Last week I traveled to Nampa, Idaho for my great-grandmother’s funeral. Whenever we have visited, I have always seen an advertisement for the Warhawk Air Museum. This time, I decided to finally go since I don’t know when/if I’ll go to Nampa again. As a history buff, I thought I’d share what stuck out to me in the museum.

Who were the Allies?

In school, most history teachers focus on the U.S., Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union fighting for the Allies. But in reality 47 countries allied together against the Axis powers.

War Propaganda

There was a plethora of war propaganda to encourage American citizens to help with the war effort. Most of the propaganda is about being frugal with food and resources and buying war bonds. War bonds were debt securities. Basically, you gave the U.S. money, and it would grow in interest. The government would pay you back in interest when the bond “reached maturity,” which was several years after the bond was purchased. This allowed the government to get more money for the war without raising taxes. Below are the posters that stuck out to me. 

“Spoils of War” decorations

Starting in WWI, using shell casings to create home decor became popular:

American soldiers were allowed to take and keep whatever they could carry home or pay to send home from conquered areas. Three examples in the museum were two Japanese Flags and a silk Japanese parachute.

The flag below had flown at Iwo Jima, and when U.S. forces won the island, they took the flag down and signed their names. Whoever ended up with the flag in their possession, donated it to the museum. 

The flag below was a personal flag for a Japanese soldier who had it blessed by a Buddhist priest and signed by his loved ones. It’s sobering to guess that the original owner died at the hands of an American soldier, and that’s how it ended up in a museum in the U.S.

The silk parachute was mailed home by an American soldier who ended up in Honshu, Japan. When he returned home and met his future wife, his mom used the silk parachute to make her daughter-in-law’s wedding dress. The info cards explained that his parachute hadn’t been used. It was found in a warehouse taken over by the U.S. military during the mainland invasions.

The News Doesn’t Always Get Their Facts Right

Below are two newspaper headlines announcing the attack on Pearl Harbor. The one from Seattle reported that 104 died while the paper from San Francisco reported 1500 died. Of course, getting fast and accurate information during that time wasn’t instant or easy. But it’s a good reminder to look at multiple sources when forming an opinion or making a decision.

Pieces of the Berlin Wall are scattered around the world

About ⅔ of the museum was dedicated to WWII, and the rest covered the other modern wars that the U.S. has been involved in. There was a small section dedicated to the Cold War, starting with pieces of the Berlin Wall. When I teach the Cold War, I show a newsclip showing Berlin residents hacking at the wall. I’ve watched that clip 8 times a school year, and it still makes me tear up.

Living on a battlefield was not glamorous

The picture below is a portable bathtub. I’m no good at guessing measurements, but one would definitely have to spend their bath with their knees bent into their chest, and the horizontal sides would only cover the waist and feet. 

WWI was originally called The Great War

While I did know this before going to the museum, seeing the headline below was a great reminder. As a history teacher, we call The Great War by its new name because that’s its new name. While I do mention to my students that it was originally called The Great War, it’s not a fact I test them on. We focus on U.S. involvement and the changing technology from the first year of the war to the last year of the war. But it is good to know this if you’re going to study primary sources because this is the language that will be used during the time period.

Soldiers have access to religious ceremonies while serving

I have a childhood friend who is now a military chaplain. And him choosing this career path is the only reason I know this position in the military exists, and thus I actually noticed these kits and took pictures of them to send to him. 

The Controversy of Vietnam

With each war that I teach my students, I ask the questions: Was entering this war justified? Did the U.S. stay true to their original goal? Did the U.S. fight fair? I keep my opinion out of the lesson. I am teaching my students to take the facts they’ve learned and form their own opinion in answering those questions and defending their opinion with evidence. We watch a short video about the Veterans Against the War gathering at the White House. But I’m going to add this banner to the lesson to show that just like civilians and politicians were divided about Vietnam, so too were the veterans sent there to fight.

The museum also has a section for the most recent occupation of Afghanistan. Overall, the feel of the museum is simply to educate. I didn’t get any pro or anti U.S./war vibes. It’s just simply “here’s what veterans have donated and this is what this donation teaches us.” I really enjoyed my visit.

What is an interesting fact about any war that you know? Share it in the comments!