John H. Magruder III
History
In the early 20th century, the Marine Corps displayed historical items such as captured weapons and flags in war trophy rooms at the Headquarters Marine Corps and the Marine Corps Barracks in Washington, D.C. In 1940, the Marine Corps established a proto-museum on the second deck of Little Hall at Marine Corps Base Quantico. In 1952, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr., directed his staff to create a Marine Corps exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution after noticing no such display existed there. The Marine Corps Historical Branch tasked reserve Major John H. Magruder III with developing the exhibit at the Smithsonian.
Upon completion of an exhibit at the Hall of Military and Naval History at the Smithsonian Castle, Major Magruder went on to establish an expanded museum, which opened on 13 September 1960, in Building 1019 next to Little Hall. The Marine Corps Museum continued to expand and eventually moved to Washington Navy Yard in 1977 after closing the Quantico location in 1976.
See also
Notes
- ^ United States Senate. "Museums and Galleries in Washington, D.C.", U.S. Senate website. Retrieved on 21 December 2008.
- ^ "National Museum of the Marine Corps Collection Rationale", 2008.
- ^ Nihart, Brooke. "Major Magruder Sought First Full-Scale Marine Museum", Fortitudine, volume XXII, number 4 (Spring 1993), pages 27–30.
Gallery
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Dedication of the Marine Corps Museum at Marine Corps Base Quantico in 1960.
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Displays at the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico.