A new museum – aimed at honoring and remembering those who serve and have served in all branches of the United States military from World War I to the present – is coming to the D.C area.
The American Wartime Museum (AWM), set to open on Veteran’s Day in 2014, will provide visitors with an educational experience about the dedication of the nation’s soldiers that have sacrificed so much.
With an estimated start-up cost of $50 million, the privately funded AWM will be located 23 miles south of D.C. and six miles north of the Marine Corps Museum – along the “Corridor of Military History” – on a 70 acre site donated by Prince William County’s Hylton family. The large landmass will allow for an exhibition of operational military vehicles, demonstrations, and battle replicas.
Craig Stewart President and CEO of the project explains that the idea has been in the works for over a decade – when a group of veterans began planning a museum to recognize the Vietnam War. The idea soon evolved into a museum to commemorate all modern wars since World War I.
One of the more unique aspects of the AWM are the outdoor areas, where entire plots of land will be configured into mock battle grounds based on different wars. The museum’s chairman, Allan Cors, has one of the largest collections of military vehicles in the world, which Stewart says will play a prominent roll in the museum’s outdoor features.
“When you visit a particular landscape what you see is an authentic reproduction of a war-front scene,” Stewart said. “We will have vehicles and other equipment on the landscapes for display purposes. Plus you will see the large activity reenactment area in the middle, so that we can do demonstrations and reenactments.”
Museum visitors will have the opportunity to get inside various vehicles and see first hand what it was like on the front lines.
“It is not about glorifying war, it is really about the visitors having a sense of what these individuals actually experienced,” Stewart said.
In addition its outdoor features, the inside of the museum will have typical exhibits and activities. One of the more noteworthy attributes will be a recording studio for veterans and their families to tell their own stories.
“Ultimately our two biggest visions are: One, honoring those that are serving and have served our country and then, secondly, educating our visitors -especially you people – about values that are important to our country, like patriotism, service, and call to duty,” Stewart said.