Museum Review: The National Museum of the United States Army

The National Museum of the United States Army (NMUSA) opened in 2020. There is certainly some competition for history museums in this region, like the Gettysburg Battlefield Museum and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. But I can’t give a higher recommendation than for the NMUSA. I’ve wanted to visit it since it was under construction. It was worth the wait.

First, I liked that the museum was focused solely on the history of the U.S. Army; the unbiased story of the men and women who have served from the first muster of militia in 1636 to our most recent deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are no controversies offered, and no political commentary is displayed. This museum is purely a celebration of the people who answered their country’s call and an educational opportunity for American military history.

When you enter the museum, I recommend that you go to the Army Theater and watch the introductory movie “Of Noble Deeds.” As one of the docents described it, “It will get you in the mode of the museum.” The theater is state-of-the-art. Surround sound and a 360-degree screen. The floor vibrated during battle scenes and I swear there was a blast of cold air blowing down from the ceiling during the segment on the Battle of the Bulge. The movie starts every fifteen minutes, so really, see the movie.

The first floor of the museum holds permanent exhibits that trace the Army’s history. There are seven galleries that each have a different theme. The theme also corresponds to a period of American history. There are plenty of pictures on the museum’s website, but they don’t do these displays justice. It is a total sensory experience of image, light, and sound. There are full-size, real vehicles like a Sherman Tank and a Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The displays were so lifelike (particularly the mannequins) that I was reminded of the movie “Night at the Museum.” Do they come to life at night?

If you are going to read every word on every display, you’re going to need a long day. The Special Exhibits area (traveling or temporary exhibits) is on the second floor. We had to save them for another visit, which we are planning for the near future. There is a lot to see. I won’t go over everything in the museum here. Instead, do a deep dive on the NMUSA website.

The NMUSA is located on Fort Belvoir, Virginia, just south of Washington, D.C., and Alexandria. The museum sits on an open part of the base so you do not have to stop at a gate and sign in or show a picture ID. For driving directions, Google Maps took me right to the parking lot. Their address is 1775 Liberty Drive, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060. Parking is free. Entry into the museum is free, but you are asked to secure a timed ticket on the museum’s website. Probably a good idea during the busy tourist season. When you enter the museum, you will be required to go through a screening similar to an airport. See the NMUSA website for a list of items you are prohibited from bringing into the museum.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that there is a nice cafeteria on the first floor of the museum. But if you want other food options, you’ll have to get in your car. The large, well-stocked, gift shop is also great for souvenir tee shirts and hats (I bought a cool new Army sweatshirt). My only criticism of the museum is that they could offer more books in the gift shop.

When you take a vacation to D.C., I realize that there are a lot of sites competing for your time. But if you are a student of American military history, the National Museum of the United States Army needs to be on your itinerary. 

Five Historic Sites in Seattle

A few months ago we relocated (once again) from the Seattle area to Central Pennsylvania to be close to certain archives (Getting ready for the next project) as well as historic sites from colonial times to the Civil War. In short, we moved for history. But that doesn’t mean that the Puget Sound region doesn’t have its share of historic sites. I’m surprised at how many people I meet say that they want to visit Seattle. So I thought I’d share a few of my favorite historic sites around Western Washington.

The Ballard Locks

Ballard Locks/Carl English Garden

What the locals call the Ballard Locks (for the community it’s located in), is officially named the Hiram Chittenden Locks and is run by the Army Corp of Engineers. The Ballard Locks connect freshwater Lake Union and Lake Washington with saltwater Puget Sound. Opened in 1917, it still operates today providing a water route out of Seattle’s eastside communities to the Pacific Ocean. Stop by the small museum and gift shop, take a ranger-led tour, or just hang out and watch the boats go through the Locks (surprisingly relaxing). The Locks are also the home of the Carl English Botanical Garden with walking paths through thousands of flowers, shrubs, and trees curated by Corps of Engineers gardeners.

Discovery Park/Fort Lawton

If you’d like to walk through a temperate rainforest without leaving the city, take a trip over to Discovery Park. The park is actually on a large hill overlooking the Ballard Locks and used to be the U.S. Army’s Fort Lawton. Lawton was a point of embarkation during WWII and Korea. You get some great views of Puget Sound from different points in the park. There are miles of trails. You can hike down to take an iconic picture of the West Point Lighthouse, see some of the old buildings left over from the army days, and visit the veteran’s cemetery located in the park.

