National Museum of the Marine Corps Unveils Commemorative Exhibit

The National Museum of the Marine Corps will unveil its newest exhibit, “Where Do We Get Such Men,” on October 15, 2008 at 10:00 a.m., commemorating the 25th anniversary of the attack on the Marine headquarters building in Beirut, Lebanon. Attendees will include Lin Ezell, Director of the National Museum of the Marine Corps, Lt.Gen. Ron Christmas, President of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation and Beirut veterans.

The temporary exhibit documents the October 23, 1983 attack on the Battalion Landing Team 1/8 Headquarters, when one truck bomb struck the building killing 241 Americans and wounding hundreds. “Where Do We Get Such Men” chronologically depicts the Marine peacekeeping mission from August 1982 through February 1984 through quotes, photographs and selected art from the Marine Corps Combat Art Collection.

The exhibit was made possible by a donation to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation from H. Furlong Baldwin, Chairman and Director of the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. and Marine. Baldwin, a Northampton County, Virginia native, served in the Marine Corps from 1954 to 1956 and went on to become the Chairman, President and CEO of the Mercantile Bankshares Corporation and Mercantile-Safe Deposit & Trust Company.

Since its dedication in 2006, the National Museum of the Marine Corps has established itself as a major Virginia destination, receiving its one millionth visitor in September 2008. The Museum will soon begin construction on three additional galleries interpreting the periods from 1775 through World War I, expected to open in spring 2010. The adjacent Semper Fidelis Memorial Park will also soon begin construction on a nondenominational chapel dedicated to the sacrifices of Marines. The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation continues its fundraising campaign to complete the entire Marine Corps Heritage Center.

To attend this media event, please contact Chris Vassil at 202-340-8099 or cvassil@susandavis.com.