Dedicated specifically to remembering the story of the Pacific theater of war during World War II, the National Museum of the Pacific War presents artifacts and displays with the glitz of a Hollywood blockbuster.

Located on the site of the old Nimitz Museum in the birthplace of Admiral Chester Nimitz, the National Museum of the Pacific War was established in 2000, building on the previous institution which had existed since 1969. The newly established museum was expanded to feature ultra-modern amenities such as 40 multimedia displays, over 90 climate-controlled display cases, and a full theater all spread across the massive 33,000 square-foot exhibition hall. Never has the glory and tragedy of World War II Naval action been presented in such arresting detail. In addition to the technological flourishes, the museum also features hundreds of photographs, artifacts, and posters from the war, all hung among actual decommissioned vehicles and armament.

The site now covers six acres and one of the most impressive features is a nearby replica battlefield with a number of tanks, foxholes, and troop carriers that visitors can experience firsthand. The museum also stages faux military actions at the site to give guests a realistic and bombastic look at what war really looked like, sort of. 

Military museums litter the American landscape, but few can rival the visceral heights reached by the National Museum of the Pacific War, an institution that isn’t afraid to bring a little theater to its grim history.