We Can Do It! WWII

Explore Western Pennsylvania’s incredible impact on the home, industrial, and battle fronts during World War II as part of the History Center’s exhibition, We Can Do It! WWII.

Learn about the development of the jeep, a uniquely American invention produced by the American Bantam Car Company in Butler, Pa., and hear the stories behind Rosie the Riveter and the local Tuskegee Airmen whose contributions helped to turn the tide of the war.

The exhibit showcases four lifelike museum figures of local WWII heroes, including General George C. Marshall, Tuskegee Airman Lt. Carl J. Woods, Iwo Jima hero Sgt. Michael Strank, and the Westinghouse Company-inspired Rosie the Riveter.

The We Can Do It! WWII exhibit also features a U.S. Army Air Corps jacket worn by Western Pa. native, WWII veteran, and Hollywood star Jimmy Stewart; along with a U.S. Army Signal Corps field telephone used by Martin “Gabe” Torisky of Pittsburgh while serving with the 99th “Checkerboard” Infantry Division during the famous Battle of the “Bulge” in Belgium.

The exhibit is on view in the museum’s fifth floor Barensfeld Gallery.

The We Can Do It! WWII exhibit is sponsored by the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD), Eden Hall Foundation, Heinz Endowments, Hillman Family Foundations, Richard King Mellon Foundation, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).