National Museum of the Marine Corps

I got a little ahead of myself by including that picture from Appomattox in the last post. You see, I visited the Marine Corps Museum at Quantico before heading to North Carolina.

I have to admit that I find this edifice strange, on the outside at least. It looks kinda like a cross between a chapel and an ammo dump. It reminds me too of a ship, going down by the stern. But never mind, the interior is quite impressive, with the conflicting impressions all left outside, guarded by the statue of Iron Mike, as it were.

This Curtiss JN-4 Jenny seems quite at home, here in the Museum's atrium. The addition of the mannikins to the aerial displays makes all the difference. And too, the planes' supporting cables can get lost when looking up against the backdrop of the skylight ceiling. Nice job, Marines.

A little bit of Tarawa makes a fine memorial.

The Marines weren't used to getting first class equipment before WWII. The Corsair's inherent difficulties with carrier landings early on  meant the otherwise high-performing planes were "dumped" on the Marines. Serendipity strikes again!

The Marine Corps has had to continually examine what makes them different from their sister services or they'd have been swallowed up long ago. Early adoption of the helicopter and its integration into Marine Doctrine was a huge leap forward in 1950 when the Korean peninsula erupted in war.

The master stroke that was the Inchon Landing continued with the rapid capture if Kimpo airfield and the difficult clearing of Seoul.

 

The most amazing thing about the Korean War was how quickly the Marine Corps responded to the North Korean invasion with an effective fighting force after the post-WWII demobilization. The Corsairs are back!

More door-to-door fighting, this time in Vietnam. Tied up with the 1968 Tet Offensive, the Marines soon found themselves fighting to recapture the logistically important city of Hue. The fighting 36 years later in Fallujah has often been compared to that in Hue City.

The VSTOL capability of Harrier units enhanced the integration of the Marine air-ground team. The Harriers will soon be replaced in the equation by the F-35B.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit with these Green Amphibious Monsters. Wandering through the Museum's maze of Marine chronology, the visitor has to be alert, lest he miss something interesting around the corner or overhead (like a UH-1 Huey getting ready to set down). The aforesaid helo didn't startle me but the three MARSOC Marines appearing out of nowhere did.