National history museum
The museum preserves and displays original Medals of Honor associated with several World War II recipients. Direct museum records document Jefferson Joseph DeBlanc’s Medal as donated and displayed, Johnnie David Hutchins’s Medal in the Road to Tokyo galleries, and Walter D. Ehlers’s Medal and oral history as part of the museum collection and exhibition program.
Historical context
The National WWII Museum in New Orleans interprets the American experience in the Second World War through a large campus of immersive galleries, restored vehicles and aircraft, oral histories, personal collections, and research programs. Founded around the history of D-Day and amphibious operations, the museum expanded into a national institution covering the war’s major theaters and home-front experience. Recipient stories are woven through both object-based displays and the museum’s extensive digital scholarship.
The museum is especially useful for connecting individual Medal of Honor recipients to broader operational and social context. Its accession-level references for DeBlanc and Hutchins, plus its documented Ehlers collection, allow researchers to move from a citation to surviving material culture, oral history, and theater-level interpretation.
Collection guide
The following highlights summarize the strongest verified reasons to include this institution in the archive. They are a planning guide, not a promise that every object is on view at all times.
Jefferson Joseph DeBlanc Medal of Honor and related Pacific artifacts
Johnnie David Hutchins Medal of Honor in the Road to Tokyo galleries
Walter D. Ehlers Medal of Honor and oral history
World War II theater galleries and immersive interpretation
Extensive oral-history, artifact, and research collections
Verified connections
Original Medal of Honor
The National WWII Museum states that Jefferson Joseph DeBlanc donated his Medal of Honor in 2008 and that it is displayed by the museum.
Record: Accession 2008.001
Verified 2026-10-08 · Current, display status not specified
Direct museum article and accession reference; current exact display location can change.
Original Medal of Honor
The National WWII Museum states that Johnnie David Hutchins’s Medal of Honor resides in its Road to Tokyo: Pacific Theater Galleries.
Record: Accession 2001.101.001
Verified 2026-10-08 · Current, display status not specified
Direct museum gallery and accession reference.
Original Medal of Honor
A current National WWII Museum publication states that Walter D. Ehlers’s Medal of Honor and oral history are in the museum collection and on exhibit.
Record: Walter D. Ehlers Medal of Honor
Verified 2026-10-08 · Current, display status not specified
Current museum publication supports collection and exhibit status; exact case/location can change.
Collection focus
U.S. Army · U.S. Navy · U.S. Marine Corps · U.S. Army Air Forces
World War II