Eldred World War II Museum 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 . Exhibits . 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 . 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 . 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 . Lower Level . The Lower Level of the museum features exhibits utilizing war - time artifacts . Categories include World War I ( 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