News and Events
For Immediate Release
Assistant USMC Commandant Endorses Site License Carolina Museum of the Marine on Track to Break Ground in 2024
Jacksonville, NC – Carolina Museum of the Marine received long awaited news today. “The Marine Corps has favorably endorsed our request for a lease at Lejeune Memorial Gardens for our proposed museum,” said the Museum’s CEO, retired Brigadier General Kevin Stewart. The next step is to negotiate a lease with the Department of the Navy (the owner of the land). This process is estimated to take six to twelve months and a groundbreaking ceremony will be scheduled as soon as possible.
“I am proud of the work the state and local officials in North Carolina are doing to show the public the valiant and honorable history of our United States Marines through the Carolina Museum of the Marine. Camp Lejeune is fortunate to be a part of Jacksonville and the surrounding communities,” said General Eric Smith, the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps.
Phase I of the organization’s construction project, “Reflection and Celebration Park” was completed in 2016, accepted as a gift by the Department of Navy in 2018, and is now dedicated to the public. It is the most Instagrammed site in Onslow County with thousands of visitors each year. Numerous reenlistment, promotion and retirement ceremonies take place in front of its Eagle Globe and Anchor statue, the largest in the world. The Park and its Freedom Walkway sit at the entrance to the proposed museum site, Phase II of the project.
Carolina Museum of the Marine received a $26M grant from the State of North Carolina in 2022 and continues to progress with all preconstruction activities. A well-organized construction team includes Museum staff, HICAPS construction management, CJMW Architecture, Samet Corporation as the general contractor, and exhibit designers Ralph Appelbaum Associates.
Individuals and organizations who want to become involved with CMOTM and its museum are invited to contact Ashley Danielson at 252-617-7551 or adanielson@museumofthemarine.org. Contributions may be made online.
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Carolina Museum of the Marine Resource Center presents a collection of essays on the history of the Marine, Historians’ Corner, the Memory Zone, video/audio posts, designed in memory of those who gave their lives in wars and conflicts, and current Museum news.
