Since the Birds Don’t Cooperate, We Head to a Museum

Saturday, 26 May

With the day’s high forecasted to be in the 88-90F (31-32C) range, we were up bright and early, raring to go while the temps were still comfortable.  It was only 68F (20C) when we left the coach, but the high humidex made it feel a lot warmer than that.

Our destination was the Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge, a mere 3 miles (5 km) from the campground via Gunston Road.

[map courtesy of the Mason Neck NWR website]

We’ve seen eagles, and herons, and a variety of waterfowl here on previous visits, but we were out of luck today.  Not only were the birds nowhere to be seen, the Great Marsh Trail — which we favor over the Wood Marsh Trail because it gets us closer to the birds — was closed for some reason.  So, although we got some exercise, the plan to test my new lens was a bust.  Looks like another zoo visit is going to be in order :-)

A glimpse of the Great marsh from the viewing platform at the end of the Wood Marsh Trail.

Plan B was to explore the adjacent Mason Neck State Park.  We knew the park wasn’t yet open, but we figured we could pay at the fee box and go on in anyway.  Well, there was a fee box, but the gate was locked.  So, we moved on to Plan C — the National Museum of the Marine Corps, located in nearby Triangle.

Google map image showing the location of the National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico
in relation to Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge and Pohick Bay Regional Park.

The museum, which opened to the public in November 2006, is part of the Marine Corps Heritage Park.  Also on the grounds is the Semper Fidelis Memorial Park and Chapel, which is where we stopped first.  The chapel is beautifully designed in a way that allows one to be “at one” with nature.

Behind the altar is the “Sacrifice Window,” honoring Chaplain Vincent Capodanno's dedicated service to Marines and the ultimate sacrifice he made in Vietnam to save a Marine's life.
[to read the words, click here.]

After taking a few minutes to enjoy the chapel, we attempted to wander the path winding around the Memorial Park, but it was simply too hot and way too humid by then for it to be enjoyable.  (It was only 9:30a!)  So, we gave up on that idea and headed to the cool comfort of the museum instead.

This monument, dedicated to “The Magnificent Bastards,” is one of many in the Memorial Park.

The Marine Corps Museum, which is the centerpiece of the Heritage Park, is housed in a building that is quite striking.  Upon seeing it for the first time, I remember thinking that it was reminiscent of the raising of the flag at Mount Suribachi, which is depicted in the Iwo Jima Memorial in DC.  I wasn’t wrong; but as I later learned from the website, the designers also intended for it to “evoke notions of swords at salute, aircraft climbing into the heavens, or a howitzer at the ready.”

The National Museum of the Marine Corps and the “Crusading for right” monument.
Per Wikipedia, Iron Mike is the de facto name of various monuments commemorating servicemen of the US military.  The plaque on the pedestal reads: "In memory of the officers and men of the 6th Regiment United States Marines who gave their lives for their country in the World War in 1918."

Inside, we found ourselves in a big, circular space called the Leatherneck Gallery.  Here were what turned out to be the first of the museum’s many ‘vignettes’ featuring life-size cast figures engaged in “battle action.”  When we were finally able to pull our gazes away from the scenes at ground level and looked up, it was to find the space above filled with aircraft.

“Across the Reef at Tarawa” depicts an LVT-1 amphibious tractor breaching the
defensive log wall on the Pacific island of Tarawa.

Quotes on the walls rim the airspace in which this AV-8B Harrier “jump jet” flies.

Before continuing on with our exploration of the galleries, we took in a short movie.  While it was well done, with moving scenes and words, we were disappointed to find that it was not the documentary we were expecting it to be.  I’d have to say that it was more like a recruiting movie than not, and could easily be skipped (IMHO).

Only half of the circular museum building contains galleries so far; the rest is for future expansion.  But what’s contained in that half is quite eye-opening and educational.  That there’s a strong “Semper Fi” atmosphere throughout goes without saying, but that’s to be expected of a museum that describes itself as: “… an American history museum. But it's American history seen through the eyes of individual Marines across nearly 235 years." 

The galleries that rim the building in an arc are accessed from the Legacy Walk.  This space is designed to not only link the history of the Marines from inception, but to also provide visitors who have a limited time at the museum with a “quick initiation into the rich and storied history of the Corps.”  Since we had plenty of time on this hot day in May, we explored the galleries in more depth.

Left: Aerial Message Pouch Pick-Up — Infantry patrols afield in Central American
jungles, lacking portable radios, worked out inventive means of communicating with
marine airmen.  Pilots swooped down to drop messages and adroitly snagged outgoing
messages suspended from a line rigged across an open space.

