Road Trip: National Museum of the Marine Corps

Yesterday we were taking a lengthy road trip along the Interstate 95 corridor south of Washington, D. C. and on a whim decided to drop in on the National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico, Virginia. Although we had only a short time to tour the museum, we decided very quickly that it would be worth a longer return visit.

The purpose of the museum is to honor the long history of the Marines. To really do it justice, you have to plan to spend several hours. There are numerous artifacts from the past 200 years of history of the Corps. A timeline allows visitors to see the important events of the Marines alongside important historical events from different eras. Separate galleries have been set aside for the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Viet Nam War.

The most striking and moving portion of the museum that we saw was the Iwo Jima exhibit. Visitors step into a simulated shipboard briefing room where they are given a simulated briefing of the Iwo Jima invasion. Then you step onto a mock up of a landing craft and watch a five minute film on a 180 degree screen of actual footage shot during the invasion. After the film ends, you step out into the remainder of the exhibit. On the wall is a display of a Marine Corps or Navy insignia for each of the 5,391 soldiers that lost their lives during the battle. This simple exhibit was by far the most moving of any that we saw during our brief visit.

It's fair to say that this is a museum that is not for the faint of heart. Some of the exhibits feature very graphic displays of combat footage. The museum doesn't pull any punches as far as what it takes to be a Marine or the unique role they play as part of the United States Armed Forces. It's also unique in that this is the only museum where I've actually seen profanity engraved on granite. I won't display it here but if you really want to satisfy your curiousity just let the flash introduction play through from the museum website. The quotes they display are the same quotes on the walls of the rotunda of the museum. As a result, this is a museum that you don't necessarily want to take younger children to visit.

All in all, they have done a terrific job of capturing the history and spirit of the Marine Corps. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend a visit to the Museum. It's a terrific reminder of sacrifices that have been made for the sake of freedom.