Veterans Day, Nov. 11, is the last National Park Service’s ‘fee free’ entrance day in 2022. It is a perfect occasion to visit American Military Heritage parks that include battlefields, military parks and historic sites.
Most of the 422 national parks are free every day; however, more than 125 regularly charge an entry fee. The annual free days provide a great opportunity to explore new places or revisit old favorites. Your family can select a park that normally charges an entrance fee and see it for free.
American Military Heritage
“The National Park Service has the honor of preserving battlefields, military parks, and historic sites that commemorate and honor the service of American veterans. What better way to honor those who served their country than to visit a national park that preserves the places where they fought?”
Vicksburg National Military Park
One park to put on your list that traditionally has an entry fee is the Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi.
“At the time of the Civil War, the Mississippi River was the single most important economic feature of the continent — the very lifeblood of America.” Vicksburg, according to historians, was “a decisive event in the Civil War, splitting the South in two.”
Union and Confederate forces engaged in skirmishes throughout the region for more than 18 months. The Battle was unlike any other in American History and cost more than “48,000 casualties.” Watch the compelling story of the Siege of Vicksburg by clicking here.
If you can’t travel to Vicksburg this Veterans Day, check out its Virtual Museum Exhibit.
Vicksburg Basic Information
3201 Clay Street
Vicksburg, MS 39183
(601) 636-0583
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African Americans to serve as military aviators in the U.S. Armed Forces. They began their flying adventure in 1942 at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama.
During World War II, “996 pilots and more than 15,000 ground personnel who served with all African American units would be credited with some 15,500 combat sorties and earn over 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses for their accomplishments.”
“The highly publicized successes of the Tuskegee Airmen helped pave the way for the eventual integration of the U.S. Armed Forces in 1948 under President Harry Truman,” states the Friends of Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site website. “They essentially laid the groundwork for the civil rights movement.”
Tuskegee Basic Information
1616 Chappie James Ave.
Tuskegee, AL 36083
(334) 724-0922
No entrance fees for Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site.
(Top photo) “A P-51 Mustang is suspended from the ceiling of Hangar 2 Museum. This was the spectacular World War II fighter plane flown by the world-famous Tuskegee Airmen Red Tails.”
We honor all Veterans for their service … and their families for their support and sacrifice.
— Julianne G. Crane
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