Tom Hanks was in New Orleans Friday to serve as the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony for the National World War II Museum’s third and final expansion, the $47 million Liberation Pavilion, which focuses on the end of the war, the Holocaust and the cost of freedom.

Hanks remarks, which lasted a little over 12 minutes, focused largely on the sacrifices of the WWII generation, as well as the efforts and dedication of those who brought the museum to life.

About 40 surviving WWII veterans attended the ceremonies.

Ever the performer, however, Hanks knew his audience and where he was standing as he closed his speech.

“Hope and faith can lead us into the greatest possibilities in the world that we still cannot even imagine,” Hanks said as he began to close. “Hope and faith and wherewithal and the ongoing attempt to try can accomplish magnificent things.

“It can build a massive campus out of a handful of buildings and some artifacts. It can fuel the efforts of people for over 30 years in order to see it to its conclusion, It can build pavilions dedicated to peace and to liberty.

“Hope and faith and collective effort may even lead to LSU beating Alabama tomorrow,” he added, drawing applause and laughter.

“And if that can happen, ladies and gentlemen, we can accomplish anything to which we set our minds.”

The 8th-ranked Crimson Tide hosts 14th-ranked LSU in Tuscaloosa at 6:45 p.m.