United States Army National Museum Scheduled for 2018

US Army National Museum - rendition

The archives of the military history of the United States and museum support center is located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The United States Army has a list of 16,000 art pieces that have been collected over the decades – and that is just the artwork collected. There are firearms and uniforms of famous generals, et cetera. Problem is that the place has high security and not set up to receive public traffic like a museum. Thus, as the Washington Post reported, a museum is in the planning that will give access to the wonderful archive and a plan is in the works to raise millions of dollars to make that plan come true. It will be the National United States Army Museum

Small Sample of Artwork in Archive Bldg

Among the art collection are four Norman Rockwell paintings and various organizations and people have donated over the decades, including Life magazine 1,050 originals in 1960. Another famous artist is Tom Lea whose works are archived safely in the support center vaults. One of the most haunting and realistic of Lea's paintings is the one where a shell-shocked Marine stands in the foreground against the background of the fierce battle that took place at an island called Peleliu, where Marines fought in 1944. Almost 1,800 Americans and 10,000 Japanese were killed there.

Other artwork is by Floyd Davis, produced paintings like GIs in Paris, Coffins at Nazi Execution Place, and GI Perfume Shop.

So far, $76 million has been raised out of the $175 million it will cost to build. The plan is to have it open in 2018.

Design of  World War I display, which will include sound effects.

If you go the United States Army National Museum website, there is more information and several options for ways to donate, like buying a brick to pave the entrance to the museum with your name or the name of another veteran you know. There is also a section for corporate donor programs.

This is definitely a worthwhile cause and will become a national museum for Americans and foreign tourists to visit in 2018. For people living in the area, there are employment opportunities, just visit the website to get that information.

Share this post