marine corps museum

I went with my parents to the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico on Saturday. They have Phase 1 finished and will do Phase 2 after the "current era" is over around 2010. It's a bit of a drive but it's free. And amazing. I mean AMAZING. Each section has its own walk-through area (like you can go through the boot camp section, or World II section, or Vietnam, etc.). Each era also has its own experience-it-yourself thing. Like Boot Camp has a thing you can step inside to get yelled at by a drill instructor. There's also a general 10-15 minute movie about the Marine Corps.

My parents' church had an interim pastor for a year a few years ago and he was one of the directors. He gave us a general tour then sent us on our way to look at whatever we wanted to.

I was on the verge of tears the ENTIRE time. Even though my dad was in the Navy I felt like I could understand him a little better. And since I'd previously made an eye dr. appointment in Sterling before my parents invited me to go with them, we couldn't stay more than a couple hours. I could have spent at least 2 full days there. Joe (our past interim pastor) said there are 3 types of people that go through: the streakers, the strollers, and the students. The streakers go through the main corridor that has the general information and timeline and artifact type stuff and might go through one era and they will spend a couple hours at the museum. The strollers spend some time in a few eras and do some of the interactive stuff and will spend half a day or so there. The students will spend two full days and still feel like they didn't learn everything. So I'm the student.

We went through some of the boot camp section and I went inside the "female drill instructor" dome/room thing. Freaky! It's all in surround sound and it sounds like the instructor is walking back and forth behind you and yelling at you.

We also went through the Vietnam section. The interactive thing was that you walked through the back of an H-46 and that's the type of helicopter my dad flew. So he showed me a bunch of the buttons and cords and hoses as we walked through. When you walk through, it's warmer and there's wind from the helicopter rotors. They have guys wounded, a guy dead under a tarp, gunfire sounds and lights, and real sandbags. Real Marines modeled for all the mannequins so everything looks real. Joe told us everything is historically correct and with the correct ambiance to show people what it was really like for the marines but not gory enough to give kids nightmares or veterans flashbacks. Dad seemed to do well and he really liked talking about everything, and pointing out people on the wall of honor that he knew or fought alongside (again, even though he was in the Navy).

I highly recommend everyone check the place out. FREE ADMISSION. FREE AUDIO TOURS. It's definitely 100% a must-see for anyone who has or had relatives or close friends in the military regardless of whether they were in the Marine Corps or any other branch.