The Denny Regrade, where Seattle
leveled out its steepest hills. seattlepi.com

Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI)

Everyone knows that Seattle is the home of Starbucks, Boeing, and Microsoft. But the city and surrounding Puget Sound have a rich history prior to these industry giants. Western Washington started out as a collection of “resource towns” supporting industries like lumber, mining, fishing, and shipping. Seattle was the gateway to the Yukon Goldrush. Seattle became what it is through an entrepreneurial spirit that even changed the landscape. That is evidenced by major construction projects like the Locks and ship canal, and especially the Denny Regrade. This fascinating history is told through the Museum of History and Industry. The MOHAI (pronounced MO-HI by the locals) is located on the southern tip of Lake Union. Plan on spending the whole day, especially since you’ll want to walk around the Center for Wooden Boats co-located there.

Goldrush Museum/Pioneer Square

In 1897 gold was discovered on the Klondike River in Canada’s Yukon Territory. Just coming off of a deep economic depression, thousands of fortune hunters from the United States, Canada, and all over the world, flocked to this remote valley in the far north. Seattle competed with other cities, namely Portland and San Francisco, to become the place to get your supplies before jumping off into the wilderness. Seattle won. The story is told in the Klondike Gold Rush Museum, located in the Pioneer Square neighborhood and part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Park. The museum is not large but very interesting. It is my favorite historic site in Seattle. Plus walking around the Pioneer Square section of town will complete your day. Some of the buildings date from the period of the Klondike Goldrush. Choose one of the great restaurants for lunch and enjoy the historic architecture.

Museum of Flight

If you are a fan of aerospace then the Museum of Flight, located on Boeing Field in South Seattle, is the place for you. It’s my favorite aviation museum, touted to be the largest, independent, not-for-profit air and space museum in the world. (Okay, I really like the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum too, but that’s across the country in D.C.) Plan for the whole day as there is a lot to see here. As they say, “it’s worth the price of admission.” My favorite is the “Red Barn,” the birthplace of the Boeing Aircraft Company in 1916.

Coast Artillery Museum at Fort Worden

Just five you say?

No! These are just my five favorite major historic attractions in the Seattle area. There is so much more history to see in Puget Sound, especially if you want to drive a little. Check out the National Nordic Museum in Ballard, or the Washington State History Museum in downtown Tacoma. Puget Sound has a deep maritime history. Check out the U.S. Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport or the Puget Sound Navy Museum in Bremerton. And another favorite of mine is Fort Worden State Historical Park in Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula. It's the home of a Coast Artillery Museum and you can explore the concrete batteries where they filmed "An Officer and a Gentleman." It’s a long list. Got one to add? Share it in the comments below. 

The Columbia River Maritime Museum

Learn About the Maritime History of the Pacific Northwest in Astoria, Oregon.

Astoria, Oregon, is located near the mouth of the Columbia River that creates the border between the states of Washington and Oregon. Astoria, the oldest city in Oregon, is an interesting and fun place to visit. Anyone who is on a Lewis and Clark pilgrimage is going to stay there of course. But there is a rich history about this town that goes way beyond the Corps of Discovery.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition spent the winter of 1805-06 at Fort Clatsop that they built just four miles to the southwest of modern-day Astoria. In 1811 fur trappers of the American Fur Company, owned by John Jacob Astor, established Fort Astoria where the city is today. Astoria is a deep-water port whose location on the Pacific coast made it a thriving resource town since then. Along with the fur industry, there is the timber industry and fish canneries for processing locally caught salmon. As you can imagine, not only the shipping of these commodities but the fishing industry as well creates a strong maritime history in Astoria. Oh, yes, and do not forget the Columbia bar.

Those of you not familiar with the area might be asking what the Columbia bar is exactly. Well, as the Columbia flows over 1200 miles all the way from Canada to the Pacific, it picks up sediment, as most rivers tend to do. As the waters of the Columbia hit the Pacific Ocean, it slows. When it does it drops the sediment creating what they call a “bar.” The Columbia Bar is an area about 3 miles wide and 6 miles long where the river enters the ocean. Because the bar creates shallows, the waters there tend to be rough and prone to a lot of unusual waves and currents. Plus, the sediment in the bar is always shifting around. That’s why large container ships need a river pilot to guide them into port. Moreover, combine the dangers of the bar with the naturally crappy weather of the Pacific Northwest and you’ve got some challenges. There are so many shipwrecks historically around this area (over 2,000 since 1792) that it has earned the nickname of the “Graveyard of the Pacific.”

