Arlington, Texas – A new museum dedicated to telling the stories of those who have received the highest military honor of the Nation will open next week in Texas.
The National Medal Museum He is ready to open Tuesday in Arlington, just west of Dallas. The life and service of the recipients of the Medal of Honor of the Civil war To World War against terrorism. More than 3,500 people have received the Honor Medal, granted by Congress for risking life in combat beyond Call of Duty.
Jack Jacobs, a retired colonel from the US army who received the medal of honor for his actions during the Vietnam War, said he wants museum visitors to realize that the recipients are not “spectacular supernuces”, but regular people who “embody the types of values that are really important.”
“Really big things, not only in combat, but in everyday life … They are achieved by ordinary people who conclude that something must be done and they will do it,” Jacobs said.
When his unit was ambushed by Viet Cong on March 9, 1968, Jacobs took charge after his commander was seriously injured. Despite being injured in the head by the shrapnel and bleeding strongly, Jacobs reorganized the company and ran repeatedly through enemy fire to rescue the injured, saving the lives of an American advisor and 13 soldiers.
Jacobs, now 79, said he lost many friends in the battle.
“You really use the prize for all people who can’t use the prize,” he said.
The museum’s approach is to tell the life stories of the recipients, said Alexandra Rhue, senior vice president of the museum’s participation. “Here you met people first and then learn what they did,” said Rhue.
The recipients presented in the museum include those of several branches of the military, conflicts and geographical locations, as well as different ethnicities and races.
Chris Cassidy, president and CEO of the museum, said he hopes that the exhibitions inspire visitors.
“Everyone needs courage in some way or fashion,” he said. “So that is our goal: to inspire people through the stories of actions of Medal of Honor, to bring a little courage to their own life.”
Several of the recipients, including Jacobs, appear in videos in an exhibition where their images answer visitors’ questions. There are more than 60 recipients who still live.
A Saturday celebration before the opening will have musical performances, fireworks and a drone show. The museum is located between Globe Life Field, where the Texas Rangers play, and inANDT Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
