Smithsonian affiliate institution with formal agree5 ment to borrow Smithsonian artifacts for future ex6 hibitions. 

7 (20) ‘‘Le Memorial de Caen’’ in Normandy, 

8 France, has officially recognized the National D-Day 

9 Museum as its official partner in a patriotic alliance 

10 signed by both museums on October 16, 2002. 

11 (21) The official Battle of the Bulge Museums 

12 in Luxembourg and the American Battlefield Monu13 ments Commission in Europe are already collabo14 rating with the National D-Day Museum on World 

15 War II exhibitions. 

16 (22) The Congress authorized $4,200,000 in 

17 fiscal year 2002 and $3,000,000 in fiscal year 2003 

18 Department of Defense Appropriations Acts for 

19 planning the expansion of the National D-Day Mu20 seum to portray the untold campaigns of World War 

21 II and to include new exhibits on the war on land, 

22 sea, and air and special exhibits on the China23 Burma-India theater, the Japanese invasion of Alas24 ka’s Aleutian Islands, the role of women in World 
7

•HR 2109 IH 

1 War II, the role of African Americans in World War 

2 II, and other relevant subjects. 

3 (23) It is fitting and proper to refer to the Na4 tional D-Day Museum Foundation, Inc., as ‘‘Amer5 ica’s National World War II Museum’’. 

6 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are—

8 (1) to authorize reference to the National D9 Day Museum, including its future and expanded ex10 hibits, collections, and educational programs, as 

11 ‘‘America’s National World War II Museum’’; 

12 (2) to ensure the continuing preservation, main13 tenance, and interpretation of the artifacts, docu14 ments, images, and history collected by the museum; 

15 (3) to enhance the knowledge of the American 

16 people of the American experience during the World 

17 War II years, both in combat and on the home 

18 front; 

19 (4) to provide and support a facility for the 

20 public display of the artifacts, photographs, letters, 

21 documents, and personal histories of the World War 

22 II years (1939–1945); 

23 (5) to provide educational outreach programs 

24 for teachers and students throughout the Nation; 
8

•HR 2109 IH 

1 (6) to encourage for educational purposes the 

2 further expansion of the European and Pacific ex3 hibits in the museum to include the Center for the 

4 Study of the American Spirit; and 

5 (7) to ensure that all future generations under6 stand the magnitude of the American contribution to 

7 the Allied victory in World War II, the sacrifices 

8 made to preserve freedom and democracy, and the 

9 benefits of peace for all future generations in the 

10 21st century and beyond. 

11 SEC. 4. REFERENCE TO AMERICA’S NATIONAL WORLD WAR 

12 II MUSEUM. 

13 The National D-Day Museum located in New Orle14 ans, Louisiana, and managed by the National D-Day Mu15 seum Foundation, Inc., is hereby authorized to be referred 

16 to as ‘‘America’s National World War II Museum’’.

Æ