
National Medal of Honor Museum nears opening, starts bringing exhibitions to Arlington
Chris Cassidy spent a lot of time in outer space as a NASA astronaut.Space was striking, but Cassidy found himself “bogged down” by day-to-day routines, losing perspective on his zero-gravity work atmosphere’s brilliance, he said.His new workplace, the under-construction National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, is more down to earth. For Cassidy, the museum’s president and CEO, the two experiences are comparable.“When we’re around all this construction all the time, you forget how cool and unique it is,” he said after touring the museum site with his extended family. “It’s fun to share that with people who are seeing it for the first time.” Soon, Cassidy will show the museum to thousands more people. The National Medal of Honor Museum is on track to open on March 25, 2025, also known as National Medal of Honor Day. Construction has moved fast in recent months, Cassidy said, as crews focused on interior projects and started to install finished floors — one of the final elements in the building process.Chris Cassidy speaks to Arlington residents on March 25, 2024, outside City Hall. (Camilo Diaz | Arlington Report)Construction crews will “hand the keys” for the museum’s upper floor in November, when furnishing and exhibition installation can start, he said. The 100,000-square-foot museum, located north of Globe Life Field and Choctaw Stadium, was announced to be coming to Arlington in 2019.The museum will be the U.S.’s central institution preserving the stories of the country’s 3,519 recipients of the highest military decoration for valor in combat. With 19 double recipients of the medals, the total increases to 3,538.The National Medal of Honor Museum is located at 1717 E Randol Mill Rd, Arlington, 76011.Story searchingThe museum will have information about every Medal of Honor recipient in some shape, Cassidy said, but their more than 3,500 stories can’t fit in one building. Project officials chose to focus the museum’s floor plan on about 70 winners, telling the stories of each in different levels of depth, he said.Of those winners, about 20 are featured recipients whose stories will be told in deeper detail using various artifacts beyond their medals.What is the National Medal of Honor?
President Abraham Lincoln established the Medal of Honor in 1861, establishing the United States’ highest recognition of valor in combat.
Earned through every major conflict in the nation’s history since the Civil War, the Medal of Honor commemorates soldiers who were willing to risk their lives to protect their country.Hiroshi “Hershey” Miyamura will be one of the featured recipients. Miyamura was a Japanese American veteran who earned the medal for showing sacrificial bravery to save his squad during the Korean War. While Miyamura was serving overseas, a telegram notified his family he had likely died.About six months later, they received another telegram: Miyamura might be alive, but held as a prisoner of war.Later, a third telegram arrived. Miyamura was alive, and he would be arriving at a San Francisco harbor soon.All three telegrams were kept, and they will soon be displayed at the National Medal of Honor Museum, Cassidy said. More than 70 years after being separated from his squad, Miyamura died in 2022 at 97, according to the MilitaryTimes. His story is exactly what Cassidy wants the museum to preserve.“Everybody can appreciate receiving a telegram that says: ‘Oh my God, your person probably died.’ Then, a little bit later, the change of emotion of, ‘Well, he’s still alive, but we don’t know if you’ll ever see him again.’ And then, ‘He’s coming home,’” Cassidy said. “Those emotions are what we want to pull out of the story so they resonate with people.”As curators narrowed down which medal recipients’ stories to feature, they wanted a diverse range of stories, Cassidy said. The museum will highlight recipients from across military branches — from Air Force to Coast Guard — and from the Medal of Honor’s entire history, which dates back to the Civil War.The three-year process of searching prompted practical considerations, too, Cassidy said. Museum officials had to give up on telling the stories of some recipients for whom they were unable to locate physical artifacts.Curators are still gathering artifacts. With the museum’s construction nearly complete, it now serves as a physical representation of the museum’s legitimacy, making it easier for officials to earn the trust of families who hold medal recipients’ keepsakes, Cassidy said. Details of the museum’s exhibition wallpaper, decals and plaques were finalized in September, and they will be printed during the fall.
Fundraising progress The museum’s price tag is about $270 million, a cost that includes operations, staffing and the architect’s fee. Much of Cassidy’s time goes to raising awareness and money for the museum.The project still needs to raise about $13 million, he said. The institution has received funding from several high-profile donors, including $30 million from billionaire hedge fund head Ken Griffin and $20 million from Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.Other major donors include Lockheed Martin; BNSF Railway; philanthropists and business leaders Alan and Bonnie Petsche; and real estate developer John Goff and his wife, Cami Goff, who serves as executive vice president of the National Medal of Honor Museum board, according to a previous article from the Report.Once open, the museum is expected to attract over 800,000 visitors a year. The museum will advertise itself as an event venue for national and local companies, Cassidy said. He is excited to see how the museum comes to life during its first year of operation. The project is expected to bring more traffic and attention to the ever-growing Arlington Entertainment District, and it acts as a cornerstone for the city’s efforts to transform the area into a state-designated Cultural District. The city hopes the institution’s presence in north Arlington, along with the recently moved Arlington Museum of Art, will boost the city’s application to the state for the Cultural District title, which comes with funding and grant opportunities.Cassidy has his eyes on 2026 visitors, too, as Arlington prepares to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the IndyCar Grand Prix, around the block from the museum.“Arlington has so much going on all the time with the routine flow of sports seasons, baseball and football and concerts and WWE mega wrestling or whatever,” Cassidy said. “The museum gives another option for the visitors of Arlington and Dallas-Fort Worth.” Drew Shaw is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or @shawlings601. At the Arlington Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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