thedrifter
06-06-07, 07:16 AM
June 6, 2007 - 12:00AM
Plans for museum unveiled
KELLEY CHAMBERS
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Grace Quinlan wants Jacksonville to be known for its strong ties to the Marine Corps.
So with her late husband's belongings in tow, she was ready to hand them over to the Museum of the Marine at Tuesday's Forum Onslow. He wasn't a Marine, but he did a lot for them, Quinlan said. For that, he should be remembered alongside them.
"Everybody knows the Marines, and most people know one," Quinlan said. "I just want to put these in the right place."
Heading for the home stretch in a seven-year struggle, the former Marine Corps Museum of the Carolinas publicly unveiled its construction plans for a Marine Corps museum located on newly acquired land off Montford Point Road.
With $21 million left to go in its $29 million goal, the museum is gearing up for its capital campaign. Hoping to break ground late next year, it aims to collect roughly $1.8 million of that from local contributions.
The Forum Onslow series provides a venue for the public to learn more about timely topics and are held by the Jacksonville-Onslow Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Progress Energy and The Daily News.
Having recently changed its name to set itself apart from its larger cousin in Quantico, Va., the Museum of the Marine's new logo emphasizes three interrelated entities: "Community, Corps, Carolinas."
Hoping to be backed by corporate donations and state funding, museum organizers plan to blend personal testimony with the Corps' history at Camp Lejeune, New River, Cherry Point and Beaufort, S.C. Myriad multi-media tools spanning from World War II to today would provide an educational experience, executive director Jim Williams said.
"These ordinary people were called to do extraordinary things," Williams said. "We want to capture the shared sacrifices of Marines but also Marine families and the community."
Features of the museum would also include an entranceway with a stained-glass wall of service ribbons, an orientation theater, three galleries, an outdoor remembrance memorial and courtyard and interactive tools such as memory creation zones and virtual reality combat booths.
But something of this caliber is not an inexpensive endeavor, Williams said.
Although the museum has had slow goings, finally finding a place on which to build has become the major catalyst driving the funding quest, said Robert Jones, a retired sergeant major and museum supporter since its inception.
"This is not as grandiose as the first plan, but it's better," he said. "Now they've got a home, and that makes a big difference. They're not a moving target, now."
Jones purchased a commemorative brick during a fund-raising campaign a few years ago and wanted to make sure his contribution would still be a part of the plan. The 3,000 bricks already sold will be used to line the sidewalks and walkways around the museum, Williams said.
Future donors will be able to acquire bricks through the museum's Scarlet and Gold Society, in which different levels of membership will guarantee a brick and space for it at the museum.
Like Jones, Dorothy Kuegal came to the forum to find out where her bricks would be. With her husband having spent two tours in Vietnam and dying from Agent Orange, Kuegal said, the bricks represent his place in history.
"I've got grandkids here and bought each of us one so we could hunt for our bricks," she said. "It means a lot to us."
For more information on the Museum of the Marine, visit www.museumofthemarine.org or call 937-0033.
Contact Kelley Chambers at kchambers@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 8462.
Ellie
Plans for museum unveiled
KELLEY CHAMBERS
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Grace Quinlan wants Jacksonville to be known for its strong ties to the Marine Corps.
So with her late husband's belongings in tow, she was ready to hand them over to the Museum of the Marine at Tuesday's Forum Onslow. He wasn't a Marine, but he did a lot for them, Quinlan said. For that, he should be remembered alongside them.
"Everybody knows the Marines, and most people know one," Quinlan said. "I just want to put these in the right place."
Heading for the home stretch in a seven-year struggle, the former Marine Corps Museum of the Carolinas publicly unveiled its construction plans for a Marine Corps museum located on newly acquired land off Montford Point Road.
With $21 million left to go in its $29 million goal, the museum is gearing up for its capital campaign. Hoping to break ground late next year, it aims to collect roughly $1.8 million of that from local contributions.
The Forum Onslow series provides a venue for the public to learn more about timely topics and are held by the Jacksonville-Onslow Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Progress Energy and The Daily News.
Having recently changed its name to set itself apart from its larger cousin in Quantico, Va., the Museum of the Marine's new logo emphasizes three interrelated entities: "Community, Corps, Carolinas."
Hoping to be backed by corporate donations and state funding, museum organizers plan to blend personal testimony with the Corps' history at Camp Lejeune, New River, Cherry Point and Beaufort, S.C. Myriad multi-media tools spanning from World War II to today would provide an educational experience, executive director Jim Williams said.
"These ordinary people were called to do extraordinary things," Williams said. "We want to capture the shared sacrifices of Marines but also Marine families and the community."
Features of the museum would also include an entranceway with a stained-glass wall of service ribbons, an orientation theater, three galleries, an outdoor remembrance memorial and courtyard and interactive tools such as memory creation zones and virtual reality combat booths.
But something of this caliber is not an inexpensive endeavor, Williams said.
Although the museum has had slow goings, finally finding a place on which to build has become the major catalyst driving the funding quest, said Robert Jones, a retired sergeant major and museum supporter since its inception.
"This is not as grandiose as the first plan, but it's better," he said. "Now they've got a home, and that makes a big difference. They're not a moving target, now."
Jones purchased a commemorative brick during a fund-raising campaign a few years ago and wanted to make sure his contribution would still be a part of the plan. The 3,000 bricks already sold will be used to line the sidewalks and walkways around the museum, Williams said.
Future donors will be able to acquire bricks through the museum's Scarlet and Gold Society, in which different levels of membership will guarantee a brick and space for it at the museum.
Like Jones, Dorothy Kuegal came to the forum to find out where her bricks would be. With her husband having spent two tours in Vietnam and dying from Agent Orange, Kuegal said, the bricks represent his place in history.
"I've got grandkids here and bought each of us one so we could hunt for our bricks," she said. "It means a lot to us."
For more information on the Museum of the Marine, visit www.museumofthemarine.org or call 937-0033.
Contact Kelley Chambers at kchambers@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 8462.
Ellie