From his backyard off Road to Six Flags Street, John Speir watched the National Medal of Honor Museum grow for three years.
The 73-year-old Air Force veteran has strong feelings about the museum and its message promoting bravery, he said.
So he was sure to be one of the first members of the public to step into the building when the museum opened on March 25, National Medal of Honor Day.
Veterans from across North Texas stood side by side at the opening ceremony of the $270 million museum, the only one in the nation devoted to sharing the stories of the more than 500 recipients of the Medal of Honor, America’s highest military decoration for valor in combat.
Some veterans attended to learn about American heroes from their branch of service.
Others were there to hear inspiring stories from wars they fought in themselves.
All wanted to pay homage to Medal of Honor recipients.
“I’m here mainly because (the museum) is about people that did things that were a little unusual,” said Bill Brown, an 86-year-old Army veteran who served in 1963 in Korea. “They did some things that were above and beyond.”
Veterans will be admitted for free through March 28. General admission costs $30.
Jack Morrison waited with the crowd at the museum’s doors, listening to live brass band marching tunes. The 78-year-old Army veteran who served in Vietnam kept looking up at the gray obelisk floating above him that holds the museum’s exhibits.
“It’s something else,” Morrison whispered. “This place is beautiful. I didn’t realize how big it is.”
He stood with his cousin, Vietnam Air Force veteran John James, 79, and his son, Jon Morrison, a 40-year-old Marine who served in 2004 and is now a police officer.As an Air Force veteran, Speir was most excited to see the retired Huey helicopter named “Nancy Lee,” which U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady used to rescue soldiers in Vietnam.
If you go
What: The National Medal of Honor Museum
When: Open seven days, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: 1861 AT&T Way, Arlington’
Price: Tickets start at $30; veterans will be admitted free until March 28.
See more information about visiting here.
The museum’s opening comes nearly five years after Arlington was announced as its home. Initially, it was scheduled to open in November 2024, but the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a delay.
The museum is expected to attract over 800,000 visitors annually and will advertise itself as an event venue for national and local companies.At its March 22 ribbon-cutting ceremony, the museum hosted former President George W. Bush, national politicians, celebrities and around 40 of the 61 living Medal of Honor recipients.
The museum’s ground-level rotunda, which has the names of all medal recipients engraved on its ceiling, will be open 24/7. The exhibit space itself — a gray box seeming to hover over the Entertainment District, supported by five pillars representing the five branches of the military — will be open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Throughout the museum’s construction, officials emphasized it will celebrate recipients’ bravery, not a place that glorified war.
The walls inside the museum are covered in photos of recipients and display cases filled with Medals of Honor, guns and letters. Exhibits feature journals, weapons, uniforms and trinkets belonging to recipients.
In the museum’s interactive exhibits, visitors can sit down and speak with holographic versions of recipients. Virtual reality headsets can transport them into a helicopter rescue mission, where they’ll have to work together to make quick decisions under stress.
The institution has received funding from several high-profile donors, including $30 million from billionaire hedge fund head Ken Griffin and $20 million from Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
To Marcia Etie, an Arlington resident of 46 years and admissions officer for the United States Naval Academy, the museum is comparable to the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C., that she grew up near.
Etie, a development director with United Way of Tarrant County, attended the grand opening with her husband, Tom Etie, who has lived in Arlington for 50 years and served with the National Guard during the Vietnam War.
In a speech at the grand opening, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross highlighted the city’s long-term efforts to bring the museum to the city and build it into a national attraction.
“Arlington will not let the Medal of Honor Museum down,” Ross said. “We are veteran proud. We are so proud to tell the stories of these incredible recipients.”
Drew Shaw is a local government accountability for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or @shawlings601.
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This article first appeared on Arlington Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.