The National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation broke ground on the Arlington museum Friday morning.
"We will soon have this Medal of Honor Museum deep in the heart of Texas," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said. "By shining a spotlight on the Medal of Honor, recipient that received it, the values they lived for, and in many cases died for; visitors will come to understand the meaning and price of freedom."
The one-of-a-kind museum is in recognition of the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor in combat beyond the call of duty.
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"When you look at the Medal of Honor recipient, you are looking at someone who has demonstrated gallantry under impossible odds, you are looking at someone who has placed duty above self, you are looking at someone who understands the meaning of sacrifice in the most profound way," former President George W. Bush said at the groundbreaking ceremony. "During these turbulent times people ask me, am I worried, and my answer is no. I'm optimistic about the future so long as we emulate the virtue and the character of the people we honor, we're gonna be just fine."
The museum will stand in affirmation of the values of the Medal of Honor and its 3,511 brave recipients since the Civil War, of whom only 66 are living today.
"We know that what we did to earn the Medal is less important than what we do with it. It does not make us special, but it allows us to do special things; and there is nothing that we have ever done that is more special than this museum," Major General (Ret.) Pat Brady, a National Medal of Honor Recipient, said. "Young people will learn they can be heroes and they don't have to go to war to do it."
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Speakers Friday included Bush, Milley, and Medal of Honor recipient Maj. Gen. Patrick Henry Brady. Their remarks can be heard below.
Sixteen Medal of Honor recipients (earned during World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan) were in attendance along with other national leaders.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place on March 25, the same day America observes National Medal of Honor Day.
The ceremony also included a military flyover and performances by the U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, the U.S. Army Band, and the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club.
The museum will have both permanent and rotating exhibits/ A rendering of the museum, which is to be built at the corner of AT&T Way and Nolan Ryan Expressway, is below.
The museum is expected to take about two years to build and will open in 2024.
