Wartime museum coming to Dale City

Jabez Smith, 5, of Dale City looks at one of the military vehicle on display a the Sean T. Connaughton Plaza in Woodridge Tuesday during a news conference announcing the future opening of The Wartime Museum in Dale City.

By: Keith Walker | InsideNova
Published: April 13, 2010

DALE CITY, Va. -- Allan Cors, guaranteed some fun at The Wartime Museum when it opens in Prince William County on Veteran’s Day 2014.

“You may get tired from the activities that we engage you in, and you may get a little dirty … but I promise you you’re not going to get bored,” said Cors, the chairman of the board of trustees of the museum to be built at the intersection of Dale Boulevard and Interstate 95 behind K-mart.

Cors said rather than detail battles and campaigns, the $50 million museum to be situated on 70 acres donated by the Hylton family, will tell the stories of the men and women who served the country on the battlefields and at home during the wars of the 20th and 21st centuries.

“This is not going to be a museum of war. This is not going to be our story,” he said.

“We’re going to give our visitors a very realistic experience of those who served,” said Cors, who will donate the 20 or so operational military vehicles for display at the museum.

Cors said the goal of the museum, where people will be able to get inside and even ride the vehicles, will be to “honor, educate and inspire” in the hopes “that future generations find some way to incorporate these values into their lives.”

Prince William Chairman Corey A. Stewart told a crowd of about 100 that the museum was 10 years in coming to Prince William County.

“Good things take time,” Stewart said during an announcement at the Sean T. Connaugton Plaza Tuesday.

The museum will join the National Museum of the Marine Corps and Heritage Center in Triangle and the future National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir in a cluster of museums in the area.

“This new museum will create a major military museum corridor which should benefit the local community and draw people from all over the world,” Stewart said.

The museum, operating as a 501(c) (3) organization, is expected to draw at least 300,000 visitors a year and bring $10 million to $25 million in revenue to area hotels, restaurants and other businesses, stated a Wartime Museum press release.

The museum is expected to employ 50 people in Prince William Supervisor John D. Jenkins’ Neabsco District.

Jenkins said, “The importance of the museum is to remember all of the sacrifices that our nation has made on behalf of freedom and democracy.”

For more information about the museum, visit thewartimemuseum.org.

Senior reporter Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751.