Only three years old, opened in 2006, the Marine Corps Museum is impressively appointed with granite from head to toe. Built to resemble the Iwo Jima Memorial, the top of the memorial is topped with a spire that reaches sideward to the sky likening to the flag raising atop Mt. Suribachi.
Inside the circular structure is a grand room etched with some of the most historic quotes in the Marines' glorious history. Suspended from the ceiling is a gull winged Corsair and inside is a old helicopter along with a tank, both impressively set in life size dioramas from their respective pasts.
The gallery surrounds the main room and runs chronologically clockwise around the building. Each war has its own section and most have a lifelike interactive area matched to the climate of the theater of combat. The Iwo Jima portion puts you in a briefing room to listen to the combat orders issued prior to the invasion before shipping you out the front of a Higgins boat. In much the same way, in Vietnam, you walk through a loud, thunderous tail section of a troop transport helicopter into a hot stuffy terrain complete with calls for fire. In the frozen Chosin, you stand in a cool environment while listening to the sounds of gunfire, mortars, and radio traffic as it may have occurred during one of the nights.
Many tanks, artillery pieces, medium and small arms are placed throughout the gallery along with the first flag that was raised atop Suribachi. I never fail to get goose bumps walking through the place, and unlike most museums, it does an outstanding job of putting you in realistic scenarios to give you the best understanding of what the Marine Corps is all about: its experiences, traditions, and successes.
I recommend you make a trip to see it whenever you are in the Washington DC area.
John Shepard
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