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Authenticity, so rare in contemporary times, is everywhere at the USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum.

“We have docents who have participated in the military. Ninety percent of them have served,” says Alissa Doyle, the Hornet’s community events and outreach director. “When people come on board, they’re interacting with live history. I think that’s invaluable.”

Firsthand, real-life experience especially extends to people like Chaplain Wallace Whatley. Long before he started holding nondenominational services each Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Hornet’s second-deck chapel and library, the 88-year-old seaman spent four years as an enlisted man. Called to the ministry, he attended the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Three years as a pastor set him up for decades of active duty as a navy chaplain.