National Medal of Honor Museum

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National Medal of Honor Museum
National Medal of Honor Museum logo (horizontal).svg
National Medal of Honor Museum
EstablishedMarch 25, 2025;4 days ago (2025-03-25)
Location Arlington, Texas
Coordinates 32°45′16″N97°05′05″W / 32.75444°N 97.08472°W / 32.75444; -97.08472
Type Military history
Collections Medal of Honor
Website mohmuseum.org

The National Medal of Honor Museum is a museum that honors United States Armed Forces Medal of Honor recipients, founded and funded by the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation. [1] Groundbreaking began in March 2022 in Arlington, Texas. [2] Previously, the group decided to build the museum in Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant [3] but decided on Arlington later. [4]

Contents

The location was announced on October 4, 2019, concluding a 5-year, nationwide competition that included Denver, New York City, San Diego, and Washington, D.C. It is projected to cost $150 million and open in 2024. [5]

The museum officially opened on March 25, 2025. [6] [7] [8]

History

Planning

Initially, the museum was planned for a location in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. [9] A design for the museum by Moshe Safdie faced much regulatory scrutiny and criticism by the Mount Pleasant Town Council planning committee. [10] [11] In late 2018, the Foundation decided to seek alternate sites for the museum. [9]

In October 2019, Arlington, Texas, was selected as the location for the National Medal of Honor Museum. [12] The museum is meant to recognize Medal of Honor recipients [13] and include the National Medal of Honor Museum Leadership Institute, an education center aimed at character development for young people. [14] [2]

In January 2020, Rafael Viñoly was selected as chief architect for the museum. [15] The first renderings for the museum were revealed that October. [16]

The Foundation has also worked to place a corresponding National Medal of Honor Monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. [17] A bill authorizing the Foundation to construct the monument passed unanimously in the House and Senate; [18] in late 2021, President Joe Biden signed it into law. [17]

Fundraising

The Foundation has a fundraising goal of nearly $200 million to build the museum in Arlington. [19] The project is funded by private donations. [20] No federal funds will be used to support the construction of the museum [21] or the monument. [22] In March 2021, American businessman and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made a $20 million donation to help build the museum. [23]

Construction

The site for the museum is in Arlington's entertainment district, near the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium and Texas Rangers' Globe Life Field. [13] On February 1, 2022, the Foundation announced it would break ground on the museum on National Medal of Honor Day 2022 – March 25, 2022. [2] The General Contractor for the museum was Linbeck Group, LLC.

Controversy

Online petitions seek to have MSgt John Chapman featured in one of the 200 stand-alone exhibits and criticize the decision to exclude him, the recipient first medal of honor incident captured on camera, in favor of the story of a board member who was also there at Robert's Ridge but has a controversial past with allegations of war crimes. [24] [25]

Foundation

The National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization charged with designing, funding, building and maintaining the museum. [26] Chris Cassidy, former chief astronaut for NASA and a retired U.S. Navy SEAL, is the museum's president and CEO. [27] Charlotte Jones, executive vice president and chief brand officer for the Dallas Cowboys, is chairman of the board for the museum. [28]

Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter (before his death) are "Honorary Directors" of the Foundation. In November 2021, Presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton appeared in a public service announcement in support of building the museum. [26]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation launches campaign to build Texas museum, DC monument". FOX 10 Phoenix. November 11, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Bahari, Sarah (February 1, 2022). "After years of planning, National Medal of Honor Museum will break ground next month in Arlington". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  3. ↑ Williams, Emily (August 13, 2019). "Mount Pleasant will give $3M to new Medal of Honor museum project". The Post and Courier. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Two towns vie for 'national' Medal of Honor museum". Stars and Stripes. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Medal of Honor Museum to be located in Texas". Military Times. October 3, 2019.
  6. ↑ Le, Dang (March 27, 2024). "$270M National Medal of Honor Museum sets official opening date in Arlington". Arlington Report. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  7. ↑ Barrett, Claire (March 25, 2025). "National Medal of Honor Museum opens its doors". Military Times. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  8. ↑ Dunbar, Doug (March 25, 2025). "National Medal of Honor Museum opens in Arlington, Texas, honoring heroes". CBS Texas. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  9. 1 2 Williams, Emily (January 18, 2020). "One museum may have left SC, but Medal of Honor Society headquarters 'here to stay'". Post and Courier. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  10. ↑ Munday, Dave (April 2, 2018). "Medal of Honor Museum design fails to impress Mount Pleasant council committee". The Post and Courier . Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  11. ↑ Grant, Daniel (October 2, 2018). "More Museums Are Popping Up, Annoying Their Neighbors". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Arlington Chosen as Site for National Medal of Honor Museum". NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. October 2, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  13. 1 2 Tarrant, David (October 2, 2019). "New National Medal of Honor Museum headed to Arlington, near Cowboys and Rangers stadiums". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  14. ↑ Swanger, Ben (November 5, 2021). "Chris Cassidy, Charlotte Jones Give Sneak Peek of National Medal of Honor Museum". D Magazine. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  15. ↑ "National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation names architect for $150M project, adds industry leaders to its board". Fort Worth Business Press. January 30, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  16. ↑ Hickman, Matt (October 12, 2020). "Rafael Viñoly Architects unveils renderings of National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  17. 1 2 Caldwell, Emily (December 29, 2021). "Biden signs bill to authorize construction of Medal of Honor monument in Washington, D.C." The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  18. ↑ Schill, Charlie (December 21, 2021). "Blake Moore's Medal of Honor bill awaiting presidential signature". Cache Valley Daily. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  19. ↑ Roberts, Kim (July 5, 2021). "National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington Hopes to Break Ground Early 2022". The Texan. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  20. ↑ Watson, Kathryn (November 12, 2021). "Obama, Bush and Clinton ask for support to build museum for Medal of Honor recipients". CBS News. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  21. ↑ Broussard, Kailey (October 7, 2020). "Here's the first look at the National Medal of Honor Museum planned in Arlington". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  22. ↑ Mitchell, Isaiah (December 23, 2021). "Congress Approves Texan-Led Effort to Establish National Monument to Medal of Honor Recipients". The Texan. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  23. ↑ Epstein, Jori (March 25, 2021). "Cowboys owner Jerry Jones giving $20 million to help fund new National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas". USA Today. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  24. ↑ Cole, Matthew (2022). Code over country: the tragedy and corruption of Seal Team Six (First ed.). New York: Bold Type Books. ISBN   978-1-56858-905-3.
  25. ↑ Schilling, Dan; Longfritz, Lori Chapman (2019). Alone at dawn: Medal of Honor Recipient John Chapman and the untold story of the world's deadliest special operations force (First ed.). New York: Grand Central Publishing. ISBN   978-1-5387-2965-6.
  26. 1 2 Stracqualursi, Veronica (November 11, 2021). "Presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton in new PSA urge Americans to support National Medal of Honor Museum". CNN. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  27. ↑ Bahari, Sarah (August 30, 2021). "National Medal of Honor Museum names U.S. Navy veteran and former NASA astronaut as CEO". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  28. ↑ "National Medal of Honor Museum receives $20 million from Jerry Jones". Philanthropy News Digest. April 3, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
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