ROAD TO TOKYO COUNTDOWN: ISLAND HOPPING

As we continue down the Road to Tokyo, and through the Pacific Campaign Challenges, we come next to the Island Hopping gallery, which will cover the major events of the Allied advance across the Central Pacific.

This gallery will feature the stories of those Americans fighting in the air, sea and land forces, who made amphibious landings in hopes of breaking the enemy, as well as stiffening Japanese resistance. When the island hopping campaign began, US forces were engaged in clearing the Japanese from the Aleutians and pushing through New Guinea under General MacArthur, before commencing operations against the outer rings of the Gilbert, Marshall, and Marianas island chains.

This gallery space will include five major exhibits: Strategic Importance, New Guinea, Tarawa, Marshall Islands Campaign, and Marianas Campaign. These exhibits will employ an array of artifacts, interactive displays, and audio visual presentations to capture visitors’ imaginations and bring the history of the war in the Pacific to life. Throughout, the exhibits will communicate both the broad strategic complexity of the island hopping campaign and the individual bravery and leadership of the service members who took part in it.

The Island Hopping gallery has been made possible through a generous gift by Mr. and Mrs. James S. McDonnell III and the James S. McDonnell Foundation.