From Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States:
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is pleased to announce, Charles P. “Chuck” Wilson has achieved “All-American” status as a Post Commander (2014-2017). Wilson, outgoing commander of Post 7916 in Occoquan, VA, is one of only 279 of 6,500 (Top .04%) VFW Post commanders worldwide to earn the title of All-American Commander.
To achieve this honor, Post commanders must meet strict requirements in their role to include exceptional leadership, authentic accomplishment in membership growth and strong support of VFW core programs. Chuck Wilson is now Commander of District 10, Virginia’s largest District with over 8,000 Veteran and Auxiliary members. Read More
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STAFFORD — Lloyd Willis and his wife searched for their brick.
The couple from Colonial Beach purchased the memorial stone to support the new Stafford County Armed Services Memorial. Willis, 92, served in the Army in World War II and Korea.
“It’s important that we do this to set the example for the future of our country,” said Willis. When he enlisted at age 18, Willis said it was his brother who set the example for him — one of service to the nation when Germany and Japan threatened the U.S. and the world.
He was one of the thousands who came to the dedication of the new memorial at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 15 at the Stafford County Government Center. Hundreds sat underneath large tents, while others took shelter under shade trees to avoid the hot summer sun.
Veterans from Korea and Vietnam wore hats, and some leather vests and jackets. Active service members wore their uniforms, and all listed to music played by Quantico Marine Corps Band. Read More
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Photos: Mary Davidson
South Korean President Moon Jae-in laid a wreath at Quantico Marine Corps Base on this first official visit to the U.S.
From a National Museum of the Marine Corps: press release sent before the event:
South Korean President Moon Jae-in will visit the National Museum of the Marine Corps on Wednesday to pay his respects to the Marine Corps for helping to evacuate his parents from North Korea in 1950.
During his first official visit to the United States President Moon will lay a wreath, dedicate a tree and deliver remarks at the Chosin Reservoir Monument in the Museum’s Semper Fidelis Memorial Park.
The president’s parents were evacuated from North Korea by the 1st Marine Division following the culmination of the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. He continues to be very grateful to the Marine Corps for its assistance to his family and he credits those actions as contributing to his success.
Also delivering remarks will be Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert B. Neller. Korean War veterans will attend the ceremony at the invitation of President Moon.
The Museum’s Korean War Gallery offers an opportunity to better understand the war. The Museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
At Wednesday’s ceremony, Jae-in called the rescue of his parents one of the greatest humanitarian aides of all time.
Potomac Local Photographer Mary Davidson captured the images in this post.
Jae-in is in the U.S. to visit with President Donald Trump for the first time since taking office last month.
The construction zone is not safe for pedestrians during active construction or off hours
Runners may utilize North Bank Trail as a detour pic.twitter.com/gnMCYxe1HM— MCB Quantico (@MCB_Quantico) June 26, 2017
First on Potomac Local
From the National Museum of the Marine Corps:
“The National Museum of the Marine Corps recently welcomed its 5 millionth visitor when Carol Ellison of Stafford, Va. crossed the threshold. The Museum, considered one of the top museums in the state, hosts an average of 1,500 visitors a day.
Ellison’s visit was on a relatively slow day when only five large tour groups visited but it was a great day for her. She and her husband, a retired Marine Corps master sergeant, were given a gift certificate to the Museum Store, a brick in Semper Fidelis Memorial Park and a behind- the-scenes tour of the Museum’s Final Phase. Read More
Northern Virginia veterans will soon have a new place to recover and retire.
A new Puller Veterans Care Center will be built on a 30-acre site at Vint Hill Road and Vint Hill Parkway in Fauquier County, just across the Prince William County line.
The one and a half story veterans center will house 128 veterans and will serve as a place to care for inpatient care for veterans going through medical rehabilitation and for those who have Alzheimer’s.
The duration of stays for veterans at the facility and those who are admitted will be based on the medical needs of the patient. Veterans needing memory care could conceivably spend the rest of their lives at the center.
