People gathered at the Morro Bay State Park Museum of Natural History on Wednesday to celebrate the opening of a World War II history exhibition.
The exhibit launch was from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
The exhibition examines how the war impacted the Central Coast through exhibit panels, audio recordings, and displays.
Topics the exhibit examines include soldiers who trained at Camp San Luis Obispo, the expulsion of residents of Japanese descent from their homes, and the “black outs”, which were caused by fear of a potential attack on the Central Coast.
A portion of the exhibition will also highlight the 54th Regiment, an all-Black coast artillery regiment that was headquartered at Morro Bay State Park.
"People are really excited to hear about some of these lesser-known underrepresented stories of World War II on the Central Coast, particularly the stories of Black soldiers of the 54th Regiment, who came here and lived for over a year on the Central Coast, and were based at Morro Bay State Park," said Amy Hart, a state historian for the San Luis Obispo Coast District of California State Parks.
The event is part of “WWII Commemoration Week”, which is a week long series of events, presented by the History Center of San Luis Obispo County, that commemorates the impact of World War II on the Central Coast.
The exhibit will be up through the summer, then it will be move to the Spooner Ranch House at Montaña de Oro State Park.
