A problem solved

Richmond Times-Dispatch:

The new National Museum of the Marine Corps solves a national problem, President Bush told an audience of 15,000 invited guests at Quantico yesterday.

"For too long, the only people who have the direct experience of the Marine Corps are the Marines themselves and the enemy who's made the mistake of taking them on," he said to applause.

Bush noted the $90 million museum off Interstate 95 guides visitors through interactive exhibits and galleries, including one that depicts boot camp. "No thanks," he said to laughter, adding, "The museum will not make you into a Marine. Only a drill instructor can do that."

Appearing on the 231st anniversary of the Corps, Bush spoke of a young Marine, Cpl. Jason Dunham of New York, who died after jumping on a grenade to shield fellow Marines in western Iraq in April 2004. The president announced that Dunham, who would have turned 25 yesterday, will posthumously be awarded the Medal of Honor.

"The history of the Corps is now being written by a new generation of Marines," the president said. "Years from now, when America looks out on a democratic Middle East growing in freedom and prosperity, Americans will speak of the battles like Fallujah with the same awe and reverence that we now give to Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima."

Virginia Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., and former senators John Glenn of Ohio and Charles S. Robb of Virginia, all Marine veterans, were among those attending the dedication of the museum under a clear blue sky, as were Rep. Jo Ann Davis, R-1st, and former Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner.

PBS news anchor Jim Lehrer, another Marine veteran, spoke of arriving on a train at Quantico 51 years ago with about 40 other candidates. When the drill instructor mispronounced the young man's name, Lehrer made the "idiot" mistake of correcting him.

"There was silence, absolute silence, and then I heard the terrifying click, click, click of leather heels on the deck of that train station platform," he said. The drill instructor got in Lehrer's face and shouted, "'Candidate, if I say your name is Little Bo Peep, your name is Little Bo Peep. Do you hear me?'"

"I think it was at that moment that I became a United States Marine," Lehrer said.

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There are some interesting quotes from other veterans in attendance. It is a place I must go. This story from the NY Times also gives a surprisingly nice review to the new museum.

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This is humbling for a civilian who has been drilled in just the opposite perspective. Yet in the best of such cases, it is through the sacrifices made by the military that we have the luxury of maintaining our proud individualism. The museum makes it possible to understand just what is demanded of those we have asked to fight for us, and how much more is so often given.

How did he get that past the editors?

This story by Bob Dart also captures the mood at the ceremony.