The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation

Overview • Our Mission • Leadership • Founder's Group • Corporate Sponsors

Marine Corps Heritage Foundation

Established in 1979 as the Marine Corps Historical Foundation, the MCHF is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Marine Corps history and traditions. We directly support the historical programs of the Marine Corps in ways that might not otherwise be available through appropriated funds. The Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors, comprised of former Marines.

Foundation support comes in many different forms:

Education:
Funding for the study of Marine Corps history through Internships, Research Grants, Masters and Doctoral Fellowships; and development of lessons plans for middle and high school teachers on John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry, the Boxer Rebellion in China, and the Battle for Iwo Jima.

Awards:
Annual program to recognize superior achievement in literature, art, photography, videography, and museum exhibits. The Foundation also sponsors a Marine Corps History Prize in conjunction with the yearly National History Day contest.

Special Projects:
Additions of battle honors to the base of the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia as well as the installation of wayside panels to inform visitors to the Memorial about the battle for Iwo Jima, the men who raised the flag and a brief history of the Marine Corps; restoration of the Iwo Jima statue at the front gate of Marine Corps Base, Quantico; rehabilitation and maintenance of the Commandant’s House in Washington, D.C.; special funding support for the United States Marine Band (the Foundation sponsored the appearance of world renown composer, John Williams, as guest conductor at the Band’s 205th anniversary concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.).

Preservation:
Acquire documents, works of art, artifacts and memorabilia for display in the National Museum of the Marine Corps. From time to time, certain desired and rare artifacts come on the market, which must be purchased promptly if they are to be acquired at all. The Foundation moves quickly to facilitate these purchases. We have purchased rare scrapbooks owned by former Marine Band director, John Philip Sousa; a desk that belonged to the 18th Commandant, Alexander Vandegrift; and one of only 6 Civil War Brevet Commissions granted to Marine officers for gallantry during the attack on Fort Sumter in 1863.

Gift Store:
Operate retail, mail order and online gift store in Quantico, Virginia.

National Museum of the Marine Corps:
The Foundation, in partnership with the United States Marine Corps, is developing a Marine Corps Heritage Center at Quantico, the home of the new National Museum of the Marine Corps, which opened in November 2006. The Center will be a campus of buildings to include the museum, an armory, auditorium, outdoor demonstration area, conference center and artifact storage and restoration facilities.

In a message to the American people, General Michael W. Hagee USMC (Ret), 33 rd Commandant of the Marine Corps said,

“Creation of the new Marine Corps Heritage Center, with the inspiring National Museum of the Marine Corps as its centerpiece, turns the dreams of thousands of Marine veterans into reality. This magnificent place represents our heritage and timeless esprit de corps and finally allows us to tell our story as we would have it told – through the eyes of Marines.”

Membership in the Foundation is open to anyone with an interest in preserving the history of the Marine Corps. Individual, corporate and institutional memberships are available. The Foundation publishes two newsletters: Sentinel, which informs the membership of events, programs and publications; and Legacy, which gives progress updates on the development of the Marine Corps Heritage Center.