Right: Artifacts on display along the Legacy Walk — top to bottom: a piece of the Berlin Wall;
melted glass from Nagasaki; concrete from Marine Barracks Lebanon (1983).

Most of the galleries along the perimeter of the Legacy Walk represent a major war of recent times; there’s also one dedicated to Making Marines, and another one dedicated to Global Expeditionary Force.  Each gallery is filled with heart-tugging vignettes — in some instances, complete with sound effects — and more information and exhibits than the average visitor will (or can) take the time to digest.  In the four hours we “put our shoes in the boot prints of the Marines,” we barely skimmed the surface of all that the museum has to offer.

Defending the New Republic Gallery — Battle of Bladensburg
this exhibit in miniature depicts A small band of US Navy sailors and Marines blocking
the way of British regulars storming across the Anacostia River at Bladensburg on
24 August 1814.  …”Their spirited defense was a solitary bright spot on a bleak day that
ended with the  enemy's capture of the US capital."

World War I Gallery — Combat Correspondents
Dramatic news of American troops being committed to stop the German offensive near
Paris attracted veteran combat correspondents to the vicinity of Belleau Wood.  The
first to arrive was the heralded 31-year-old Floyd Gibbons of the Chicago Tribune.
  Ignoring wartime censors forbidding the identification of specific units, he filed his
first report: "I am up at the front and entering Belleau Wood with the US Marines."
On 6 June, he accompanied the assault by the 5th Marines on Belleau Wood and was
severely wounded.  While recovering in the hospital, Gibbons reconstructed the
events of the battle.  Fearing that gibbons had been killed, the military censors
released the correspondent's original report intact."

World War II Gallery — A day that shall live in infamy …

Korean War Gallery — Frozen Chosin
The 9th Chinese Army Group hurled over 100,000 men against the 20,000-man 1st Marine
Division, its units strewn along miles of bad road near the "Frozen" Chosin Reservoir.
Critical to their safe extraction was Toktong Pass, the choke-point of the escape
route, defended against Chinese assaults for five bloody nights by Fox Company, 7th Marines.

Vietnam War Gallery — Hill 881 South
airlifted into the “hot” landing zone at Hill 881 South near Khe Sanh on a CH-46
helicopter, Rotor wash swirls the hot air and the sounds of combat surround
visitors as they step off the helicopter’s rear deck.

Vietnam War Gallery — Hill 881 South
One of several vignettes in the gallery, this one depicts a marine helping a wounded
Comrade in arms to the chopper standing by to evacuate him.

Legacy Walk
Left: Remember to look up when walking along the gallery!
right: The Marine Corps battle standard dips in deference to the stars and stripes.

“9/11: We Remember” is a temporary exhibit; in addition to a building fragment from
the Pentagon and an I-beam from the World trade center, visitors to the museum
can leave notes recollecting where they were on that fateful day.

To wrap up our visit, I took a quick turn around a temporary exhibit on the second floor that featured photographs and artwork of wounded and ill Marines.  You’d think this exhibit would be a real downer, but quite the contrary.  Sure, the images were hard to look at, but many of them were actually quite inspiring.

Though the museum was rather crowded on the eve of Memorial Day, at no time did we feel the press of humanity that would have had us running out the door.  We enjoyed our visit and would recommend it to others, with the following caveat — don’t expect to see any lessons-learned type exhibits.  If there were any; I certainly missed them.  That the museum is a must-see for military history aficionados goes without saying.

(For those who’d like to see more photographs from the National Museum of the Marine Corps, click here to visit my online gallery.)

And just to prove we really did visit the museum …

A “Two to Travel” at the National Museum of the Marine Corps photo op.

We returned to the campground quite drained — and I don’t mean just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.  We were intent on relaxing in our screen shelter, but it wasn’t meant to be.  At least not for long; it was oppressively hot and humid, and that we were shaded by trees didn’t matter one whit.  Inside the coach it was like a whole different world — even without the A/C.  Our three Fantastic fans really did a fantastic job of keeping us comfortable through most of the afternoon.  It was early evening before we felt the need to turn on the A/C for a couple of hours to get things comfortable for the night ahead.

So, all in all, we had a day that started out so-so in the sightseeing department, but continued quite satisfactorily with an unplanned visit to another site.  Tomorrow promises to be another hot and humid day.  Hopefully our plans for the morning will work out much more smoothly; but we’ll have to wait and see about that.