Children visiting the National Museum of the Marine Corps learn about the 2,641 poppies "planted" in honor of all of the Marines killed during World War I. Each poppy includes the name of a Marine, his home of record, and the date and place of death.

National Museum of the Marine Corps hosts special WWI-themed activities

By Chris Isleib
Director of Public Affairs, United States World War One Centennial Commission

This week, the National Museum of the Marine Corps hosted a number of community activities in commemoration of the centennial of the Battle of Belleau Wood, during World War I.

During the week, visitors to the museum "planted" 2,641 poppies in honor of all of the Marines killed during World War I. Each poppy includes the name of a Marine, his home of record, and the date and place of death.

In addition, the Museum hosted a full day of WWI-themed educational activities, on Saturday, that included:

• Exploring WWI communication methods including semaphore, wig wag, Morse code, and telephones
• A Special Pre-school Playdate for children under 5: exploring the true story of Winnie the Pooh with story times, play-areas, and crafts.
• Exploring the WWI and WWII Commemoration Commission Exhibition Bus.
• Interacting with first-person interpreters.
• Talking with curators and looking at artifacts from WWI.

The museum also has officially opened their new World War I art exhibit, entitled "A World at War: The Marine Corps and U.S. Navy in World War I".

The exhibition, in collaboration with the Naval Heritage and History Command, will open in June and contain 92 works by 42 artists drawn from the collections of the NMMC, the Naval History and Heritage Command and the National Museum of the United States Army. The works, based on personal experiences or from historical perspectives, were created by service members, some of America’s leading illustrators, and even some unknown artists.

The pieces document the everyday activities of Marines, the grisly battlefields of Belleau Wood and Blanc Mont Ridge, the combat debut of Marine Corps aviation as well as the U.S. Navy's battles against German U-boats and the stormy waters of the North Atlantic.

Artwork from the home front includes posters intended to energize Americans to donate books, plant gardens, nurse the sick and wounded, and give their overall support to the war effort on a scale not seen before.

Also included in the exhibition is a selection of portraits of Marine Medal of Honor recipients by noted artist Col. Charles H. Waterhouse, USMCR (Ret.), paired with artwork that captures their heroic deeds.

Finally, the exhibit showcases a small complementary selection of artifacts from the National Museum of the Marine Corps: objects brought back home by Marines that were transformed from mundane gear, such as helmets, mess kits, and artillery shells, into beautiful pieces of art.

The community events for June are not over at the museum! On June 28th, the museum will kick off their 2018 Summer Concert Series, with a special free performances, that include the Quantico Marine Corps Band. Details can be found here.