USS KIDD Veterans Museum

A square plaza enclosed within black granite walls, the Louisiana Memorial Plaza is located on the grounds of the USS KIDD Veterans Museum. Inscribed on its walls are the names of over 7,000 native-born Louisianans from all branches of service who were killed in action or who later died of wounds resulting from combat. The list begins with the citizens of Spanish Louisiana lost in the American Revolution’s Gulf Coast campaign and continues through to those lost in the War on Terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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Honored to once again be a stop on the 2026 Hero Hump, as National Guardsmen, veterans, and supporters hike from Memorial Tower at LSU to USS KIDD and the Memorial Plaza, and to the State Capitol to plant flags in the Capitol Gardens for .

Come visit us tomorrow and learn about those who paid the price for the freedoms we enjoy today.

-- My, how the time flies and the world changes! There I am on May 23, 1982, age 39, arriving in Baton Rouge. I was a military veteran with a pardon from the government to avoid the scrapyard. Here I am 44 years later in 2026, age 83. I'm a military veteran turned educator, moonlighting now and again in video games, television, and film. I'm wrapping up what was a semi-sabbatical, what with me still teaching from the shipyard these past two years via YouTube and social media while I got a spa day. Just developing a lesson plan to teach folks how the Mississippi River watershed works while I wait for the river to cooperate and let me back into my cradle.

Thank you, and , for welcoming me and giving me a home. Go visit my team there at the museum, give them a hug for me, and show them some support in my absence. I can't wait to come home.

Visit Baton Rouge Downtown Development District Baton Rouge Film Commission Baton Rouge Area Foundation East Baton Rouge Parish Library

(5/22/2026) - Fridays just "feel" better. We've noticed that ever since the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints started volunteering en masse back in 2020 during the dark days of the pandemic. Today, they spread good cheer and cleanliness by doing trash detail on the grounds (picking up where someone just dumped the remains of their crawfish dinner on the levee ... BOO!!! LAZY!!! NASTY!!!). Then, they "turned to" inside the museum dusting cases and cleaning glass. The air even smelled better!

A big thanks to all the missionaries for their service!

If you'd like to volunteer with the USS KIDD Veterans Museum you can send an inquiry to [email protected] for more information.

There's still a need for funding to finish restoration of equipment not being restored by the shipyard, and to keep the lights on back home at the museum. Let's make KIDD better than the bare minimum!

Click here to donate to the USS KIDD: https://www.usskidd.com/product/donations/

The USS KIDD Veterans Museum is a non-funded state agency that receives no regular state or federal funding. We appreciate your support!