This living history event brings to life the experiences of fighting in the Pacific Theater and the home front during World War II. Guests will have the opportunity to learn from living historians portraying soldiers who fought in the Pacific Theater and about a number of different aspects of a soldier’s life to include weapons, signals and communications. Impressions will range from U.S. Army and Marines to those of British and Russian allies. Civilian living historians will portray goings on at the home front and USO activities stateside. Demonstrations will include weapons and a 1940’s military uniform and civilian fashion show.

Partner museums to include; the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, MacArthur Memorial, U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum, U.S. Army Ordnance TSF, U.S. Army Women’s Museum and the Virginia War Memorial will have displays and more for visitors to see and experience. Presentations by authors and historians will be made on the following subjects; Battle of Midway by Timothy & Laura Orr which includes a book-signing, Japanese Armor by Eury Cantillo, Pre-war American-Japanese Relations presentation by James Triesler and The Price of Unpreparedness: American POWs in the Pacific by Corey Thorton.

Laura Orr is the Director of Education and Military Outreach at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk, Virginia. Her husband Dr. Timothy Orr is an Associate Professor of History at Old Dominion University. Both co-authored Never Call Me a Hero: A Legendary American Dive-Bomber Pilot Remembers of the Battle of Midway published in 2017 by Harper Collins. The memoir chronicles American dive-bomber pilot Jack “Dusty” Kleiss. Dusty worked on this book for years with naval historians Timothy and Laura Orr, aiming to publish Never Call Me a Hero for Midway’s seventy-fifth anniversary in June 2017. Sadly, as the book neared completion in 2016, Dusty Kleiss passed away at age 100, one of the last surviving dive-bomber pilots to have fought at Midway. And yet the publication of Never Call Me a Hero is a cause for celebration: these pages are Dusty’s remarkable legacy, providing a riveting eyewitness account of the Battle of Midway, and an inspiring testimony to the brave men who fought, died, and shaped history during those four extraordinary days in June, seventy-five years ago.

Eury Cantillo began a museum career shortly after college graduation, first working as a historic interpreter at Plimoth Plantation, later sailing a replica of one of Columbus’ ships through the Panama Canal, and then working as the Outreach Coordinator at the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, MA. At the height of the war in Iraq, he decided to enlist in the US Army. Cantillo served as an Artillery Officer in the 3rd Infantry Division, which included a 15 month deployment to the city of Ramadi in Western Iraq. In addition he lead a variety of supply convoys through the desert, and finally ended the deployment as a Battery Fire Direction Officer involved in the field testing of the Excalibur GPS guided artillery round. He then used the GI Bill to earn a Master’s degree in education, and began working for the National Park Service at the Lexington and Concord battlefield, the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings, and the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, DC. He then worked as the Director of Education for the Navy’s Submarine Force museum, moved to CMH as the Curator at the Army’s Aviation museum before becoming the Curator of the Army’s Ordnance Training Support Facility, the first operational TSF in the system.

James Triesler is the Director of Education for the Virginia War Memorial located in Richmond, Virginia. Triesler became a history teacher in 1992, and has a passion for WWII. He and his students have won numerous awards for their work, including a Save Our History Award from the History Channel for creating the website ittookawar.com, a collection of letters and personal accounts from the Second World War. While in the classroom, Triesler accumulated nearly 8,000 original WWII letters for his students to learn from and transcribe. He was named the Virginia Battle of the Bulge person of the year in 2012, and is a former Virginia Region 1 Teacher of the Year. He has presented at several VBOB and BOBA events and loves displaying artifacts for people to enjoy and learn about WWII. Since 2015, Triesler has been the Director of Education at the Virginia War Memorial, where he has continued to honor veterans and educate students of all ages.

James Corey Thornton has served as Curator for the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Virginia since November 2014. A resident of Norfolk, Virginia, Corey has holds both a Bachelor of Arts, and a Master of Arts in History from Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA). As the Memorial’s Curator he manages the artifact collection and plans and develops the Memorial’s special and permanent exhibits. Corey is also responsible for the collections management of over 17,000 artifacts in the collection, as well as assisting with organizational planning, and supervising frontline staff. Prior to his work at the MacArthur Memorial, Corey served as the Curator of History for the Portsmouth Museums (Portsmouth, VA), from 2007 to 2014. In Portsmouth, Corey curated exhibits highlighting aspects of Portsmouth’s history, managed the artifact collection, and assisted with overseeing the City’s historical markers, monuments, and large external artifacts. Corey spends his personal time with his family, researches various aspects of American history, and plays his drums (especially after a challenging day at work!). Viewings of the Virginia War Memorials’, Virginians at War: Battle of Iwo Jima which combines original footage with first-hand accounts to tell stories from the battle will be shown over the weekend in the park’s Education Center.