This is where the Columbia River Maritime Museum comes in. This is a must-see when you visit Astoria. Most of the exhibits are indoors so don’t worry about the weather (oh, yeah, it rains a lot in Astoria). We made our trip pre-covid, but despite the pandemic, the museum is open with protocols. You will see exhibits on each of the industries that are a part of the history of this area. Particularly interesting to me is the information about the bar. Such a historically dangerous spot that had to be conquered (still true today) in order to exploit the resources of this region and on an individual level, earn a living. You’ll learn what a “bar pilot” does, and that there are only about 16 of these specialists working out of Astoria today. There is also a fine exhibit honoring the work of the United States Coast Guard in and around the Columbia River Bar.

When we visited Astoria, we stayed at the River Walk Inn, one of several hotels that provide a view of the marina from your room (nice!). From the hotel, you are able to catch a trolley that runs the length of the city with a stop at the Maritime Museum. The entry fee is a little pricey at $16 for adults, but that’s probably because I think all museums should be free. Regardless, the museum is worth it. Add it to your itinerary along with your pilgrimage to Fort Clatsop. 

For more information, visit the Columbia River Maritime Museum website.

The California State Railroad Museum

Memories from a pre-covid trip...

Last year I was teaching high school in California and we were sent home to conduct “distance learning” on March 13^th and my old school is still at home trying to teach and learn via the Internet. That’s getting close to a whole year. Now, this post is not about the merits of distance learning or whether students should be in the classroom during a surge in the pandemic. When I decided to share some pictures of the California State Railroad Museum I was reminded that people in professions other than hospitality and travel are having a hard time during this crisis as well. There are a good number of museum workers at home too.

What I’m saying is that there is definitely a crisis for those working in museums and historic sites. Last summer there was an article in Forbes that said that the pandemic could close up to a third of all museums in the United States. Permanently. I was struck by this statistic when I checked in on the California State Railroad Museum’s website and found out that they had been closed completely since November 2020.

I hope that with the increasing availability of vaccines and through our own mitigation efforts, we will be able to travel to historic sites and museums once again. In the meantime, let me share some pictures from a pre-COVID-19 trip to Sacramento when we were able to walk through the museum and look at some trains up close and personal.

The California State Railroad Museum is in Old Town Sacramento, just north of where Interstate 5 and 80 intersect. It’s the historic waterfront of the Sacramento River. We did a blog post about our visit to Old Town Sacramento back before the pandemic. One of the main attractions is of course the railroad museum, but there are many shops, restaurants, and other attractions for non-train enthusiasts (is there such a thing?). In the summer months, you will also find historical reenactors encamped in the state park.

Since Sacramento was the western terminus for the First Transcontinental Railroad, the museum devotes an enjoyable and educational exhibit to this feat of engineering (that would be building a railroad through the Sierra Nevada mountains in the 1860s.) I especially enjoyed the exhibit on the heyday of passenger travel. If I did not make it clear, this museum is full of trains. So you will get to not only see the trains but also climb on them and go inside them. Another exhibit I liked was the homage to toy trains and the vast collection they have on display.

The California State Railroad Museum is a first-class, fun place to visit. Very kid-friendly. It rates a place on my “places I’d go to again” list. While it is currently closed for the pandemic (which has hit California especially hard over the holidays), you can still enjoy the museum online. Visit their website and maybe like their Facebook page, which is full of great pictures. You can still support museums with a cash donation or buy something from the museum store if they are available online (which the railroad museum is). 

Just remember that hard times don’t last. And if we never had it rough, we wouldn’t know when we had it good. But for now, enjoy some pictures of trains.

The Whalers Cabin at Point Lobos

Welcome to Monterey Bay!

We tried retirement, it just didn't stick. In reality, I just took the summer and fall off. That was long enough to get me back to work. Since January, Sheila and I have been living on Monterey Bay in the central California coast. I'm back to teaching alt ed high school, currently at a county juvenile hall. When you mention this area, most people probably think of beautiful views of a rocky coastline, Big Sur, or Cannery Row. But there is no doubt that there is a lot of history here in the Monterey - Salinas area too, especially compared to the rest of California. I wanted to share with you a hidden gem where you can get both scenic beauty and a little dose of history: Whalers Cove at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve.

