Friday will see the groundbreaking ceremony of the planned National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia. Sounds cool. I just wish my late friend Norv, every inch a Marine, could have lived to see it.
"While most Americans know something about the U.S. Marine Corps, most don't know what it actually means to be a Marine," said Lt. General Ronald Christmas. "That's where this Museum differs from other military museums: every decision we've made is driven by our wish to share the experience of life as a U.S. Marine, its monumental challenges and unparalleled rewards."The entire Museum concept is intended as an immersion experience that tells the story of the Marine Corps. Created by award-winning firm Christopher Chadbourne and Associates, the Museum's exhibits will help visitors see, feel and appreciate what it means to be in the Corps. Visitors will learn about the evolution of Marine Corps and its history through exhibits that put them in the middle of the action, from witnessing a grueling boot camp experience, walking through a winter battlefield scene from the Korean War, and listening to recordings of Marine oral histories. The Museum's exhibits will use both cutting-edge multimedia and priceless vintage artifacts to tell the Marine story, from combat locator maps depicting Marine engagements both past and present, documentary films and artifacts such as an AV-8 Harrier jet, personal letters from the front and even the original flag raised at Iwo Jima.
"The Museum will have resonance with a child's sense of adventure, a parent's awareness of history and service, and the Marine's sense of duty and honor," said Lt. General Christmas. "For over 200 years the Marine Corps has been making history. The Museum will capture it and bring it alive."
The Museum will also feature era galleries chronicling the role of the Marines in World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam. Future exhibits will touch on subjects including the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and World War I as well as more recent initiatives in Panama, Kuwait, and the Balkans. They will all be designed to bring visitors face-to-face with the scope of Marine contributions to many of the significant events in American history. But while the exhibits have been organized by major conflicts around the world, they will not simply constitute a battle chronology. Each exhibit addresses the political climate at the time, the specific role of the Marines, and how those experiences affected the trajectory of military - and American - history.
via the USMC