Children will enjoy craft activities to include World War II coloring books and making a take home project of the Roosevelt’s Scottie Dog “Fala.”

World War II, which was fought between 1939 and 1945, cost an estimated 85 million casualties both military and civilian worldwide. The United States military casualties amounted to 416,800. While many were thankful for the surrender in Europe on May 8, 1945 the war in the Pacific raged on and was far from over. The battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa during the first half of the year gave a glimpse of the carnage awaiting invasion forces set to strike the Japanese home islands. A planned Allied invasion on the island of Kyushu was set for November 1st. There 500,000 Japanese troops were in position and another 6 million were under arms or able to be called into service. This invasion did not come to pass. The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced Imperial Japan to accept an unconditional surrender. The terms were accepted on August 14, 1945 and a formal document signing ceremony took place aboard the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2nd.

All event activities and programs are included with regular daily paid admission and separately, beverages and food may be purchased from vendor Bishop’s BBQ on Saturday, August 26th.

This event is held in partnership with Bank of Southside Virginia, Strosnider Chevrolet. 

Schedule of Events

Saturday, August 26

Time                                      Activity

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM           Living history camps and displays open to public

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM           USO Children’s Craft Activities: WWII Coloring Book & The Roosevelt’s Scottie Dog “Fala” make & take home item at Freedom Garden (Diana Campbell)

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM           US Army Quartermaster, Ordnance TSF, Women’s Museums “Angels of Bataan” and other displays at NMCWS alcove off of rotunda (power required)

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM           MacArthur Memorial display at NMCWS alcove off of rotunda (power required)

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM           Virginia War Memorial display at NMCWS alcove off of rotunda

9:00 Am – 5:00 PM           Hampton Roads Naval Museum display at NMCWS alcove off of rotunda

10:00 AM – 10:20 AM      Viewing of Virginians at War: Battle of Iwo Jima in Education Center

11:00 AM – 11:45 AM      “The Price of Unpreparedness: American POWs in the Pacific” presentation by Corey Thornton (MacArthur Memorial) in Education Center

12:00 PM – 12:45 PM       1940s Fashion Show at Education Center

1:00 PM – 1:45 PM            “Never Call Me a Hero: American Dive Bomber Jack “Dusty” Kleiss and the Battle of Midway” presentation by Dr. Timothy Orr (Hampton Roads Naval Museum) in Education Center

2:00 PM – 2:30 PM            WWII Weapons demonstration at Fortification Exhibit

3:00 PM – 3:45 PM            “Japanese Armor” in World War II presentation by Eury Cantillo (US Army Ordnance TSF) at Education Center

4:00 PM – 4:20 PM            Viewing of Virginians at War: China-Burma-India WWII in Education Center

5:00 PM                               Park Closes to Public

Sunday, August 27

Time                                      Activity

9:00 AM – 3:00 PM           Living history camps and displays open to public

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM           USO Children’s Craft Activities: WWII Coloring Book & The Roosevelt’s Scottie Dog “Fala” make & take home item at Freedom Garden

10:00 AM – 10:20 AM      Viewing of Virginians at War: Battle of Iwo Jima in Education Center

11:00 AM – 11:45 AM      “Propaganda Posters” presentation by Colin Romanick (Pamplin Historical Park)

12:00 PM – 12:45 PM       1940s Fashion Show at Education Center

1:00 PM – 1:45 PM            “Pre-war American-Japanese Relations” presentation by James Triesler (Virginia War Memorial) in Education Center

2:00 PM – 2:45 PM            WWII Weapons demonstration at Fortification Exhibit

3:00 PM – 3:20 PM            Viewing of Virginians at War: China-Burma-India WWII in Education Center

5:00 PM                                Park Closes to Public