Point Lobos SNR is just a short ten mile drive south on Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy 1) from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Traveling south on Hwy 1, about a mile or two outside of Carmel you will make a right turn into the reserve. It costs ten dollars per car to get in, but totally worth it. Come early (the reserve opens to vehicles at 8 am), because this can be a popular place. I know I said it is a hidden gem, but that doesn't mean that the locals don't know about it. The ranger at the main gate can give you a map and directions, but it is a short drive to the parking lot at Whalers Cove. From there, you take a short walk back up the road to the Whalers Cabin museum that you drove by on your way in.

Take a break from the scenery and check out the long history of Point Lobos. The area has been occupied by non-native Americans since the 1850s. Until 1879, this spot was one of seven whaling stations along the California coast. Portuguese immigrants started shore-based whaling at this location. Crews would row out of the calmness of the small cove and past the breaking waves to hunt the grey whales that migrate up and down the California coast. You can still spot these giants as they pass by on their way south from Alaska to their breeding and calving lagoons in Baja during December through January. Or you might spot them as they return to their feeding grounds in the north, passing Monterey Bay from March through May. Of course there is more to the history of this particular spot. A community of Asian fishermen hunted abalone and canned the product here. There was a granite quarry here. The cove was used as the shipping point for a nearby coal mine. And troops trained here for specific missions during World War II. See artifacts and pictures of each of these periods in the small museum located in the Whalers Cabin.

Luckily, Point Lobos was never developed as any kind of residential property. Ownership eventually passed to the state of California, and the site was made into an ecological reserve in 1973. That also includes 775 acres of underwater reserve, the first designated in the United States. That's good for us normal folks because the real treat here is the views of plants and animals and rocky California coast. On the day that we went, we saw sea lions, an otter, and plenty of birds. The best way to see it all is to walk. Hiking trails honeycomb the shoreline around the point. There are three main parking areas, so you'd never have to walk more than a mile from your car. Or you can leave the car where it is and walk the whole point and probably not log more than five miles.

When you vacation to Monterey, take the opportunity to visit Point Lobos. It is very accessible and worth the time to stop. If I haven't sold you on visiting, then take a look at the Whalers Cove Live Stream, or take a virtual hike with Google street view. When you do come, bring a light jacket or sweatshirt as the coast here gets a marine layer at times that can be a bit chilly, especially if you just left the warmer interior.

Rosie the Riveter and Henry J. Kaiser

Day Trip to Rosie the Riveter and WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California.

It has been a busy summer with teaching summer school and getting ready to start teaching history, civics, and economics at a new school in August. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t take the opportunity to take a few day trips around California. One Saturday earlier this summer, Sheila and I took a drive up to Richmond, California, to visit the Rosie the Riveter and WWII on the Home Front National Historical Park.

Richmond, California is just north of Oakland and Hayward on the east side of San Francisco Bay. The area was once heavily industrialized and it has a noteworthy history from World War II. Just a few miles further northeast is the Port Chicago Naval Magazine Memorial (a topic for another trip report) in the city of Martinez, and a little further northeast is the city of Pittsburg, California, where Camp Stoneman was located. Camp Stoneman was a staging area for troops shipping out to the Pacific Theater during WWII and during the Korean War. Notables departing from there included the 503rd PIR during WWII and my dad during the Korean War.

Richmond was an excellent choice for this park. During WWII the city was home to four Kaiser shipyards and a Ford plant that built tanks and jeeps. In all the city could boast 56 different war industries. The yards were built from scratch beginning in 1940. Thousands of workers flocked to California from the Dust Bowl, the South, and all over the United States. The city of Pittsburg grew from a population of 24,000 to 100,000 in a matter of months. Families lived in tents and trailers until the city's infrastructure caught up with the population boom. Housing, schools, and medical facilities had to be built along with the mad rush to produce the equipment of war. Some of the workers had construction experience

from the large Depression era projects like Hoover and Grand Coulee Dams. But very few had any experience building ships and many had no industrial experience at all. The yards on the west coast were integrated. Thousands of workers were African American and Hispanic. Twenty-five percent of the workforce were women, living up to the familiar icon "Rosie the Riveter." And although it was not easy, great strides were made for and by labor, civil rights, and women. People came together to do great things for the war effort. The ultimate example is the Kaiser Shipyard construction of the liberty ship Robert E. Peary in 4 days, 15 hours, and 25 minutes, a world record accomplished in November of 1942.

