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Armor Museum to reopen with COVID-19 protocols and a motivational “Call to Arms” from World War II

(Old Bethpage, N.Y.) How to motivate visitors to maintain social distancing upon entering the Museum of American Armor when it re-opens on Friday, July 31st?

The Armor Museum has enlisted the Army.

The Museum of American Armor, 1303 Round Swamp Road, Old Bethpage, has teamed up with Dr. Erik Villard, Digital Military Historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History, to present his innovative reinvention of motivational posters first created by the War Department during World War II.

From G.I.s prepared to throw hand sanitizers (as opposed to hand grenades), to a masked Uncle Sam leading a charge against COVID, the posters will be situated throughout the museum, adjacent to its tanks, artillery pieces, and uniformed mannequins.

Dr. Villard explained, “I already have a massive collection of these posters. I just looked through them and thought, ‘Okay, which ones could be modified, so that they keep something of the original spirit, but would be applicable to the Covid crisis?’

“Some of the posters are kind of the traditional attack / over the top variety; but then others, like the ‘Knowledge Wins’ poster are more information-based. Certain images will resonate with some people, and others will prefer a different approach,” he continued.

Museum of American Armor founder and president, Lawrence Kadish, stated, “We are following all the CDC protocols to allow the museum to open on July 31^st, but we wanted to make sure that our visitors’ behavior remains the first line of defense against spreading COVID-19. These imaginative re-envisionings of classic military posters by Dr. Villard are designed to get your attention, focus on COVID precautions, and to do so in a setting that reminds you America has gotten through much worse when it pulled together.”

The Museum of American Armor has some 40 operational military vehicles under cover within Nassau County’s Old Bethpage Village Restoration. Its re-opening hours are Friday to Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. An admission donation of $15 for adults is requested, $10 for seniors and veterans, and $8 for children.