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thedrifter
03-06-03, 04:18 PM
Preserving and Presenting

THE HISTORY OF THE CORPS

By Col Joe Long, USMCR

The first time I ever landed in a "hot landing zone" was one sunny morning early in 1967. I was a member of 2d Battalion, Ninth Marine Regiment and was one of five Marines assigned to a South Vietnamese unit (the famous "Black Panther" Company) for a one-day operation.

I was a private first class operating the radio for a Marine lieutenant. About 200 of us boarded CH-46s at Hué and flew to a suspected Viet Cong stronghold. As the choppers began dropping into the rice paddies, I heard AK47 fire and looked out the window to see a North Vietnamese soldier running through the trees adjacent to the landing zone.

When we touched down, there was fire coming from all around us. Our chopper was getting hit, and I was scared half to death. Knowing we were easy targets, the lieutenant and I bent over and ran down the ramp into the waist-high elephant grass, then to the left where we hit the deck and returned fire.

All combat Marines have stories they could tell, and most of those stories have the common theme of performing the mission while being gripped by fear. Landing in a hot LZ is one of those tension-filled episodes that will be recreated in the Vietnam-era gallery of the National Museum of the Marine Corps that is being built at Quantico, Va. Visitors will walk down the tail ramp of a CH-46. As they leave the helicopter, they will feel prop wash from above, then they will see the sights, hear the sounds and perhaps even smell some of the odors found atop Hill 881 South during the Battle of Khe Sanh.

Four of these "immersion experiences" are planned. Belleau Wood, Iwo Jima and Toktong Pass (Korea) are the other three. But that's just one presentation method among many that visitors will encounter in this world-class museum facility.

A Marine Corps Heritage Center

The National Museum of the Marine Corps is the first building that will be constructed as part of a campus of facilities called the "Marine Corps Heritage Center." When the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation first presented the idea to then-Commandant General Charles C. Krulak, he responded with enthusiasm. In a letter of support, he wrote that the Heritage Center should be "a multiple-use complex of buildings and outdoor facilities … devoted to the presentation of Marine Corps history, professional military educational opportunities, and unique military events … the showcase of our Marine heritage."

When Gen James L. Jones Jr. became Commandant in 2000, he also embraced the Marine Corps Heritage Center project, declaring, "The American people can come view the history of our nation through the eyes of Marines … a place where the Corps' organizations and associations can meet ... the glorious history of the Marine Corps can be researched and recorded."

Our new Commandant, Gen Michael W. Hagee, is already on record as strongly supportive. He believes, "Creation of the new Marine Corps Heritage Center, with the inspiring National Museum of the Marine Corps as its centerpiece, turns the dreams of thousands of Marine veterans and patriotic Americans into reality. This magnificent place represents our heritage and timeless esprit de corps, and finally allows us to tell our story as we would have it told."

Eventual plans call for the Heritage Center to include, in addition to the museum, artifact restoration and storage facilities, History and Museums Division (HD) offices, a research facility, parade grounds, a memorial park and chapel, a large auditorium, an office building for fraternal organizations, and a hotel and conference center.

A Public-Private Venture

The National Museum of the Marine Corps is a team effort between the Marine Corps and the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation.

The Heritage Foundation is working to raise $25 million for construction of the first phase of the museum. The building eventually will be donated to the Marine Corps, and the foundation will assist in its future operations by managing all the museum's revenue centers, such as the restaurant, gift shop and simulators. Profits from these activities will be used to support the Marine Corps historical program.

The Marine Corps is providing the land, paying for architectural and exhibit design and covering the cost of interpretive exhibits. The Marine Corps' History and Museums Division, under the direction of Colonel John Ripley, USMC (Ret), is actively involved in the planning process and will be responsible for the overall operation of the Heritage Center.

The Heritage Center will be situated on 135 acres donated to Marine Corps Base, Quantico for this purpose by Prince William County. The site is located just outside the front gate of the base, between Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1, adjacent to a 700-acre public park.

The National Museum of the Marine Corps

A national architectural competition was conducted to ensure the finest, most creative firm available was selected. Fentress-Bradburn Architects of Denver, the company that designed the Denver International Airport, the Broncos' football stadium, and museums, airports and other buildings around the world, was chosen.