The genius and drive behind these accomplishments was a man named Henry J. Kaiser. Kaiser started out as a road builder in the 1920s. He was a key player in major building projects like the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River during the Depression. Kaiser was an entrepreneur in the truest sense. He bid and won a contract to build ships for Great Britain in 1940 without having a shipyard to build them in. He brought his construction crews down from the Grand Coulee project to begin work on the shipyards in Richmond. When he needed cement and couldn't get it, he started a cement plant. When he needed steel and couldn't get as much as he needed, he built steel mills. When his workers needed medical care he built a hospital and sponsored a health plan, again something never before offered to workers. Kaiser Permanente medical consortium has survived to be one of the giants in the medical services industry today. Henry Kaiser was a problem solver, no doubt about it.

Unfortunately, after the war the Kaiser yards closed. As a result, Richmond went through tough decades of poverty and crime. However, during the latter part of the twentieth century, much of the abandoned industrial infrastructure was removed, and an environmental cleanup took place. Where three of the four Kaiser shipyards stood is now a public marina, park, and blocks of new condos and townhouses. Rosie the Riveter is a partnership park between the National Park Service and the city of Richmond. The city built the Rosie the Riveter memorial in Marina Park in 2000. A bike path connects the memorial to the NPS visitor center next to the Ford plant and Shipyard number three whose buildings are still standing. It is only a one mile walk between the two. It is a pleasant walk with views of the San Francisco skyline. The visitor center is a nice little museum where you will learn more about World War II on the home front and the Kaiser Shipyards. You can also go on board the SS Red Oak Victory, a victory cargo ship being restored and docked at the pier by Shipyard #3.

Still a work in progress, eventually the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front Historical Park will include a sample of worker housing, the child development centers built for Kaiser workers, and the first Kaiser Hospital. It's hard to imagine what the area looked like with four shipyards and a Ford assembly plant all working at full capacity. But the park is certainly worth the trip. To know more, I definitely recommend a book I picked up in the gift shop:
"Build 'Em by the Mile, Cut 'Em off by the Yard, How Henry J. Kaiser and the Rosies Helped Win World War II" by Steve Gilford. 

PT-305, Restoration Under Way

USS PT-105 running at high speed, during
exercises off the U.S. east coast, with
other units of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron
Five, 12 July 1942.
www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-p/pt105.htm

Okay, everybody knows what a PT boat is, right? You did see the movie "PT-109" with Cliff Robertson, yes? Or certainly "They Were Expendable" with John Wayne? If not go get those classic movies today. The "PT" stands for "Patrol Torpedo." Pretty straightforward, it's a patrol boat that is armed with torpedoes. The PT boats were designed similar to pre-WWII motor racing boats, so they were fast. But they were made out of wood, so they were vulnerable. PT boats were used in every theater of WWII, but are particularly well known for their work in the Pacific.

An article in the Times-Picayune came up on my radar this morning about the project to restore PT-305 at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. Apparently this project has been ongoing for more than a year. The article has a great video embedded that is certainly worth viewing. The dedication of the skilled volunteers who are putting in their time and effort to extend the life of this boat is amazing. I was so impressed by the article, that I wanted to know more. I found a video on YouTube that has some shots of the boat when it was brought it to the museum. Contrast that image with the shots in the video in the Times article. Those volunteers have come a long way in a year.

PT-305 has basically been in service since it was built at the Higgins Industries shipyard in New Orleans in 1943. The video gives the boats service history, so rather than tell you, I thought it would be easier to just show you:


An amazing project, isn't it? Of course, PT-305 is not the last or only PT boat to be restored. The restoration of PT-658 has already been completed in Portland, Oregon. But once the boats are brought back to their original condition, they have to be maintained, hence there will always be a need for volunteers and donations. Help save our history where you can, when you can, and however you can.

Museum Visit: Presidio of Monterey

The Presidio of Monterey Museum
Corporal Ewing Road in Lower Presidio Historic Park
Monterey, California

The Presidio Museum is a small building located in the
Lower Presidio Historic Park in Monterey, California.

