The Virginia War Museum was established in 1923 by American Legion Post #25 (The Braxton/Perkins Post) as the American Legion Memorial Museum. The City of Newport News assumed administration of the Museum in the 1930's. In the course of the Museum's existence, it's name has changed twice. In 1948 the first name change took place when the entrance of the Museum moved from the southeastern side of the building to the northwestern side of the building (its current entrance location). In 1996 the name changed from The War Memorial Museum of Virginia to The Virginia War Museum.

Over the past 75 years, the Museum has acquired over 60,000 artifacts. The size of the collection is a blessing; however, due to limited display area only 4-5% of the Museum's collection can be displayed at any given time. In addition to limited display area, the Museum also has limited storage space for those artifacts not on display. Consequently, The Museum is currently exploring its options as to what it can do to rectify this problem. The goal is to have a facility that can store, preserve, conserve, and display more of its collection while providing storage and display space that enables its collection to expand.

Your donations help:
The Virginia War Museum is the official war memorial museum of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and it is the oldest museum within the City of Newport News. It greatly needs to expand its interpretation of America's most recent conflicts - including Panama, Desert Storm and Afghanistan - as global threats to American security have witnessed a transformation in the role of the military. The museum must interpret the military's changing role as well as honor those who have defended our freedom throughout the world. To do this, the museum must expand its front entrance area and add more space for exhibits. As Woodrow Wilson said, America must save the world for democracy. The museum was founded on these principles in 1923 and must now continue to preserve these themes for the citizens and visitors in Hampton Roads.

http://www.warmuseum.org/store.htm

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http://www.warmuseum.org/entrance.htm#table