The design features a 210-foot tilted spire, rising from a 17,000-square-foot circular space called the "Central Gallery." From near the top of the spire a glass curtain will drop to the 40-foot-high wall of the Central Gallery, providing a stunning atrium through which approaching visitors will see suspended aircraft. The design is inspired by Joe Rosenthal's famous photograph of the flag raising on Iwo Jima, but it is reminiscent also of a howitzer firing at high angle, of an aircraft with nose up, a rifle at port arms and more.

Encircling the Central Gallery will be exhibit halls, the gift shop, a restaurant, a unique boot-camp experience, an orientation theater and—eventually—a display armory, a combat art preservation and display area, and an IMAX theater.

A demographic study concluded that between a quarter and half a million people a year, 70 percent of whom will have no previous connection to the Marine Corps, will visit. For that majority, the museum will tell the Marine Corps story in an interesting and exciting way, while providing historical depth and accuracy for all visitors.

The Central Gallery

As visitors enter the museum from an attractive plaza, they will find themselves in the awe-inspiring Central Gallery. There will be curved granite walls etched with quotations from famous Marines, displaying dynamic, moving, larger-than-life photographs.

Suspended above, under the glass curtain, will be three Marine aircraft from an extensive collection. On the floor will be tableau treatments of an actual World War II landing craft climbing the coconut-log seawall on the beach at Tarawa and a Sikorsky helicopter discharging Marines in Korea. The Central Gallery will be used also for dinners and other after-hours social events.

From the Central Gallery, visitors will be encouraged to enter the Orientation Theater for an eight- to 10-minute video overview of the Corps. Emerging from the theater, viewers will be directed to the "Boot Camp Experience."

Boot Camp Experience

The Boot Camp Experience is being designed to inform and engage visitors. This area may be entered by walking down the aisle of a bus, simulating that famous ride to the receiving barracks. On the seats will be cast figures of new recruits. The bus windows are actually video screens that come alive with Marines, past and present, telling what they were thinking during that bus ride.

Emerging from the bus, visitors will find rows of yellow footprints painted on the deck. Standing on a set of those prints triggers a sound cone from which a drill instructor introduces himself.

There will be opportunities to try on a pack, a flak jacket and helmet to see what they weigh, to do some pull-ups and to actually fire laser-equipped M16 rifles for qualification. If visitors qualify, they will receive the appropriate badge.

A video wall depicting a graduation ceremony or the eagle, globe and anchor ceremony following the Crucible training event is the final experience.

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thedrifter
03-06-03, 04:18 PM
The Fast Track

For the person who has limited time, a wide, curved passageway will provide an overview of the entire history of the Marine Corps. Entered from the Central Gallery, "Fast Track" will feature an easy-to-follow timeline while displaying important artifacts by era. Various aircraft will be suspended overhead, including one of the few WW II kamikaze rocket bombs still in existence. Vignettes made up of cast figures of Marines doing what they would have done during a particular period will provide a graphic learning experience while bringing back memories for those who "were there." In all, nine eras will be depicted, showing U.S. Marines, their equipment and their activities from Tun Tavern to the present day, even projecting what the future Corps may be like.

Era Galleries

From the Fast Track, visitors may enter any of the nine era galleries. These areas provide in-depth treatment of the various periods of Corps history. Phase I will see three of these unique galleries completed: "Uncommon Valor" (1940-45, the WW II period), "Send in the Marines" (1946-53, the era of the Korean War) and "In the Air, on Land, and Sea" (1954-75, including the Vietnam War). Era galleries to be built during future phases are "From the Halls of Montezuma" (1775-1884), "First to Fight—The Age of Expansion" (1885-1916), "Every Marine a Rifleman" (1917-18), "The Marines Have Landed" (1919-39), "Global Readiness" (1976-2000) and "Semper Fidelis" (2001 into the future). The building is designed to accommodate more era galleries through the coming decades. The well-known exhibit design firm of Christopher Chadbourne & Associates of Boston is designing the entire exhibit experience under the careful guidance of HD to ensure historical accuracy.

