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A pyrotechnic charge explodes during June filming of a re-enactment of the Battle of Belleau Wood at Inglewood Farm in Fauquier County.
A view from the edge of Belleau Wood looking toward Hill No. 193, where the American army turned back the last German offensive in July 1918. |
By RUSTY DENNEN
Khe Sanh in Vietnam. Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War. Only those who were there know what the epic battles were truly like.
But in the immersion galleries of the National Museum of the Marine Corps, it's possible to get an idea of what Marines endured--the wretched cold and carnage on a barren Korean landscape, the heat of the jungle, the sights, the sounds.
More of those vicarious experiences are coming to the museum in Triangle when its three newest venues open in June.
They cover the period from the founding of the Marine Corps in 1775 to the Civil War, the U.S. expansion during the 19th century, and World War I.
"You'll walk in first gallery in the belly of a ship where they would have spent a lot of time" in those days, with "long, arduous voyages," said museum spokeswoman Gwenn Adams.
From there, "you go into the age of expansion" when Marines were first dispatched to spots around the globe. One of the highlights is an exhibit on Marine Corps music.
"There will be a kiosk where you'd push buttons with different [John Philip] Sousa marches. A screen comes up and the director of the Marine Corps band gives you a brief history of that march, and he conducts the band through a portion of the march," she said.
Construction of the new galleries began last year. Some of the larger artifacts--one is an aircraft suspended from the ceiling--have been installed. Exhibits, displays and dioramas that will surround them are being created in studios across the country, along with audio and video components.
The World War I gallery will have an immersion experience likely to rival those of Chosin and Khe Sanh, a place, Adams said, "where you can feel rounds whizzing overhead, smell carbide in the air, feel the floor vibrating" at Belleau Wood in France.
It was the Marines' first fight against a battle-hardened foe, the German army. More than 300 men in the 4th Marine Brigade were killed during the first 30 minutes of the June 6, 1918, engagement.
The realism is captured in a three-minute film shot last year in Bealeton. Visitors enter the exhibit from the vantage point of the German lines. On a huge screen, Marines "are charging directly at you, with fixed bayonets," Adams said.
The plan is to open the new galleries June 6, the anniversary of the Battle of Belleau Wood. They will join the Leatherneck, World War II, Korea and Vietnam, Global War on Terrorism, and Combat Art galleries and temporary exhibits currently on display.
The museum and heritage center, off Interstate 95 near Marine Corps Base Quantico, are components of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation.
The center has been on a growth tear since it opened in November 2006. Lockheed Martin last year donated $10 million to the foundation to add a large-screen theater to the museum complex. Semper Fidelis Memorial Chapel opened in October.
A summer concert series is planned for June, July and August, and a mini-marathon--the 1775--will have its inaugural run June 12. It will start in Dumfries, wind through Prince William Forest Park and end at the museum.
National Museum of the Marine Corps: marineheritage.org
Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Email: rdennen@freelancestar.com
