Dale City, Va. — Shovels were put into dirt Wednesday breaking ground for the Americans in Wartime Museum that will be built off Interstate 95 and Dale Boulevard in Dale City.
“Today, we have reached a major milestone for the Americans in Wartime Museum,” said Museum Board Chairman Allan Cors. “Our leadership team and our many community partners have worked hard to bring the vision of the Americans in Wartime Museum to life.
Today, as we begin site preparation for the new Museum, we are another step closer to the day we open the doors to this incredible facility and offer visitors a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
The museum will aim to tell the story of Americans during wartime in the 20th century up until now, and will feature living history reenactments and working aircraft and armor, according to museum officials.
The museum is scheduled to open Veterans Day 2014, and when it does is expected to attract 300,000 visitors each year and bring with it 50 jobs to the area.
But the museum does not come without controversy, as some Dale City residents that live near the museum site told Prince William County Supervisors last year they feared property values would decline because noise levels generated by working aircraft and artillery that will be used at the museum.
The Americans in Wartime Museum will and a National Museum of the U.S. Army are two of the planned museums set to be built along I-95 in Fairfax and Prince William counties. Just south of the Dale City museum site lies the National Museum of the Marine Corps, which opened in 2006 and since then has greeted 1.7 million visitors.
