National World War II Museum reopens after being closed for two months

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    NEW ORLEANS, LA (WGNO) — The National World War II Museum reopened today after being closed for two months because of the coronavirus crisis.

This Memorial Day they reopened with new safety measures in place to keep visitors safe.

Every Memorial Day for the last 25 years, William Clark has played with his U.S. Army Reserve band, but this year is obviously different.

“But my heart is heavy to not be with my military friends and brothers and sisters and doing what we normally do,” he said.

With no ceremonies he decided with his wife Andrea to visit the National World War II Museum now that they reopened after being closed for two months.

“We still wanted to pay our respects and do something meaningful to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for us so we could keep our freedom,” Andrea Clark said.

To keep visitors like William and Andrea safe— there are now new safety measures in place.

“We have gatekeepers that are monitoring the number of people in the different galleries to make sure they don’t get crowded,” Becky Mackie, Chief Operating Officer at National World War II Museum said.

There are hand sanitizing stations, social distance markings on the floor, and the staff is cleaning the areas constantly.

Despite the social distance rules, the interactive exhibits are still accessible.

“We give each visitor a stylus pen with a rubber tip so they can use that to touch the screens without having to use their fingers,” Mackie said.

Although things are different here at the Museum, the American spirit is still undeniably strong.

Unfortunately the National World War II Museum did have to layoff approximately 80 employees because of revenue loss. On a positive note the Museum will be celebrating its 20th anniversary on June 6th. All the celebrations will be virtually.

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