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Addition to showcase Marines from Vietnam to present day
At the controls of an excavator, James Collins, of Winchester, put a gold-colored bucket shovel in the ground outside the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
The Marine who served from 1986 until 1994 had the honor of breaking ground for the final phase of the museum that tells the history and story of the Marine Corps. The new wing will showcase Marines who served during the Vietnam War to present time.
“Marines who serve today do not have hall to walk through to show their family and friends, no record of those they served with, nothing that shows the Marine Corps history that was made during their time,” said Chairman of the Marine Corps Heritage Board of Directors General Walter E. Boomer.
The new wing will include an art gallery, a large-screen theater, Hall of Valor, and a children’s hall to open in 2017. A hall showcasing the stories of Marines that served in Beirut in 2018, a sports hall in 2019, and a changing gallery will open in 2020.
The new wing will also showcase the stories of Marines who served in the most recent Iraq war, in Afghanistan, in Grenada, Somalia, and Operation Desert Strom in Iraq.
“After a decade and a half…the completion of our museum is on the horizon,” said Marine Corps Heritage Foundation President Lt. Gen. Robert R. Blackman, Jr.
The museum opened in 2006 and currently tells the stories of Marines that served between 1775 and the Vietnam War. The new expansion had been planned for since before the museum opened, and the wing will complete the final phase of the museum’s originally planned circle footprint on a hill overlooking Interstate 95 at Quantico.
The groundbreaking of the new wing was bumped up from 2017 to today thanks to a $10 million donation from the Tim and Sandy Day Family Foundation. The museum foundation so far raised $54 million of their overall $70 million goal to complete the museum.
The process of collecting artifacts that will be on display in the new wing began in 2012. Museum officials said the process of collecting more recent historical objects is sometimes more difficult to obtain than those that date back 40 years or more.
The National Museum of the Marine Corps opened in 2006. Since then, more than 4 million visitors from all over the country have flocked to Quantico Marine Corps Base to tour the center. The military has also embraced the museum, as 346 ceremonies were held at the museum last year to include reenlistments ceremonies, retirements, and a speical celebration to commemorate the birthday of the Marine Corps.
“We are proud of what this museum has become for the Marines and the community,” said Boomer.
The first portion of Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony was held indoors where several people gathered to hear speeches and live music from members of the Marine Corps Band.
