This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, allowing The Museum of American Armor inside Old Bethpage Village Restoration to mark the occasion with programs designed to connect our visitors and the region at large with this historic milestone that continues to define our world.
Our efforts reflect the core mission of the Armor Museum: to ensure a current generation of Americans understands, appreciates, and honors the legacy of freedom bequeathed to us by those who fought and died for those freedoms.
The end of World War II saw the rise of the United States as a global superpower. Perhaps equally important, the end of the conflict fueled the transformation of American society, which included the growth of a vibrant middle class, the assertion of civil rights, the emergence of technology in our daily lives, and the nation’s embrace of exceptionalism as defined by President Ronald Reagan.
In the years that followed, America became the nation that stood against communism, sent men to the moon, and led the way in innovation on every front. It is a legacy that cannot be overstated. Nor can the debt we owe the young men and women who defeated the evil of Nazism 80 ago that even today remains unimaginable.
It is for that reason that the Armor Museum has also become an educational destination for school districts throughout the region.
We are immensely proud to have been recognized this year as one of the most dedicated supporters of public education on Long Island. The museum was among 14 honorees who received a Nassau BOCES Education Partner award, bestowed annually on those individuals and organizations that have had a profound effect on education in Nassau County.
A strategic education partner with school districts since 1967, Nassau BOCES created the awards program to recognize those who share the mission of ensuring a successful, challenging, caring, and safe environment that enables students of all ages and abilities to achieve their maximum potential.
“The Museum of American Armor’s programs are so accurate and immersive that they are a part of the social studies curriculum for many Long Island school districts,” said Nassau BOCES Board Member Robert “B.A.” Schoen at the awards gala. “Visitors are transported into one of the most pivotal periods in American history. The museum provides an experience that is at once so powerful and informative that it has been referred to as one of the most compelling educational tools our region has at its disposal.”
Our programs are designed to be immersive, memorable, and historically accurate. As a result, we have introduced countless students and their families to the simple truth that World War II still matters and every American veteran who has served since then has an important story to tell.
Lawrence Kadish is the founder and president of the Museum of American Armor.
