"Snapshots of D-Day" at Wright Museum

[Grant S.]

"Snapshots of D-Day" is a travelling exhibit put together by the National Museum of WWII in New Orleans. It arrived here at the Wright Museum in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire on Tuesday. The pictures will be on display until August 7th. It consists of 60 pictures from various sources of D-Day and a few days before and after. Some of the pictures are well known, but many have never been published before. I didn't know what to expect, but I have to say I was blown away by the content and clarity of (almost all) of the pictures. There's something to see in all of them. Thankfully some of the pictures that we know so well that they are practically cliches have been left out (Eisenhower talking with the 101st, the smiling Ranger) but the majority were all new to me (caveat - I'm not an expert). Obviously I can't post pictures of the pictures but I have some of the gallery and the mannequins we're setting up to add some "3-D" to the exhibit. The paratrooper is having trouble standing up, so we're going to have to add suspension from the ceiling. But soon he will join his compatriot from the 29th. As an aside, I think the mannequins will really add to the exhibit because people will be able to look at a picture, and then see the same thing on a mannequin. With luck there will even be a knowledgeable docent on hand to help explain things. I was able to tell one woman more than she ever wanted to know about DD tanks (thanks, J. Gawne!) So if you're in the area please think about stopping by. It really is worth it IMHO. If you come on Thursday and say the magic words (which are "Hi, is Grant here?") I'd be happy to show you around (you still have to pay for admission, though). You can find everything you need to know about the museum in the link in my signature below.

 

Thanks to the Militaria Forum and everyone on it who have taught me so much and made me the best one-day-a-week volunteer docent/archivist/exhibit preparer I can be!

 

29th Div BAR gunner (BAR is fake) also no flash allowed!

[Grant S.]

Another view. Painted the helmet insignia by hand. Blurry Director in the background.

[Grant S.]

Navy, Brit and Canadian. Picture taken before exhibit was installed.

[David D]

Great display! Is the 29th helmet original?

 

-Dave

[Sabrejet]

Are the uniforms on the mannequins 100% originals or "assembled" for the exhibition? If so, someone has done their homework. For example, the British BD exhibits the "TT" patch of the 50th ( Northumbrian ) Division and shoulder flash of The Hampshire Regiment...a correct D-Day combination, as the 1st Battalion of the Hampshires was attached to the 50th Div for the landings on Gold Beach. ( The letters "TT" stand for Tyne and Tees...two rivers in Northumberland which formed the nominal geographical boundaries from within which the division was traditionally raised.

[Grant S.]

Thank you for your comments. The helmet is WWII but not the 29th. The mannequins were "put together" (by me). The set of 3 torsos are 99% items loaned to the museum by volunteers. The 50th BD jacket was patchless so I ordered the patches and sewed them on (it's my jacket, btw). The BWOC jacket is original (not mine). We wanted to include a Canadian since we are pretty near the border here!

[Grant S.]

Finally got the paratrooper on display. The mannequin is made of flexible material and was quite difficult to get to stand up. He is also very tall. I believe he was meant to be suspended from overhead, which we may do when the exhibit is over. Most of his equipment is repro. After this picture we suspended him from an I-beam in the overhead so he wouldn't fall over, and I tied his left hand up in a more natural position. We are getting a great response on the exhibit, too.