thedrifter
09-14-07, 08:22 AM
Museum honors war on terror
By AILEEN M. STRENG
astreng@manassasjm.com
Friday, September 14, 2007
The National Museum of the Marine Corps not only tells the story of the Corps' history but its present as well.
"We care about what happened 230 years ago, but we also care about what happened 230 days ago," said Lin Ezell, director of the Marine Corps Museum.
Several artifacts from the global war on terrorism were unveiled Thursday at the museum where they were temporarily on display in its central gallery on the same day that President Bush prepared to address the nation on the situation in Iraq.
The artifacts include a 16-foot RQ-2B pioneer aerial vehicle, used for real-time intelligence of the battlefield; a Dragon Eye Mini-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, used for intelligence in urban or close-quarters combat situations; a captured al-Qaida banner used in insurgent videos; and a warning sign from an attacked Humvee.
The museum also unveiled two new exhibits. "Faces of War" and "One Team - One Fight" features the photography of Marines on assignment in the battlefield.
Eugene Suarez, a Catharpin resident and Marine from 1949-1956, was among those visiting the museum who had an opportunity to see the new artifacts.
"It was very interesting," Suarez said.
Additionally, the museum displayed a Marine pattern uniform worn in Iraq by a Navy Cross recipient, and a flight suit worn while serving combat tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
"If museums would wait 20 years, 50 years or 100 years to try to get their hands on artifacts, they would find that [the artifacts] were dispersed, destroyed or thrown away," Ezell said.
Instead, a constant effort is made to look for items that would help tell the story of what Marines are doing today to combat terrorism.
"There are Marine photographers, Marine combat artists and historians in the field," Ezell said. "We can tell them what to look for and they can tell us what they see."
One day, for example, Cpl. Jeremiah Workman put on his Marine utility uniform. The next day it was being stuffed with cotton and being preserved, Ezell said.
"It became a museum artifact," she said.
Workman received a Navy Cross for heroism while serving as a squad leader with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment in Al Fallujah, Iraq.
The temporary exhibition the artifacts will last until the museum closes today. After that, the items will be preserved, encased and prepared for permanent display in the future. The RQ-2B Pioneer will be hung for display in late this month.
Col. Mark Werth, a former commander of an unmanned air vehicle squadron, spoke of the history of the program, which began in the mid 1980s. Since that time, the unmanned vehicles have provided Marines with intelligence and surveillance, flying countless flight hours.
"We've really found them relevant on the battlefield," Werth said.
Ezell said the museum would continue to look for other artifacts.
"Don't think the museum is done," she said. "We will be constantly changing, improving and adding to our collection.
"We are here for today's Marines as well as for yesterday's Marines," Ezell said.
The museum welcomed its 500,000th visitor on Labor Day, only 10 months since it opened to the public in November.
Ellie
By AILEEN M. STRENG
astreng@manassasjm.com
Friday, September 14, 2007
The National Museum of the Marine Corps not only tells the story of the Corps' history but its present as well.
"We care about what happened 230 years ago, but we also care about what happened 230 days ago," said Lin Ezell, director of the Marine Corps Museum.
Several artifacts from the global war on terrorism were unveiled Thursday at the museum where they were temporarily on display in its central gallery on the same day that President Bush prepared to address the nation on the situation in Iraq.
The artifacts include a 16-foot RQ-2B pioneer aerial vehicle, used for real-time intelligence of the battlefield; a Dragon Eye Mini-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, used for intelligence in urban or close-quarters combat situations; a captured al-Qaida banner used in insurgent videos; and a warning sign from an attacked Humvee.
The museum also unveiled two new exhibits. "Faces of War" and "One Team - One Fight" features the photography of Marines on assignment in the battlefield.
Eugene Suarez, a Catharpin resident and Marine from 1949-1956, was among those visiting the museum who had an opportunity to see the new artifacts.
"It was very interesting," Suarez said.
Additionally, the museum displayed a Marine pattern uniform worn in Iraq by a Navy Cross recipient, and a flight suit worn while serving combat tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
"If museums would wait 20 years, 50 years or 100 years to try to get their hands on artifacts, they would find that [the artifacts] were dispersed, destroyed or thrown away," Ezell said.
Instead, a constant effort is made to look for items that would help tell the story of what Marines are doing today to combat terrorism.
"There are Marine photographers, Marine combat artists and historians in the field," Ezell said. "We can tell them what to look for and they can tell us what they see."
One day, for example, Cpl. Jeremiah Workman put on his Marine utility uniform. The next day it was being stuffed with cotton and being preserved, Ezell said.
"It became a museum artifact," she said.
Workman received a Navy Cross for heroism while serving as a squad leader with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment in Al Fallujah, Iraq.
The temporary exhibition the artifacts will last until the museum closes today. After that, the items will be preserved, encased and prepared for permanent display in the future. The RQ-2B Pioneer will be hung for display in late this month.
Col. Mark Werth, a former commander of an unmanned air vehicle squadron, spoke of the history of the program, which began in the mid 1980s. Since that time, the unmanned vehicles have provided Marines with intelligence and surveillance, flying countless flight hours.
"We've really found them relevant on the battlefield," Werth said.
Ezell said the museum would continue to look for other artifacts.
"Don't think the museum is done," she said. "We will be constantly changing, improving and adding to our collection.
"We are here for today's Marines as well as for yesterday's Marines," Ezell said.
The museum welcomed its 500,000th visitor on Labor Day, only 10 months since it opened to the public in November.
Ellie