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NEW MUSEUM AT QUANTICO DOES JUSTICE TO MARINE
CORPS'
HISTORY -- Marine Corps history comes into
sharp
focus at the service's new museum.
Story here...
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=41427
Story below:
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New museum at Quantico does justice to Marine Corps' history
By Brian Bowers, Stars and Stripes
From the halls of Saddam’s palaces to the shores of Tarawa, Marine Corps
history comes into sharp focus at the service’s new museum.
It starts in the soaring atrium of Leatherneck Gallery and continues
through the life-size depictions of the battles of Iwo Jima, Chosin
Reservoir and Hill 881 South — and undoubtedly will end for many Marines
at the bar fashioned to look like the Tun Tavern, where the Corps was
born Nov. 10, 1775.
The National Museum of the Marine Corps — dedicated Friday and opening
to the public on Monday — is the result of a $100 million effort to give
artifacts related to the Corps’ history a suitable home.
Visitors first notice the angled glass-and-steel atrium rising over the
trees near the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Va. Its profile evokes
images of the raising of the flag atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima.
Beneath the atrium is Leatherneck Gallery, the first stop for visitors.
It contains Marine aircraft from the early days of flight to a modern
AV-8 Harrier jump jet. Its circular wall bears quotes from and about
Marines, as well as immense portraits of typical leathernecks. Below are
full-size depictions of the landing at the Pacific island of Tarawa
during World War II and a helicopter assault in Korea. The mannequins
are impressively lifelike.
In a small theater off the gallery, visitors can watch a stirring
13-minute film about the Corps. The gallery and film immediately
establish that this is a museum covering proud and dedicated warriors
making tremendous sacrifices — and is probably an effective recruiting
tool.
Director Lin Ezell said the museum was designed to tell the story of the
average Marine throughout history and to engage visitors of all ages and
interest levels. As a result, there’s plenty to read, see, hear, touch
and experience.
The museum’s largest display areas cover World War II, Korea and
Vietnam. Other exhibit areas include Making Marines, combat art and the
war on terror, which is currently covered in a photo exhibit. These
areas are connected by Legacy Walk, which incorporates an
artifact-studded timeline and special displays on the Corps’ early
history, World War I and other eras.
Most visitors will start with Making Marines, an entertaining and
enlightening view of boot camp. Visitors can try lifting a 90-pound
pack, take an electronic quiz about an obstacle course or stand in a
special booth to listen to “instruction” from a drill instructor.
Elsewhere, they can shoot a laser-simulated M-16 or guide a Joint Strike
Fighter simulator — each for $5. Aside from these two activities, the
museum is free.
Legacy Walk is for people who like context and interesting artifacts.
Amid the timeline of important events, visitors will find Sgt. Maj.
Daniel Daly’s two Medals of Honor; Capt. Lemuel Shepherd’s brandy flask;
glass melted by the atomic bomb at Nagasaki, Japan; and a computer mouse
plucked from the rubble at the Pentagon after Sept. 11, 2001.
The World War II exhibit is likely to be the most popular. It
effectively uses newsreels, artifacts, recordings of veterans and a
walk-through depiction of the battle of Iwo Jima to bring the enormous
conflict down to a personal level. Among the artifacts is the original
flag captured in the photograph of the five Marines and Navy corpsman
atop Mount Suribachi, an especially timely exhibit considering that
Clint Eastwood’s film “Flags of Our Fathers” is still in theaters.
The museum uses similar techniques to explore the Corps’ role in Korea
and Vietnam. The most impressive exhibits in these areas are the
walk-through exhibits depicting Korea’s frozen Chosin Reservoir and
Vietnam’s Hill 881 South. Both areas include displays covering prisoners
of war and end with an account of the Corps’ casualties — somber
reminders of war’s cost.
For a museum designed to portray the experience and deeds of the average
Marine, it does an excellent job of highlighting the service’s
superlatives and explaining its dedication to honor, courage and
commitment.
National Museum of the Marine Corps
Location: 18000 Jefferson Davis Highway, Triangle Va., next to Marine
Corps Base Quantico.
Open: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Christmas. Admission: Free. Flight
simulator and marksmanship area cost $5 each.
Dining: Mess Hall and Tun Tavern.
Future: The current museum is only half the envisioned project. In the
coming years, the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation will raise funds to
expand the museum from 118,000 square feet to nearly 181,000 square
feet, which will provide fuller coverage of the Revolution through World
War I. The museum will be the centerpiece of the Marine Corps Heritage
Center, which will include a memorial park, parade grounds, conference
center and research center.
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Larry Scott
