Quite a few folks here enjoy military history, myself included. We all know how much our esteemed host enjoys the subject- with this site serving as a veritable tribute to military history. It's no secret- his Chant du Départ profile lists that as one of his interests, and multiple postings over the past couple of years well document that fact. And for that matter, many of his readers are of the age and/or the background where we're actually part of that history.
With that being said, The National Museum of the US Army is a place I hope I can visit some day. Many of you know I've caught the travel bug. So why do I say I only hope I can visit it someday? Because it doesn't exist...yet.
The Army has anything and everything a history buff could possibly hope for with which to fill up wing after wing of this superlative museum. However, there aren't sufficient funds with which to do so. For now, the potential exhibits reside here- closed to the public, in the Center for Military History in Fort Belvoir Virginia.
With that being said, The National Museum of the US Army is a place I hope I can visit some day. Many of you know I've caught the travel bug. So why do I say I only hope I can visit it someday? Because it doesn't exist...yet.
The Army has anything and everything a history buff could possibly hope for with which to fill up wing after wing of this superlative museum. However, there aren't sufficient funds with which to do so. For now, the potential exhibits reside here- closed to the public, in the Center for Military History in Fort Belvoir Virginia.
Inside lay the Army's historic collection of weaponry
Uniforms,
and over 16,000 pieces of fine art owned by the Army, documenting every conflict the US has been involved in since our country began.
For now, each piece of this invaluable collection is held in a relatively small climate-controlled warehouse, with no real way to display any of it sufficiently for public viewing.
The Army Historical Foundation is in charge of raising the funds necessary for building such a museum, but that's a tall order. So far only $76 Million of the estimated $175 Million has been raised.
So have I peaked your interest? Does this seem like a place for us folk to become even more enthralled and fascinated by military history? Read more about this here and here. Additional photos of the potential exhibits can also be found at either link.
Fortunately fund raising has been steady, with generous donors maintaining progress on the end goal, which should be complete by 2018 and is expected to be located there at Fort Belvoir.
I'm looking forward to it.
This surprises me... the fact the Army doesn't have a museum... and saddens me. But, as you've noted, Tuna, there's hope.
ReplyDeleteWow! Like Buck I didn't know.
ReplyDeleteYes, there's hope.
I think I prefer the smaller museums the Army has scattered all over the place...or at least it did. The First Division had one at Fort Riley and it was shared with the old Cavalry museum in the same building with plenty of lawn art outside consisting of rockets, missiles, tanks, guns. We used to see them at all the posts we went to and we visited all of them. If there is just one great big one they will indent on the little museums to send their best stuff, questions will be asked about redundancies and there will be politics. On the other hand, I suppose a lot of the best vanished after the BRAC shut down so much of what we used to have.
ReplyDelete