The Marine Corps Museum

The new Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia, is absolutely awesome! I had the chance to go for the first time with my older three boys last weekend. I took lots of pictures! My oldest gets swept away in there every time he goes, reading every caption and studying every picture. I was just amazed at the life-size exibits of United States Marines in action. If you're ever in the area, make sure you go. It's free, and it's not something the kids (especially the boys) will forget anytime soon.
It was a wonderful history lesson!

Happy Schooling!



This is actually a life-size figure made of wax (I guess)! He looked so real I wanted to call out, "Oorah, Devil Dog!" He's holding a flag at the end of the pole (I can't remember if it was an American flag or a Marine Corps flag.)









This was in the desert room. The temperature in the room was actually very warm, to simulate the dessert. There was an audiocast of the Marines talking to eachother over the radio and calling in the helicopter for a med-evac.





































This was in the snowy mountain room. This room was very chilly, with a bit of a wind rushing around. It, too, had an audiocast of Marines asking for reinforcements and supplied.
























These are my boys, way overdue for haircuts!



























This dog was so life-like kids were afraid to get near it. I don't think they actually stuffed a real German Shepherd, but it looked that real.













This is a depiction of the reef at the Battle of Tarawa. While we were standing there we saw a man, probably in his seventies or eighties, wearing a cap commemorating that battle. I guess he was actually there.









(The juxtaposition of my three happy boys next to this wounded Marine really cuts me up. To think of those countries in which children see the tragedy of war everyday, and then look at the joy on the faces of children who have the leisure of going to a multi-million dollar museum to look at pictures and exhibits of war really gives me pause. May we never take it for granted. And may our country cease to be the cause of those other children's suffering.)




This was the MOST real looking figure of them all, IMHO. You could even see the pores in his skin. I could have sworn he was alive.