Photo By Sgt. Scott Tynes | A construction crew hangs tile at the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum on Camp Shelby...... read more read more
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CAMP SHELBY, Miss. – The displays are bare and the rooms are in shambles, but when the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center reopens, the history of Mississippi’s military service will have a new look.
The museum closed Nov. 14, 2014, for a major renovation project. When it reopens in March 2016, more than $2 million in state and private funding will have given the flagship of National Guard museums more space for displays and updated existing artifacts.
“We’re still considered the flagship museum (by the Association of National Guard Museums),” said Chad Daniels, museum director. “And there are some really good ones out there who are making great strides forward.”
Renovations are expected to be complete by Christmas, he said. The task of restocking displays will then begin and last through March.
“There will be a lot of new exhibits,” Daniels said. “We’re actually ahead of schedule right now so we’re excited.”
The renovations include an additional 10,000 square feet of space to the museum. However, approximately 6,000 square feet of that space is the new Multi-Use Gallery, which will be able to host large gatherings, such as traveling exhibits, military ceremonies and other events. This will not replace the theater, which will also receive a facelift.
Additionally, the Hall of Honor has been expanded to three times its previous size. Mississippi has 27 service members who have earned the Medal of Honor under the museum guidelines. The Department of Defense recognizes 19, but Daniels said the museum’s honorees include those born in the state, current residents, long-term residents and those who may not have lived in the state, but are buried here.
The Hall of Honor will now be split to also feature Mississippians who did not earn the Medal of Honor, but have significantly contributed to the national defense. It will include men such as John Quitman, a Natchez militiaman at the start of the Mexican War, who as a major general led the U.S. Marines assault on the fabled Halls of Montezuma and accepted the surrender of the citadel. Then there is Maj. Gens. Buford Blount, a University of Southern Mississippi graduate who led the capture of Baghdad in 2003 and served as its first military governor, and Jeff Hammond, also a University of Southern Mississippi graduate, who succeeded him and oversaw the first country’s first democratic election.
“So you had two Mississippians as the governors of Baghdad back-to-back,” Daniels said.
Larger public restrooms have been added to accommodate the increased traffic at the museum. When the museum first opened in 2001, the expected amount of traffic was estimated at 20,000 a year.
“We got that in the first three months,” Daniels said.
All of the artifacts on display at the museum are inherently Mississippi-based, Daniels said. The equipment was made in the state, worn by Mississippians, or the units were trained at Camp Shelby.
“Because we’re part of the National Guard, the history of the post is a major component of our scope,” Daniels said. “We’re a classic museum. You’re going to see the displays and know the stories behind every artifact.”
Some of the artifacts can be only be found here. A display of a 1930’s M2A2 tank draws national attention. It was the first tank completely designed and built in the U.S. Most of the M2A2 tanks were used in the 1938 “Mississippi Maneuvers,” held in the Desoto National Forest by the Third Army. The tank on display was later issued to the Flora Ordnance Training Center. It was abandoned by the Army and left on private land following the Second World War. A Madison County landowner donated it to the State of Mississippi during the 1970s and it was restored by the Mississippi National Guard.
“The only one left in existence is this one,” Daniels said.
Plans for the renovated museum include hosting frequent major events.
“At least two times a year, we are going to have a major exhibit open,” he said.
It was hard to see the displays come down, Daniels said, but he is excited about sharing the history of Mississippi in new ways to future visitors.
| Date Taken: | 08.06.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 08.06.2015 17:11 |
| Story ID: | 172356 |
| Location: | CAMP SHELBY, MS, US |
| Web Views: | 217 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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