The Museums Branch of the Marine Corps' History and Museums Division maintains more than 60,000 artifacts. Five to 10 percent of them will be on display at any one time. Visitors may see either or both of the actual flags that were raised on Iwo Jima. They can see both of Dan Daly's Medals of Honor, Smedley Butler's campaign cover and letters written home by Marines of all stripes. They will see myriad aircraft, landing craft, tanks and armored vehicles, artillery pieces, small arms, uniforms and more. Original combat art will be on display, as will early pieces of John Philip Sousa's music. Home-front displays will demonstrate how America viewed the Marines during each era.

In these era galleries, visitors will be able to experience the immersion settings such as that of the "hot landing zone" mentioned earlier.

Extensive use is being made of audio, video and information technology techniques to enhance the visitor's experience. Interactive stations will allow visitors to test their skills, ride simulators and dig more deeply into educational subject matter.


Visitors with a deep interest in Marine Corps history will be able to spend many interesting and pleasant hours in the era galleries.


IMAX Theater, Armory and Combat Art

An IMAX theater, a display armory for small arms and a combat art preservation, storage and exhibition area are all planned for future phases. An IMAX movie script already has been developed so it can be produced when the theater is built.

Marine Corps curators have the finest collection of small arms in the world, featuring weapons from muskets of America's revolution to M16s and Civil War Gatling guns to modern-day machine guns. An armory is planned in which hundreds of these weapons will be displayed to the public.

A 13,000-square-foot addition will provide a state-of-the-art facility for the display, restoration and storage of the tremendous combat-art collection.

Semper Fidelis Memorial Park

Another feature of the Heritage Center is a memorial park and chapel. The chapel will accommodate about 60 people at a time. Its primary function is to serve as a place of personal prayer, reflection and meditation. It also will be suitable for small weddings, funerals and other memorial events.

A walk through the park will take visitors by memorials to Marine units, actions or groups. Bricks on the walkway may be inscribed with names of individuals.

The Greening of the Designers

Organizers have gone to great lengths to ensure designers understand what it is like to be a Marine. Noted Marine Corps historian and well-known writer, Col Joe Alexander, USMC (Ret) has been hired by Fentress-Bradburn Architects as an advisor. Additionally, the design team went to a week of boot camp at San Diego and also stayed for several days in a troop-berthing area aboard an amphibious ship off Camp Lejeune, N.C. In order to immerse members in USMC heritage and allow them to best understand battle sites they will be telling about, they also visited Belleau Wood, Iwo Jima, Saipan, Tinian and Guam. A Vietnam visit is being considered. They have been with Marines in the field and in garrison. They all have read extensively about Marine history, and career Marines and professional Marine Corps historians must approve everything they design.

The official groundbreaking is planned for this summer, and Phase I is scheduled to open to the public on the Marine Corps' 230th birthday, Nov. 10, 2005. Subsequent phases will follow as additional funds are raised.

A Family Experience

The Heritage Center and the National Museum of the Marine Corps must be an experience for the whole family. At the same time the Marine Corps' history is one of not infrequent violence, and to omit that element would be a disservice to those who participated. Particularly graphic displays will be camouflaged for the young.

Home-front displays will be in each era gallery, allowing visitors to learn or be reminded of the domestic context of each period. A supervised children's "obstacle course" is planned for outdoors to allow the little ones to burn off some energy, and hiking trails around the site will be available for family walks.

A careful look at the long history of the Corps reveals that United States Marines have always remained faithful to God, Corps and country, serving with honor, courage and full-time commitment. This reality will be graphically portrayed at the Marine Corps Heritage Center, Quantico, Va.




Editor's note: As a Reserve officer, Col Long was called to active duty in March 1999 to be the project manager for the Marine Corps Heritage Center. He is a special staff officer reporting to the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. He joined the Corps in 1966 as a private and went on to serve in Vietnam, Desert Storm, Somalia and in various special assignments primarily in the Middle East.


To make a tax-deductible contribution to the National Museum of the Marine Corps, contact the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation at P.O. Box 998, Quantico, VA 22134, or call (703) 640-1002.


Sempers,

Roger