BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, along with The National D-Day Museum, hosted a dedication ceremony on Tuesday, October 19, for the Stephen E. Ambrose Memorial Parkway.

            Louisiana State Senator Tom Schedler served as Master of Ceremonies and led a host of local officials, family and friends in the dedication of a portion of I-10 from the Mississippi state line to the junction of I-10 and I-12 east of Slidell in honor of the late Dr. Stephen E. Ambrose.

Dr. Stephen E. Ambrose was a popular historian, author, and professor, who wrote over 20 historical books and biographies.  Ambrose wrote numerous books on American History, but is best known for his histories on World War II.  Ambrose grew up in Whitewater, Wisconsin, and was a longtime resident of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.  He earned a B.A. in history at the University of Wisconsin, an M.A. at Louisiana State University, and returned to Wisconsin to earn a Ph.D.  Ambrose taught history at the University of New Orleans from 1960 to 1964 and from 1971 to 1995.  Ambrose also served on the faculty of Johns Hopkins University, the Naval War College, and Kansas State University.  Ambrose founded The National D-Day Museum Foundation in New Orleans in 1991, which made possible the opening of the Museum on June 6, 2000.  Dr. Stephen E. Ambrose died October 13, 2002, at the age of 66, from lung cancer.

            In honor of his accomplishments, Senate Bill 496 was signed by the governor, designating a portion of I-10 in memory of Stephen E. Ambrose.

           Remarks were also given by DOTD Legislative Liaison Juba Diez; First Assistant State Treasurer Ron Henson; Louisiana State Senator John J. Hainkel, Jr.; David Voelker, Chairman of the Board, The National D-Day Museum; Dr. Gordon H. Mueller, President & CEO, The National D-Day Museum; Stephanie Ambrose Tubbs, daughter of the late Stephen E. Ambrose; and Moira Ambrose, wife of the late Stephen E. Ambrose.