The Congressional Medal of Honor Society on May 15 celebrated the reopening of the Medal of Honor Museum at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant.
Designated by Congress as a National Medal of Honor Site in 1999, the museum tells stories of military valor of the nation’s 3,536 Medal of Honor recipients, 61 of whom are still alive today.
Funded by the National Medal of Honor Center for Leadership, the $3.5-million renovation project transformed the museum. The new exhibits and artifacts create an immersive experience and “provide inspiration for those who visit,” said Thomas Mundell, president and CEO of the National Medal of Honor Center for Leadership in a news release.
Among new artifacts are religious texts that Medal of Honor recipient Robert Maxwell carried in World War II as well as Vietnam War recipient James Fleming’s aviator gloves and World War I recipient Dwite Schaffner’s Medal of Honor.
Visitors also can experience the “stories of extraordinary courage and selfless service told within the museum,” said Allison Hunt, executive director of the Patriots Point Development Authority in a press statement.
The National Medal of Honor Center for Leadership’s next enterprise is building a digital curriculum and a $75 million Leadership Training Facility near Patriot’s Point which promises to be “a portal for character development,” according to its website.
“Our hope is that visitors will walk in as one person and walk out a slightly different person,” said Britt Slabinski, a Medal of Honor recipient and president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society in a news release.
The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily at 40 Patriots Point Road in Mount Pleasant. Learn more about the Medal of Honor Museum online at patriotspoint.org.
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