A museum for all veterans

David Nilson is proud of being a U.S. Army veteran.

Standing in the cold rain and sub-50 temperatures in downtown Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 27, Nilson was wearing his Army jacket 25 years after he’d retired from the military after a 21-year career. But on this day, Nilson was there to celebrate all U.S. veterans – as were around 2,000 other people gathered together for the grand opening of the National Veterans Memorial and Museum (NVMM).

“I think it’s great that they’re doing this for all veterans,” said Nilson, a member of American Legion Post 11 in Lancaster, Ohio. “It’s not just a particular branch of the service. I’m just excited to get in here and see what’s available. I think it’s great that veterans are being honored.”

Nilson was joined at the grand opening by Kathy Upton, whose husband Curt has been a member of American Legion Post 677 in Lithopolis, Ohio, before passing away recently. “(The museum) is one way to keep our patriotism going – something I think we’re lacking today,” Upton said. “I think it’s awesome that Ohio has this.”

Many American Legion members, including National Vice Commander Jack Milburn and Department of Ohio leadership, also were in attendance at the grand opening, which included remarks from members of Congress, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie and retired U.S. Army Gen. Colin Powell, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“Forty-two million Americans have served in uniform in the history of our nation,” Powell said. “This building will show their faces, their letters, their fears, their bravery, their anxious families waiting for them to return. You will hear their stories. You will see their photos and their videos.

“You will be moved to ask ‘Where do we get such patriots?’ And the answer is, as it has always been, from everywhere. From city and farm. From every color and origin. They represent the rainbow that is America. The strength and goodness that is America.”

The 53,000-square-foot museum allows visitors to trace the service and sacrifice of U.S. veterans from the Revolutionary War through the war on terrorism through the words of the veterans themselves. A 2.5-acre Memorial Grove, created as a place for reflection and remembrance, is on the seven-acre campus in downtown Columbus. NVMM President and CEO retired Lt. Gen. Michael Ferriter said the hope is the museum becomes “a national beacon that draws millions of veterans, their families and the general public.”

More than $82 million was raised via private donations from individuals, corporations, foundations and partnerships. The idea for the museum came six years ago from a collaboration between former U.S. Sen. John Glenn and billionaire Leslie Wexner.

Glenn died in 2016, but his son was on hand at the grand opening and spoke about the stories that can be told by those that the museum honors. “It’s what this place is all about,” he said. “For my father, nothing in his life was more formative and significant than his military service. So helping with the creation of this National Veterans Memorial and Museum was very important to him. I wish he was here to see it.”

Wexner, a philanthropist and chairman/CEO of L Brands, and his wife Abigail, donated $40.6 million to the project. “When I approach this building, what I think about – and I hope that it influences your thinking – is the greatness of our country, the foundation of our country and our basic beliefs,” Wexner said. “The true advantages that we have, the value that comes from those core beliefs that give us that American exceptionalism – and clearly supported by veterans. A total of 41 million Americans have served to protect those values.”

Wilkie said the museum “reminds all Americans that they sleep soundly at night because of the sacrifice of millions of ordinary men and women.” And while naming such well-known veterans as Alvin York and others, Wilkie said the museum also serves to honor “all of those ordinary citizens who have performed extraordinary deeds in the defense of freedom from Lexington to Afghanistan.”

Also on hand were U.S. Sens. Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown, and U.S. Reps. Steve Stivers and Joyce Beatty. Portman said the museum is “an extraordinary opportunity to honor, pay tribute and thank those that have made so many sacrifices.”

Brown said the museum also honors the families of U.S. veterans. “We don’t think enough about the sacrifice of their families, who worry every single day about their loved ones,” Brown said. “This museum is for all of you.”