Fundraisers for a planned Army museum are courting major defense contractors as part of a $200 million donation drive.
The approximately 90-acre National Museum of the U.S. Army, now in early design stages, would occupy a yet-undesignated part of Fort Belvoir. The Army Historical Foundation has raised $12 million for the project in the past 14 months, and plans to raise another $20 million by year’s end, said foundation spokesman Dave Fabian, a retired colonel.
Many of those contributions have come from defense firms including BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Halliburton subsidiary KBR, Boeing and AM General, which gave the largest donation of $2.5 million, according to Fabian.
Defense contractors are being pursued “because of their close association with the Army and their willingness to get on board for this very fitting tribute,” he said.
Retired Maj. Gen. John Herrling, senior campaign director for the Army Historical Foundation, expects enough funds will be raised to begin construction of the museum by 2009, after which new venues can be added as money comes available.
The foundation, Fabian said, is also seeking support from other corporations, business foundations, national philanthropists, veterans groups, Army support organizations and “the American public at large.”
The Army is donating $100 million and space at Fort Belvoir for the museum, which is projected to cost $300 million and open in 2011 — the same year about 21,000 new workers will complete the move to Belvoir under the Base Closure and Realignment Commission recommendation.
The museum will be “focused on the role of the soldier” and not simply military artifacts, said Lt. Col. Diane Varhola, spokeswoman for the project.
Source material
» The National Museum of the U.S. Army is expected to include Army history from Colonial times to the present, and serve as a source of material for other museums around the country.
Source: The Army Historical Foundation
