Dale City, Va. –– A new museum slated to be built in Dale City, where wars would be reenacted and relived, could be approved Tuesday night.
County supervisors at 7:30 p.m. will hold a public hearing on the American Wartime Museum, which if constructed would be located on 67 acres of land behind Kmart, off Dale Boulevard, and would open Veteran’s Day 2014.
The site is now home to several homeless camps, filled with residents who accept assistance from a nearby warming and cooling shelter on Potomac Mills Road.
The exhibits at the museum would be interactive, showing the harsh realities of war and showcasing the sacrifices made by those who served in all branches of the military, Coast Guard and National Guard, in every war since World War I, according to the organization’s Web site.
According to county documents, the museum expects to attract 300,000 visitors each year to the site, and will use vintage tanks, a replica bombed out European village during World War II, fighting trenches, as well as recreated scenes from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to recreate the wartime experience.
A two-story, 60,000 square foot building will serve as the main center, while several other smaller buildings will also be constructed on the site.
The museum will be built with private donations, similar to the National Museum of the Marine Corps that opened in Triangle four years ago.
