LOS ALAMITOS : Museum to Display WWII Memorabilia

A collection of World War II memorabilia will be on display at the Los Alamitos Museum beginning Friday and continuing until next September, according to museum director Margrit Kendricks.

“Project Remembrance” will feature war photos, weapons and other souvenirs sent to loved ones by residents who fought in Europe and in the Pacific, Kendricks said.

In addition, the exhibit will include mementos of those who did not fight in the war, such as helmets and gas masks of those who served on the home front’s civil defense, she said.

Poignant pieces, such as telegrams informing mothers and wives about the death of a son or a husband and flags used to drape coffins, will also be on display, Kendricks said.

“These are painful memories that we have put aside through the years,” Kendricks said. “But part of the healing is remembering.”

She said she got the idea for the exhibit while watching televised observances of the 50th anniversary of the landing of Allied forces in Normandy. Kendricks said that an open house starting at 7 p.m. Friday will launch the exhibit.

Richard Hendricks, a U.S. officer during the war, will talk about the surrender of a town in Italy and the role of the B-17 “Flying Fortress” bombers during the war.

A B-17 model constructed by a Rossmoor resident is part of the exhibit, Kendricks said. Other items to be displayed include French knives, a German pilot’s leather jacket and uniforms of U.S. soldiers and nurses.