WWII victory celebration: Drive Ohio’s new ‘Homefront to Warfront’ trail

(Contributed graphic)

(Contributed graphic)

Ten of Ohio’s museums featuring World War II history have joined forces to offer a new Homefront to Warfront Drive-it-Yourself Trail to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII. The tour kicks-off this summer and runs through the end of the year but will highlight veteran recognition from Aug. 15 to Sept. 2, the 75th anniversaries of Victory in Japan Day and the formal signing of the Instrument of Surrender on board the USS Missouri.

The main corridor of this tour connects the homefront, represented by the Dennison Railroad Depot Museum, a National Historic Landmark in Dennison, Ohio, recognized as the best example left in the nation of a WWII Servicemen’s Canteen site and the National Veterans Memorial & Museum in Columbus, which is dedicated to honoring the service of all veterans.

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Other Ohio museums collaborating on this tour include the Ernest Warther Museum in Dover; the MAPS Air Museum in North Canton; the Olde Main Street Museum in Newcomerstown; the Fletcher General Hospital and Fletcher Chapel and National Museum of Cambridge Glass in Cambridge; the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton; the WACO Air Museum in Troy; the Champaign Aviation Museum in Urbana. In total, there are 500 miles of WWII history.

Dennison Railroad Depot Museum’s executive director Wendy Zucal, who sparked the creation of this history tour, said, “The beauty of the trail is that you can plot your own course for historic family fun and do it at your own pace – in the safety of your own car.

Trail maps with specific information on days of operation, hours and admission for each attraction are available at each site or can be downloaded at https://tinyurl.com/yagjsjs8.

Additional information is available on the Tourism Ohio's Adventure Trails page at http://trails.ohio.org/map/ . The map also encourages users to visit RemarkableOhio.org where travelers can decide to add WWII markers to their travel plan.

Zucal encourages trail visitors to double check openings due to COVID-19.

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