The National Medal of Honor Museum will be built in Arlington, Texas, the museum’s foundation announced Tuesday.
The museum site, selected by the foundation’s board, is expected to open in 2024 near Arlington’s Globe Life Park and AT&T Stadium, making it the first national museum dedicated to Medal of Honor (MOH) recipients, the announcement said.
“Arlington is the optimal location to build America’s next national treasure – the National Medal of Honor Museum,” said Joe Daniels, President and CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation.
Nearly 70 MOH recipients are from the region and nearly 1.8 million veterans and active-duty military reside in Texas, the announcement said.
Only 3,505 service members have been awarded the nation’s highest military honor since the first medal was awarded during the Civil War in 1863.
The museum will offer personal and emotional connections to MOH recipients and their inspiring stories, while highlighting their heroism and the values the MOH represents, the announcement said.
The museum had been planned for Mount Pleasant, S.C., aboard the USS Yorktown, but Arlington officials proposed incorporating it into their growing entertainment district, The Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C., reported.
The museum’s design re-started in 2018 after the foundation spent $3.5 million planning for a pentagon-shaped building. However, the foundation then started a new location search, citing difficulties with Mount Pleasant officials, according to the report.
The foundation is also working with Texas’ congressional delegation to create an MOH monument Washington, D.C., the release states.