arsenal of democracy museum

The first thing I thought when I got to this place was... "Why am I here?" I'm not a war, in fact it's a topic that draws and repels me at the same time, but it's a reality and if one wants to understand where we're at and where we're going then one must understand the past and it's often not a nice thing to look at... so I answered my question..."I'm here to bare witness".As I walked in I thought it was an office and then I realized it was sort of the office/gift shop, but I thought it must be correct because there were WWII pictures on the walls including one of Ike Eisenhower. I met a nice couple guys that welcomed me and and we had a quick discussion and before I know it I'm getting my own 'dog tag' and buying "Patton/Romel" posters... The younger man asked me if I wanted a guided tour since I was the first person there and I accepted.We walked around for about an hour and a half and he knew a lot about the vehicles and the history of them and the weapons used at the time. A bit of details about the uniforms and equipment they had and also the living spaces and even the games (they played Monopoly in WWII PoW camps!!!).So I got to see Eisenhower's armoured Cadillac and J Edgar Hoover's armoured car also. There were pictures of the both guys... Hoover sure was a grouch, I bet he'd never even smiled once as a child! Eisenhower was an interesting character and I hope when they get a bigger location (because they have more stuff!) that they do an exhibit about him... and Patton and Bradley too...What can I say... if you called me an Anti-War person, I would not argue with you, but this collection is incredible and the history contained in this small building is so important in helping us understand what was going on at the time in the 1940s-1950's conflicts. Any society that ignores and does not reconcile the past has no future and this place contains our very well preserved past.The staff are great and if you have questions they'll be happy to take all the time needed to cover them. I really did appreciate that extra effort. I highly recommend this place, which is better than a movie and half the price! Amazing exhibit here!