The veterans care center is named after the Puller family which includes Marine Lt. Gen. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller who fought in World War II, his son and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lt. Lewis Burwell Puller Jr., who served in Vietnam, and the recently retired former Virginia State Senator Toddy Puller, the ex-wife of Puller, Jr.
Construction on the center is expected to begin late this year, and an opening date for the facility is slated for late 2019. Read More
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A Stafford County spokeswoman emailed Potomac Local today:
“…I wanted you to know that Richland Baptist Church is having a prayer service for National Day of Prayer today at 11:45 a.m. on the old Courthouse steps. The Chairman and our County Administrator will participate. As well, we are due to host Brandon Powell between 11 a.m. and noon – the Marine who is doing the Wounded Walk. We are going to present him with a pin and a challenge coin at the Armed Services Memorial.”
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QUANTICO, Va. — It starts by applying layers of pink goop to the feet, knees, and legs.
The wet concoction forms a wet, warm, molded barrier over the body.
Now totally emersed in goo, a crew places pieces of wet plaster cloth over the top to form the mother mold.
Underneath is Lt. Col. Gordon Miller, a 22-year Marine veteran, and Dale City native. He’s volunteered an afternoon so a crew can make a mold of his body.
Miller’s cast will be featured in a permanent display in the soon-to-open expansion of the National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico, in a scene from 2002’s invasion of Iraq. Though he served as a Marine Corps Officer in the run up to Bagdad, he — his cast — will portray a non-commissioned officer standing in a in a gun turret inside an all-terrain vehicle (M-ATV) used during the invasion, holding a pair of binoculars.
Miller’s cast will be joined by others who were in the battle, to include Maj. Gen. Herman Stacy Clardy, Gunnery sergeants Brandon Richards and Brian Nelson who were with Miller during the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The scene will depict Marines on downtime where one is cleaning a weapon, while another is on a chow break, another is reading a map and plotting a path, and another is answering the call of nature with a roll of toilet paper in hand.
“This scene depicts the common ‘hurry up and wait’ part about combat,” said National Museum of the Marine Corps Gallery Manager Keith Bearley. Read More
QUANTICO, Va. — Workers spent the better part of Thursday morning cleaning the spire.
It was the first time the silver belfry, representing a flag pole from the iconic Iwo Jima raising of the flag photo captured during WWII, had been cleaned since the National Museum of the Marine Corps opened in 2006.
The museum is undergoing construction to complete the circular footprint of the building. The effort to “complete the circle” is in the final stages, and when construction is finished it will bring a new giant-screen theater, art gallery, exhibit galleries, classrooms, and lunchrooms to the expanding complex at Quantico.
The theater and the film it will feature will be big, according to a statement from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation:
While the completion dates of the Final Phase of the National Museum of the Marine Corps are not firm yet, the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation is very pleased to share that one of the first elements of the Final Phase, the Medal of Honor Theater, will open to the public this summer.
This new state-of-the-art, giant screen theater will showcase “We the Marines,” a powerful, 40-minute signature film that will immerse visitors in the experience of being a Marine – from boot camp to training at Marine Corps bases all over the world to being in combat and finally to homecoming.
The film is being produced by noted giant screen film producer MacGillivray Freeman Films. The 369-seat theater is sponsored by Lockheed Martin, and the film is sponsored by Boeing.
In addition to the theater, several new galleries will be added including a historical scene that will depict the Marine Corps from 1976 to present day, a combat art gallery and studio, a children’s art gallery with classrooms and lunchrooms, and a changing exhibits gallery that will allow the museum to showcase different items on a rotating basis.
The children’s gallery will come in handy for the summer camps hosted by the museum which focuses on aviation and history, said museum spokeswoman Gwenn Adams.
Once construction is complete this spring, the Northern Virginia firm Explus will arrive and begin fabricating displays for the new exhibits. Some of the work will involve making casts with Plaster of Paris of living Marines who served.
