Visit WWII Parks

Across the nation, national park sites help tell the story of our nation during World War II. Visiting these sites helps us ensure President Truman's promise that "America will never forget their sacrifices" will always hold true.

Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices. -Harry S. Truman

List of Parks

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  Eye on the Atlantic

  Acadia National Park

  The Navy operated a radio station on Big Moose Island during World War II and into the Cold War.

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  Battle for the Aleutians

  Aleutian WWII National Historic Site

  Honoring the occupation of two islands; a mass relocation of civilians; a 15 month air war; and one of the Pacific's deadliest battles.

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  5,204 names of honor

  American Memorial Park

  This 133-acre park honors the American and Marianas people who gave their lives during the Marianas Campaign of WWII.

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  Basic Training School for WWII Spies

  Catoctin Mountain Park

  Once a summer camp, Catoctin Mountain Park became the Basic Special Operations Training School for a new civilian intelligence agency.

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  U-boats Attack!

  Cape Hatteras National Seashore

  By June 1942, German U-Boats had sunk 397 merchant vessels off the coast, earning Cape Hatteras the name "Torpedo Junction."

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  Recreation Camp for Soldiers

  Carlsbad Caverns National Park

  Hobbs Air Field, located 100 miles from Carlsbad Caverns National Park sent 1,000 soldiers each month to the caverns to rest.

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  WWII Training and Recreation Camp

  Denali National Park

  Denali's mountainous terrain provided the ideal place to test soldiers and equipment, and to escape war's own hardships through recreation.

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  The Homefront's Crusading Spirit

  Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

  After FDR's death in 1945, Val-Kill became Mrs. Roosevelt's permanent home. Learn about Eleanor in her tranquil home.

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  A refuge during War

  Home of FDR National Historic Site

  FDRs 'Home on the Hudson' offers insights in the President's thoughts and experiences during World War II.

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  A Date That Will Live In Infamy

  Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

  This memorial, tucked along the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, honors FDR and his legacy, including his leadership during WWII.

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  Supreme Allied Commander

  Eisenhower National Historic Site

  Visit the post-war home of Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower.

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  High Flying History

  Gateway National Recreation Area

  Gateway's Fort Hancock, Floyd Bennett Air Field, and other sites were bustling centers of action during World War II.

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  A Secret in Plain Sight

  George Washington Memorial Parkway

  During World War II, Fort Hunt was the location of a top-secret military intelligence and POW interrogation installation (P.O. Box 1142).

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  Defending the Harbor

  Golden Gate National Recreation Area

  The defense of San Francisco Bay was of paramount importance during World War II.

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  Radar Station in the Pacific

  Haleakala National Park

  The many antennas and lights atop Haleakala's 'Red Hill' led the locals to call this WWII radar station 'Haleakala National Forest.'

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  Training Camps and bombing ranges

  Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

  After Pearl Harbor this federal land, strategically located in the vast Pacific Ocean, became the home of many military installations.

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  ALIVE…NEED SMALL BOAT…KENNEDY

  John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS

  Explore the birthplace of JFK to learn about his harrowing experiences as a PT boat captain during World War II.

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  Creating the Atomic Bomb

  Manhattan Project NHP

  The Manhattan Project thrust humanity into the nuclear age and forever changed the world.

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  One camp - ten thousand lives

  Manzanar National Historic Site

  In 1942, the US army leased the land to confine thousands of Japanese Americans.

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  Lessons in History

  Minidoka National Historic Site

  Minidoka was one of ten War Relocation Authority (WRA) camps used to carry out the government's system of exclusion and detention of persons

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  Cold Weather Training

  Mount Rainier National Park

  The 10th Mountain Division tested the mettle of men and equipment and learned mountaineering skills at Mt. Rainier National Park.

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  A VITAL LINK

  National Park of American Samoa

  The Samoa islands hosted US Navy and Marines during the war and were an essential link in the chain of communications and sea lanes.

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  From Engagement to Peace

  Pearl Harbor National Memorial

  A monument to the Pacific War, from Pearl Harbor to the internment of Japanese Americans to the battles in the Aleutians.

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  A Training Camp for Spies

  Prince William Forest Park

  A new spy agency converted this park's summer camp cabins into the Communications and Advanced Special Operations Training School.

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  A Tragic Wartime Accident

  Port Chicago Naval Magazine NM

  In 1944, 320, mostly African American, men were instantly killed when two ships being loaded with ammunition exploded.

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  Defending the Olympic Peninsula

  Olympic National Park

  Only two of Olympic National Park's multiple coast guard and aircraft warning stations still exist, but their history still speaks volumes.

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  A Pacific Lookout!

  Redwood National Park

  The Klamath River Radar Station B-71 in Redwood National Park, California, is a rare, surviving World War II early-warning radar station.

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  United We Can Win!

  Rosie the Riveter WWII Homefront NHP

  A shortage of white male workers led to active recruitment of (initially) women, and then minority men & minority women to war jobs.

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  Breaking Barriers with Valor

  Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

  Learn about the courageous and heroic actions that earned these pioneers increased respect in and out of the skies.

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  THE PACIFIC THEATER

  War in the Pacific NHP

  Remnants on the battlefields of Guam are a reminder of the world war that consumed every nation and culture throughout the Pacific region.

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  Sands, in the Danger Zone

  White Sands National Monument

  After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S. military established a permanent presence in the Tularosa Basin.

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  Here We Mark the price of freedom

  World War II Memorial

  The World War II Memorial recognizes the ways Americans served, honors those who fell, and recognizes the victory they achieved.

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  A WWII Naval Hospital

  Yosemite National Park

  In 1943, the “U.S. Naval Convalescent Hospital Yosemite National Park, California” began welcoming veterans for medical care and recreation.