Some of our most interesting history trips materialize on the fly, and for some reason that seems to happen quite often in California. For example, a few years ago Sheila and I were headed out for a day hike in Pinnacles National Park when a rain drop hit the windshield (Californians DO NOT go hiking in the rain, unlike our Seattle-selves). So we just steered right over to Salinas to see the Steinbeck Center, which turned out to be one of my favorite museum experiences of all time. But I digress...here's how we wound up at the Presidio:

A couple of weeks ago, Sheila and I are headed over to Monterey to ride our bikes on the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail. This "Monterey Bay bike path" runs about 18 miles from Castroville through Seaside and old Monterey right past Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row up to Pacific Grove. Anyway...we unload the bikes and we've got a flat with no spare tube or patch kit. As I almost never say (out loud), when disaster strikes go find a museum. Instead of biking we decided to spend the day walking around Monterey, which included a stop at the Presidio of Monterey Museum.

During our visit the museum was staffed by a very
well-informed docent.

The Presidio of Monterey started out as a Spanish military installation established by Captain Gaspar de Portola in 1770, the same year that Father Junipero Serra founded the nearby Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo. The mission and military presence in Monterey Bay was, according to Portola's orders, "to occupy and defend the port from the atrocities of the Russians, who were about to invade us." Makes sense. But as I'm sure you know, the Russians did not exploit their position in California. Not did the Spanish fully occupy California either. The port, the fort, and the rest of the Golden State came into U.S. possession in 1846 during the war with Mexico. Since then, the Presidio has been an American military installation to some degree or another. Most important to me is that the Presidio of Monterey was home to the 11th Cavalry Regiment from 1919 until 1940. As a veteran of the Blackhorse Regiment, you feel kind of drawn to the place. Today, the Presidio is home to the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) or, as everyone in the Army called it, "the army language school."

Unfortunately, the museum has only a few artifacts, but
has well prepared waysides and photo displays.

The Presidio is a small post, surrounded by the city of Monterey. But the post museum is easy to drive to. The Defense Department gave a portion of the installation to Monterey, which has dubbed it "Lower Historic Park" and there is no gate guards or security to pass to reach the museum. I highly recommend driving up to the museum though. Although you can see it from Fisherman's Wharf, traffic and lack of sidewalks makes it really not feasible to walk or bike there from the marina area. The museum is a small building, and unfortunately they do not hold a great many artifacts. Also, if you are a fan of museum bookstores, there really isn't one here. So I would suggest you read up on the history of the Presidio before you come. If you don't want to invest in some pre-visit reading, not to worry. The volunteer docent on duty during our visit was quite knowledgeable and very eager to share that knowledge with everyone who stopped by. There were two things that I enjoyed most about the Presidio of Monterey Museum. First was that the museum had acquired some copies of old Signal Corps film footage and had set up small theater station to watch it. My favorite video of course was the film of cavalry recruits in the 1930s learning how to ride and care for their horses. The second thing was simply the location. If you walk across from the small museum parking area toward the bay, you'll see a monument to Father Serra. From the location of that monument you'll be able to see why that position was originally chosen as a location for a fort. One has a commanding view of Monterey Bay.

The location of the Spanish Fort would have had command
over the entire Monterey Bay.

Although the museum visit probably only took about 30-45 minutes, by an odd coincidence, we were there at the same time, and we had the opportunity to meet the current Command Sergeant Major of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, CSM Stephen J. Travers. He was on vacation with his family (on their way back down to Fort Irwin, the current home of the 11th ACR), when they decided to stop and see the former home of the 11th Cavalry, just like us. Did I tell you that this place has a certain draw? CSM Travers was a very personable and impressive individual and I enjoyed meeting and talking with him briefly. He graciously invited us to visit the Fort Irwin and 11th Armored Cavalry Museum at the National Training Center (NTC), which I fully intend to do one day soon.

Recommended Reading

I'm going to hazard a guess that the Presidio of Monterey does not get as much visitor traffic as they would like. Heck, even the Monterey County Convention and Visitors website fails to mention the POM museum from their "Historic Attractions" page! I admit that it is a small museum that doesn't take much time to walk through, but it is an enjoyable visit. Additionally, with no maneuver units based at Presidio and Fort Ord now closed and turned into a park, a visit to the Presidio of Monterey Museum will show you how important the Army was to the development of the central California coast. You won't regret adding the museum to your Monterey itinerary.

