National Parks World War II Film Festival on February 20

Date: February 4, 2016
Contact: Frank Graham
Contact: Chris Derman

Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present films from a number of National Park Service sites that commemorate events and issues surrounding World War II on Saturday afternoon February 20, at the American Museum of Science and Energy (AMSE).

National parks tell the stories of America's WWII experience -- from Pearl Harbor to the war's atomic end. The range of our nation’s national parks show how a resilient America mobilized its people to triumph over tyranny, explore places where technological and social barriers collapsed, confro(www.nps.gov/subjects/worldwarii)nt the war's darker legacies, stand atop soils where American blood was shed, coastlines defended, and valor was memorialized forever. Across the nation, national park sites help tell the story of our nation during World War II and help us ensure President Truman's promise that "America will never forget their sacrifices" will always hold true. 

National Park Service films on February 20, will come from:

1. World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, which includes the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Memorial honors 1,177 sailors and Marines, who died in the attack on December 7, 1941.
2. Manzanar National Historic Site, located in the Owens Valley, of California. The site was established to preserve the stories of the internment of nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII and to serve a reminder of the fragility of American civil liberties.
3. Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, located in the East San Francisco east bay area commemorates a deadly munitions explosion that occurred on July 17, 1944, and the aftermath. The explosion, which killed 320 and injured 390; most of whom were enlisted African-American sailors working for a racially segregated military.
4. Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, located in Tuskegee, Alabama, tells the story of the first African American military pilots that trained at Moton Field.
5. National Prisoner of War Museum, located in Andersonville National Historic Site, in Andersonville, Georgia, tells the story of prisoners of war throughout American history.
6. Rosie the Riveter WWII National Historical Park, located in Richmond, California, tells the story of the efforts and sacrifices of American civilians on the World War home front.

The film festival will start at 1:00 pm (ET) in the AMSE auditorium, which is located at:

300 S. Tulane Avenue
Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 

The event is free and open to all. For more information, please call 423-569-9778.