Officially opened on the first Marine Corps birthday in the new millennium, 10 November 2001, The Marine Corps Legacy Museum (MCLM) is the only private, historically comprehensive Marine Corps museum in the country. The museum is sponsored by the Association for the Preservation of U. S. Marine Corps History, Inc. a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit corporation chartered in Arkansas in 1998. The museum is the culmination of 10 years of planning and effort by the father and son founders, both retired Marines.

What We Do

The museum’s displays depict the history of the Corps from 1775 to the present with large, well lit cases displaying uniforms, weapons, equipment, personalities, and art ranging from the days of sail, to the exploration of space. Each display is interwoven with the American history of that period, giving the patron not only a view of the history of the Marine Corps, but also the policies and global events which required the deployment of America’s Marines. Missions as diverse as guarding America’s embassies overseas; guarding the US Mail here at home; conducting bloody assaults on Japanese held islands during WWII; conducting rescue and life saving operations around the world; and, spear-heading America’s global War on Terrorism. The MCLM shows the Marines and the equipment they used to accomplish these and other missions in over 200 years of service to the Nation. As a result of this long history of accomplishment by their Marines, Americans have come to believe that “Send in the Marines” means the situation will be taken care of.

Some of Our Activities

Current activities are not limited solely to museum operation. The museum staff conducts an educational outreach program presenting classes to students from grade school to college level. Some presentations are made in the museum, but many are presented on campus. During the course of making these presentations, it became appallingly apparent that most of today’s students have very little knowledge of their nation’s history. Therefore, the MCLM presentations now provide more information on the historical background of America in order to show the events that led to the varied missions of the Marine Corps.

Something to know:

We do not believe in revisionist history -- if a historical occurrence can be factually documented, that is how it should be portrayed. Therefore, all museum presentations strive for total accuracy. We feel that the Corps’ overall achievements, honestly portrayed, can stand any scrutiny without apology and that is the way the MCLM presents the history of the Marine Corps.

The MCLM seeks to demonstrate to visitors four major ideas: