Wednesday March 18 through Tuesday, September 8, 2015.

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Walla Walla Goes to War looks at World War II from a local perspective. Our community sent men and women away to serve in Europe and the Pacific. Others stayed home and faced the challenges of rationing, scrap drives, black outs and racial tensions. This exhibit explains all these stories and more.

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Kirkman House will display a rich array of wartime artifacts: Come see grenades, uniforms, helmets, a gas mask, Luftwaffe swords, and a Japanese battlefield flag. There are ration books, wartime recipes, censored letters, and diaries.

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Multimedia presentations explore Walla Walla Fairgrounds prisoner of war stockade, the squadron of African American WACs stationed here, Walla Walla’s response to rationing and salvage, and the Victory Center war bond effort.

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One exhibit room will be devoted to Walla Walla’s airbase, where crews trained to fly B-17s and B-24s. A detailed wartime map shows the scope of the airbase and gives insight into the original purpose of the buildings that remain there. Posters describe the experiences of the men and women who worked at the base, and airbase artifacts and photos will be displayed. Visitors can leaf through issues of the Walla Wallop, the base newsletter that describes wartime life on the base.

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After you have seen Walla Walla Goes to War, we highly recommend you go see World Wars - The Walla Walla Story at the Fort Walla Walla Museum.

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Both museums would like to thank Share Walla Walla for their generous support!

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