Went here last month. The National Musuem of the Marine Corps Here's an album of photos my wife took there. http://ww2f.com/media/albums/usmc-museum.555/ We enjoyed a meal in The Tun Tavern afterwards.
I was there about two years ago with my neighbor who put 25 years (E-9) in the Corps. There are actually four Marines within six homes from me. My neighbor knows a lot of people in the Corps and is a member of the East Coast Drill Instructors Assoc. He had two tours in Vietnam. His friend who is a retired tour guide from the museum and Iwo Jima (he brought me back volcanic ash from the beach in a bottle) gave us a personal tour. At the time, the new addition was just in the planing stages. We ate in the restaurant there and visited the gift shop where I bought a new U.S. Navy garden flag for in front of my house. Chambersburg is a little over two hours to the museum. They did it right when they built that one. The best military museum I have ever visited. An absolutely awesome experience that you will never forget. When he goes down again I may just ask to tag along. Your photos are very nice.
Hopefully we'll be able to come back over in a few years time & see the new wing finished. We were able to get a view from the balcony of the new displays being constructed. Then the story will be up to date. One of the guides said he hopes we dont have many more wars as there will be nowhere to put stuff.
We normally take an Airfarce veteran with us to read the signs and a box of crayons to snack on while touring.
I think the fact that many of the displays are immersive, you find yourself right there in the middle of the artifacts, helps add to the effect.
Hopefully, Owen will make another trip across the pond and I can meet him at the Marine Corps Museum and he can translate for me. However, you on the other hand my turn out to be useful, because if memory serves me, you and Carronade were "Gator Navy" sailors during at least part of your careers. I have another project that my sons and I are involved with that could benefit from your knowledge base. I think I'll start a thread on it within the next several days, once I get re-acclimated from my long absence. Gotta scoot it's near lunch time and I hear some purple crayolas (concord grape flavored) calling my name.
Owen, I know this thread is about the National Museum of the Marine Corps, which is my #1 favorite museum, but a really close second is the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. I've been at least a dozen times and it is magnificent. Your next trip across the pond you might want to consider heading for the Gulf Coast. I'd be up for a trip there to meet you and we could probably get Slipdigit and Bobby (A58) to meet up as well. If you centrally locate at Mobile you can be in Pensacola in less than an hour to tour the Naval Aviation Museum. The South Dakota Class Battleship USS Alabama is in Mobile. Ft. Pickens a Civil War Fort where Geronimo was later held prisoner is on an island at Pensacola. Then there are the Mobile Bay civil war forts, Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan as well. National Naval Aviation Museum | Official Website
Deffo up for meeting with you chaps over there. Hopefully another year or so . Youngest child will be off doing his thing , then it'll just be me & Mrs .