A Visual of the New Museum of the U.S. Army

For several years now, the Army Historical Foundation has been raising money for the new Museum of the United States Army to be constructed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.  A recent article in Army Times helped to spread the word that conceptual renderings of what the new museum will look like are available.  This pdf provides some of the details of the planned museum and renderings of what the concept looks like.

The Army has donated 55 acres of land on Fort Belvoir, just outside of Washington, D.C. and has also paid for site preparation and some “design activities.”  The remainder of the $300 million for the project is the responsibility of the Army Historical Foundation.  So far the foundation has raised $64 million, most of which has been donated by defense contractors.  About $3 million has come from the sale of commemorative coins.  Groundbreaking is tentatively scheduled for mid-2013 with and anticipated opening date sometime in 2015.

There has been some controversy around the building of this museum.  On the upside, the new museum will provide a one-stop location to teach the public about the 236-year history of the United States Army and its contribution to the building of the nation.  Located in the D.C. metro area, the Foundation (according to the Army Times article) expects to receive from 750,000 to 1 million visitors to the museum each year.  Obviously they estimate a large spinoff of visitors from other D.C. attractions.

Some of the criticisms of course have to do with cost, who is paying for it, what other facilities will close in order to support this project, and the fact that the Army has a long list of other, more specialized, museums.  For example in Virginia alone there is currently operating the Corps of Engineers Museum in Alexandria, the Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis, the Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe, and the Army Women’s Museum, the Army Ordnance Museum, as well as the Army Quartermaster Museum, all at Fort Lee, Virginia.  There is also the Airborne and Special Operations Museum at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and in recent years, the Armor Museum at Fort Knox was moved and co-located with the Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Personally, I was disappointed that the museum was going to be built in already congested, over-crowded Washington, D.C.  I had hoped that the Foundation would put the Museum of the U.S. Army near one of our larger bases, like Fort Hood, or Fort Lewis (Washington State doesn't have an operating Army museum), or maybe in a city that could use the economic stimulus.  The opening of this museum really affected me when rumors came about that the Army was considering closing the Army Heritage and Education Center here in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, moving the archives to the Army Center for Military History (again in D.C.) and their museum artifacts to the new museum at Fort Belvoir.  As you can imagine, I’m a museum fanatic and I’m glad that the Museum of the United States Army is being built.  But we must be aware of what the “hidden” costs of this project are and protect what we’ve already built.

The National Museum of American History

Post-holiday winter doldrums?  Us too.  Sheila and I needed an excellent adventure.  Luckily, January is a great time to take in a museum, especially in Washington, DC.  Yes, it's cold, cold, cold!  But it beats melting in the heat of the National Mall during the summer and you can't beat the crowds, because there aren't any.  So the road trip was on.  This weekend we drove down and took in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

I'll be the first to admit that there is so much there that it is hard to see everything in one day.  On this trip we spent a lot of time in the exhibits "America on the Move" and "The Price of Freedom: Americans at War."  There are some really interesting artifacts there (understatement, duh).  For some reason I found General Phillip Sheridan's stuffed horse "Winchester" to be fascinating.  I guess it's one of those situations where you feel a direct link to the past.  I'm looking at a horse, albeit a stuffed one, that was ridden during the Civil War.  Don't ask why I didn't get excited over George Custer's buckskin jacket or George Washington's saber.  We each find our own connection to history, right?  Turns out, the Smithsonian is a good place to go look for it.

I must add that since I've written a book about the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion and I am currently working on researching the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, I found the WWII display particularly appealing.

I'm not a travel writer, but here's a tip for you.  Rather than eat at the museum cafeteria, or pay high prices for bad food at one of the "restaurants" in the neighborhoods that surround the mall, go inside the Ronald Reagan building (14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues).  There is a food court in the lower level much like a nice shopping mall.  A Subway sandwich and the best mocha latte since we moved from Seattle really hit the spot.

But here's a warning for you as well, sometimes going to one place will just require that you go to another.  Now that we have seen the original "Star Spangled Banner," we are compelled to go visit Fort McHenry in Baltimore.  Well, maybe when it warms up. ;-)

Photography is not allowed in this exhibit.  Photos of the Star Spangled Banner
are provided courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution.