A fairy tale begins ‘Once upon a time…’ A military story begins ‘No shit this really happened…’
Retired Col. Thomas Moe, a former fighter pilot and prisoner of war, stepped up to an exhibit at the new National Veterans Memorial and Museum, where he spotted a photo of himself with his wife, Christine.
The photo, taken recently, was attached to the lid of a Vietnam War-era military trunk. He lifted it and saw more photos: their wedding photo from 1965. One of the couple as they left for their honeymoon in the Pocono Mountains. And one taken later – Moe at 23 on Danang Air Base in South Vietnam.
The moment Moe lifted the lid, a recording of his wife’s voice started playing. “I knew he was going to be deployed, and I just kept trying to not think about it,” you could hear her say. “When it came to the day before, it hit me hard. I just fell apart. I just couldn’t believe he was going to war.”
Moe leaned in.
“Isn’t that clever?” he asked.
It was his first look at the exhibit, part of a museum he helped establish in downtown Columbus. Congress designated the facility a “national” site this summer, and it officially opened with a ceremony Oct. 27.
The 53,000-square-foot museum and 2.5-acre memorial grove that surrounds it cost $82 million, most of it from local donors. Leslie Wexner, a billionaire businessman and philanthropist from Dayton, Ohio, contributed $40.6 million.
The idea started with one veteran. Astronaut John Glenn, a former Marine, U.S. senator and Ohio resident, wanted a special, sacred place to honor and connect veterans and teach others about their service.
“He wanted the experience to begin when people saw the building,” said Amy Taylor, chief operating officer of the Columbus Downtown Development Corp.
The unique circular structure, designed by Allied Works Architecture in New York, is made of three sweeping, white concrete arches that spiral to a rooftop event space.
To decide its contents, a team of people, including Moe, traveled across the country to hold focus groups and interview veterans about what they wanted it to be.
One thing was certain: It wasn’t going to be a war museum.
“You’re not going to see tanks here, or planes hanging from the ceiling,” Taylor said. “What you are going to see and hear are the stories – Why did someone decide to serve? What was it like to take the oath, serve in combat? What was it like to come home?”
The National Veterans Memorial and Museum includes stories of dozens of veterans of different genders, races and backgrounds – those in the public eye and others who are lesser known. Some served in combat, and some had different roles during their military service.