Located in Quantico, VA (about 45 minutes south of Washington, DC), I arrived at the Marine Corps Museum at its opening, 9:00am. The museum closes at 5:00pm so I knew I had plenty of time. First thing in the morning, there was only me, a tour group of retired Marines (those guys in their red hats and shirts stick out), and a bus group from a contractor.
Architecturally, the museum's external decor is concrete and glass. The triangular glass structure is at such an angle it resembles the flag raising over Iwo Jima. Outside, there is also a path (under construction) around the museum and a chapel that has a few monuments along the trail.
The museum is adequately staffed, but it was unclear how to get a personal tour. I'm sure the website addresses it, but, giving them the benefit of the doubt, there were like 40 people shuffling in at the same time as me. I only wanted a self guided audio tour.
The audio tour in the lobby is well done. There's not too much being said over the ear piece, but there is enough to supply some extra background. In the lobby, there are a few airplanes suspended from the ceiling, and a helicopter and amphibious landing vehicle (AMTRAC) set up with figures of men in battle. Along one side towards the back was a traveling exhibit. Four years ago, a Marine Reserve unit out of Ohio that lost 22 Marines in a summer (all mostly from one town), and upon hearing this an artist painted all of the lost men for the town to have and treasure. It has now turned into a traveling exhibit going around with boots of the men. A stunning and powerful traveling exhibit. I walked past the shoes and noticed that neatly tucked into one pair was a photograph of a man who resembled one of the painted men. This exhibit got much more powerful towards the end. The first gallery was all about the sacrifice of self for unit and the beginning of a career in the Marines. The gallery opens and there is a lot of stuff in one place. Taking full advantage of multiple medias, there is a screen playing recruitment commercials, a screen playing the inner thoughts of a recruit as they arrive at boot camp (on a physical bus in the museum), and holographic pictures of before and after the haircut the recruits get in their first hours. The details are very well done, with a place where you can stand surrounded by speakers with a Drill Instructor yelling at you. In this general area, they also address what it takes to become a Drill Instructor. The remainder of the gallery describes the first twelve weeks of a Marine's career using most full size displays and photographs. At the end of the gallery there is an opportunity to aim and shoot rifles down range for a nominal fee.
The museum continues on along a timeline, starting in 1755. Above the time line is the Marine history and below is the history of the world. Planes are suspended about, and there are three galleries that stem off of the main timeline. The timeline serves as a hallway between the exhibits and it is mostly photographs and text on the wall, in addition to the suspended airplanes and some Marine relics within the timeline itself. World War II, Korea, and Vietnam are covered, and the galleries for the American Revolution, Civil War and World War I are under construction with an approximate end date in 2010. The World War II gallery is long, but informative and has a lot of great visual encouragement throughout. It mostly covers the front lines, of course, but within the exhibit addresses the segregated units, the home front, Navajo code talkers and the involvement of women. World War II is heavily about the Pacific front, however so was Marine involvement. Though I don't personally know much about the Pacific front, the exhibit was well done, possibly a little overwhelming. It uses objectification to show how many lives were lost in Iwo Jima, which is extraordinarily powerful. There is also a simulation of being in one of the amphibious boats as it approached Iwo Jima.
The Korean conflict gallery goes into a lot of description about a complex situation that not many people understand, and the Vietnam gallery also goes into deep detail. There are some amazing exhibits describing the amazing danger that those who fought in Vietnam dealt with every day. Throughout the Korean and Vietnam exhibits, different factions of defense are addressed, such as body armor, Chaplins, and medical aide. After the World War II exhibit, to the total history buff, it got overwhelming. The current conflicts are addressed as part of a temporary (or rather growing) exhibit.
Through the galleries of the museum, the curators decided to use several mediums of exploration. Text heavy, there was always an opportunity to skip it and still get a large portion of the message they were conveying. If you didn't feel like reading, as I didn't in part of the World War II exhibit, you could turn on your audio tour as you glance over the ephemera on the walls. For a break in the action after the display heavy parts covering Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and the training and missions of Marine Raiders, there was a "newsreel" of coverage, as well as American advertisements for War Bonds (starring Bugs Bunny!!). In the Korean and Vietnamese galleries, tactile learning is explored, with some refrigerated rooms about the harsh winters in Korea, or a heated room for Vietnam.
Food is served at a moderate fee in the "Mess Hall" where there are photographs of preparation and serving of food to Marines in all aspects of their lives. There is also the Tun Tavern, the legendary place where the Marine Corps was founded in Philadelphia. Upstairs along with the food, there is an exhibit about the Marine Corps Band. As I walked back downstairs to get my shot glass (I collect shot glasses from every place I go) I noticed that within the shoe exhibit, someone had placed a single yellow rose and a wristband in one pair of shoes. It was so powerful, and I think it was evident that I was holding back tears. Someone came to this museum, and poignently placed a yellow rose in one pair of shoes. To me this man on the canvas was a painted man with shoes who met an early and unfortunate end. To someone else, he was so much more. That's what the museum represents as a whole; as Americans we are all a part of the Marines' lives, they serve to protect us. However to others, this museum means so much more.
For the price of free, the museum will live up to everybodys expectations. Whether or not you are a history buff, military fan or whatever adds up to what you will take from it. I left knowing that I can't wait to go again because I know I didn't catch everything, the descriptions are detailed and it could bore some kids, but then again most museums will. I went alone on a day off, and its hard to say if going with someone would have changed it, but you never know. Once the Semper Fidelis path is done, I believe it will be the perfect end to a day to reflect on what was in the museum.
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