This digital resource guides you through some of the must see exhibits and artifacts when visiting the National Museum of the Marine Corps. 

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Making Marines

Gallery

D.I. "Guidance"

Visitors step inside experiencing the process used by drill instructors to transform young men and women into Marines.  “Making Marines” immerses visitors in some of the memorable experiences that forge recruits and officer candidates into privates and lieutenants. Visitors can get up close and personal with their own “DI.” 

Get the full experience of what it takes to become a Marine in the signature film We, the Marines playing in the Museum's Medal of Honor Theater. 

Defending the New

Republic Gallery

Engraved Powder Horn

The powder horn is one of the oldest artifacts the Museum has in its collection. ​During the Colonial and Revolutionary periods, any soldier, hunter, or farmer who used a rifle or musket needed a powder horn.  This scrimshawed horn depicts a Marine officer and is inscribed “August 20th A.D…made by H. Mack.” 

Global Expeditionary 

Force Gallery

The Colt M1895 

Machine Gun

Designed by John M. Browning, the Model 1895 was the first "true" machine gun procured by the United States military.  When fired, the operating lever of the weapon moved back and forth under the gun in a vertical arch. When mounted too close to the ground, the lever dug into the dirt, thus giving it the nickname, "potato digger." LtCol Robert Huntington's battalion of Marines used the Model 1895 during the Spanish-American War. 

World War I

Gallery

Belleau Wood

Visitors enter the French countryside, only to find themselves immersed in battle. German machine gunners face the fury of the Marines' charge across the wheat. On a single day in June, the Corps suffered more casualties than it had in its 143-year history.

World War II

Gallery

Iwo Jima Flag

Second Flag over 

Mt. Suribachi

Lieutenant Colonel Chandler W. Johnson realized the first flag raised over Mt. Suribachi was too small to be seen across the island. He ordered a larger flag taken to the summit. Joseph Rosenthal photographed the second flag-raising, which became the iconic image of Marines in the Pacific.

Korean War

Gallery

Toktong Pass

On the Toktong Pass near the Chosin Reservoir, visitors encounter Marines who are cold, tired and dangerously short of ammunition.  In this immersive exhibit, visitors feel the cold; they hear the Chinese soldiers advancing up the snowy mountain and watch the Marines prepare for the next attack. 

Vietnam War

Gallery

Hill 881 South

Visitors step into the “hot” landing zone at Hill 881 South near Khe Sanh on a CH-46 helicopter. Rotor wash swirls the hot air and the sounds of combat surround visitors as they step off the helicopter’s rear deck. ​

Legacy 

Walk

Terror Strikes

“Terror Strikes” reveals the role Marines played on September 11, 2001 and its aftermath. Artifacts on display include a steel I beam from the World Trade Center, a fragment from the Pentagon, and the U.S. Marine Corps flag rescued from the Pentagon.​

Tun

Tavern

Legend has it that the Marine Corps was founded in 1775 at the original Tun Tavern in Philadelphia. The décor of Tun Tavern at the Museum is the style of a colonial era tavern and features a large painting depicting famous Marines from the founding of the Corps to the present day. The tavern offers a full lunch menu and alcoholic beverage service. 

About the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation
Dedicated to the preservation and promulgation of Marine Corps history, culture and traditions, and the education of all Americans in its virtues, the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation was established in 1979 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The Foundation supports the historical programs of the Marine Corps in ways not possible through government funds. The Foundation provides grants and scholarships for research and the renovation, restoration, and commissioning of historical Marine Corps artifacts and landmarks. Having secured the necessary funding for the complete construction of the National Museum of the Marine Corps and Heritage Center, located in Triangle, Virginia, the Foundation’s current primary mission is to vigorously seek financial support to expand programs at the National Museum of the Marine Corps and beyond its walls. For more information, visit marineheritage.org.