NEW MEDAL OF HONOR MUSEUM PLANNED IN CHARLESTON

Standing on the hangar deck of the World War II aircraft carrier Yorktown, officials with the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum announced plans Wednesday for a $100 million Medal of Honor Museum honoring the recipients of the nation’s highest award for valor.

The museum on high ground on Charleston Harbor would replace a smaller one aboard the carrier and make Patriots Point a national destination, said Ray Chandler, the chairman of the Patriots Point Development Authority.

The authority has signed a letter of understanding with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society to build a museum “honoring the highest heroes of this country,” he said.

Retired Maj. Gen. James Livingston, a South Carolina recipient of the medal, wants to move quickly.

“This is the final opportunity to establish a lasting legacy for the Medal of Honor while we still have recipients alive from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the War on Terror,” he said.

Livingston, who is on the organizing committee for the foundation, said of the 3,456 recipients of the honor, only 81 are still living. Their average age is 73. He said it is fitting for Charleston to be the location for the new museum. The Medal of Honor was established during the Civil War, which began with the bombardment of Fort Sumter on Charleston Harbor.

A master plan for the museum released Wednesday envisions, among other attractions, a uniform collection, a large format theater with multiple video screens where visitors can learn about sacrifices for freedom, a Great Hall honoring the medal recipients and an interactive media gallery where visitors can hear each recipient’s story.

To read the complete article, see: Charleston plans $100 million Medal of Honor Museum (www.thestate.com/2012/08/02/2379265/charleston-plans-100-million-medal.html#.UB7vIU1lTIg)

A visitor looks at a display at the Medal of Honor Museum
aboard the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown

The project is expected to cost more than $100 million. In addition, the museum will be supported by a multi-million dollar hospitality and consumer component that will feature a world-class destination hotel with amenities, including a conference center.

“We fully expect that this project will serve as a catalyst for additional investments at Patriots Point,” Chandler stated. “This will include both cultural and appropriate commercial and hospitality uses of the highest quality.” It is estimated that by the third year of its operation, the National Medal of Honor Museum will attract more than 200,000 visitors per year.

To read the complete article, see: Patriots Point selected as site of National Medal of Honor Museum (www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=56939#.UB6gcE1lTIg)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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