[USMC] Marine museum a top site

Washington Times ^ | November 9, 2007 | Rob Gutierrez

[HokieMom]

The National Museum of the Marine Corps has become one of Virginia's top tourist destinations, attracting more than 600,000 visitors to the Quantico site after one year.

The Marine Corps will celebrate the museum's success on its first anniversary Saturday.

"Originally, we were expecting between 250,000 and 500,000 visitors," said Chris Vassil, a media relations assistant at the museum. "We expect to end this year with over 600,000 visitors, which puts it in the top visited destinations in Virginia."

The museum is expected to rank as the fifth most visited attraction in Virginia for 2007, according to the Virginia Association of Museums.

Saturday's festivities will commemorate Veterans Day. Marine swords will be used to cut the cake, and visitors will have opportunities to write postcards to Marines.

Part of the museum's mission is to illustrate American history through the eyes of troops.

[USMCPOP]

They were handing out little squares of cake yesterday. I opted to have a beer in their replica Tunn Tavern instead :)

[Ciexyz]

One of my young relatives is serving with the Marines in Iraq. Here's praying for the mantle of protection over all our brave service people across the world as we also remember, on this 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, those who served our nation so honorably in the past.

[HokieMom]

I missed the tavern when I was there! Will need to return. God bless you and your family.

[freema]

God bless him.

[alfa6]

Y'all need some puctures on this here thread:-)

Allow me to provide a few from my visit last May.

First up the view from the parking lot, boy that shape of the building is familar!

You go through the front doors and past the reception/information desk and you step out into a rotunda. Across from the entrance is a "replica" of an aircraft carrier's island. Around the rotunda are engravings of sayings about the Marines, as in this one.

Hanging from the ceiling of the rotunda are a number of aircraft. A Curtis Jenny, 2 F4U Corsairs and a Harrier. On the deck to the right is a display of a Sikorsky helicopter offloading troops in Korea. On the right is an LTV climbing onto the beach. This pic was take from the 2nd deck of the "island" IIRC

Off to the right of the rotunda is a nice theater and then there is the hallway that leads to all the exhibits. One of the really neat items in the Musuem is in the hallway. Along the right hand wall is a timeline that has all the accomplishments of the Marines on one side, with the contemporary events on the other side.

Two really nice touches,so to speak, are the Chosin and Khe San exhibits. At the Chosin exhibit they ahce a special air conditioning unit that provides a real blast of cold air so you cna get a sense of what the Marines endured. You enter the Khe San exhibit through a fuselage of a C-130 Hercules and here they have a heater going to "warm" things up a bit.

Well that's it for this very short tour of the Musuem. Mrs alfa6 and I spent about half a day there and could probably have spent the whole day there.

A final note the photgraphy policy at that time, to me any ways, was a little confusing. Basically photos are allowed except in a few spots but I wasn't always sure of what was allowed. I know I should have asked, so be sure to get that clarified when you go there. They had the flag from Iwo Jima on disply at that time and there were signs at that disply that said NO PHOTOS bit the rest was a bit vague IMHO.

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[freema]

Inside pictures!

[oh8eleven]

Basically photos are allowed except in a few spots but I wasn't always sure of what was allowed.
I was there two weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed the museum.
Pictures, including flash pictures, are allowed anywhere in the museum with the following two exceptions:
  1) No flash in the original artwork (paintings) section.
  2) No flash of the American flag that was the first flag raised on Iwo Jima. The second flag raised on Iwo is the "famous" one.
Semper Fi ...

[alfa6]

When I was there they had the second Iwo flag on display. And it was well marked. I think it was the artwork that had me thrown for a loop. Anyways if I would have asked, I would have known, eh:-)

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[mwyounce]

Same here! We Hattiesburgers are a little slow sometimes, huh?! ;-)

[SuziQ]

Ha!! You’re a Hattiesburger, too? We’re planning to move back home sometime in the next year, when we can get our house remodeled and ready to put on the market. We’re hoping the market here in MA will be a little better by then. ;o) We won’t be going to H’burg, though, we’ll be moving to the Coast where both of us have family now. We moved in 1976, the year after we married, so we’re ready to head South!

[HokieMom]

Those are great! Thanks so much for posting them.

[alfa6]

A few more pics for you and the rest of the folks :-)

A good pic that shows part of the "island"

The final installment :-)

Have to get back to work, have a great nite

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[HokieMom]

Thanks again for so many great photos. Very nice.

[RDTF]

thanks for posting. The memorial is quite the sight when it comes into view while driving on 95 north