Time is right to complete our museum

National Guard, Jun 1999 by Ensslin, Robert Jr

Earlier this year, my 1947 officer candidate school class reunited in Alexandria, Va.

While in the Washington, D.C., area, two of my classmates, both retired National Guardsmen, asked to tour the National Guard Memorial. It was a privilege to escort them and witness their pride at seeing the magnificent building and its National Guard tributes for the first time.

The looks in their eyes are what we intended when we designed our association's new headquarters on Capitol Hill.

We envisioned the structure serving as a center to study and disseminate Guard history as well as the NGAUS' command post. We wanted the building to be a tourist deshnation in Washington for all Guardsmen. We succeeded.

Much of our goal to commemorate the Guard is in place and we have $1.8 million to work toward completion. So far the National Guard Memorial includes:

A HANDSOME UFE-SIZE bronze statue of the Minuteman and his plow, sculpted by EvAngelos Frudakis, who created many of the statues at Independence Hall, greets visitors to the National Guard Memorial. The famous Concord statue was made in 1976 as part of the Centennial Celebration of the Revolutionary War. Frudakis created our statue during the Desert Storm mobilization and the Minuteman has relinquished his grip on the plow and is moving toward the battle, slightly different from the original.

Reproductions of the historic colors Guard units carried during the revolution and the Civil War are arranged in colorful panoplies above the statue.

* THE MEDAL OF HONOR GALLERY honors Guardsmen who have received the Medal of Honor. They are listed by state. Historical dioramas illustrating several of their courageous actions line the surrounding walls.

Adjacent to the gallery is the library, probably the premier reference source for citizen-soldier studies. The Walsh-Reckord Hall of States, an impressive meeting and social room, lies beyond the gallery. Flags from each state and territory adorn the two-story ceiling.

* THE SECOND FLOOR INCLUDES THE G.V "Sonny" Montgomery Executive Council Chambers, named for the former Mississippi representative, and the NGAUS executive offices. Few corporate boardrooms in the nation's capitol can match the paneled splendor of the Montgomery chambers.

Each service secretary, secretary of defense and many congressional leaders have spoken from the podium in the chambers over the past 10 years. The chambers were largely a gift of the Mississippi National Guard Officers Association, through the Minuteman Trust, in honor of Montgomery, a retired Mississippi Army National Guardsman.

One major project remains in the memorial: the museum proper.

The NGAUS is now in search of architects willing to work on a pro bono basis to design the museum.

We would like the museum to be a significant expansion of the National Guard Heritage Gallery that graced the original building.

Artifacts from the gallery have been carefully cataloged, maintained and stored in space next to the Medal of Honor Gallery that has been reserved for the museum.

The Minuteman Trust's $1.8 million is in a fenced account, waiting for an appropriate time to be used to resume the museum's planning and design process.

For about five years, NGAUS' leaders have been operating with a balanced budget, but at great pain and hardship. The staff was cut to the bone and projects that were not imperative - like the museum were put on the back burner. The trust was created in 1989 to accept tax deductible contributions to preserve the history and tell the story of the National Guard at its memorial building in Washington. The trust was structured to ensure that all funds donated could only be used for this purpose.

A goal of $2.9 million was set for the states to support the trust based upon their Guard end strengths. The states over the past 10 years have given $2.4 million to the Minuteman Trust. Many states exceeded their goal, but if each state were to meet its goal, an additional $1,100,715 would be generated.

In today's favorable economic climate, the funds of the trust have done well, earning $527,345 in interest, dividends and appreciation.

Total expenditures from the Minuteman Trust since it was established are $860,126, including:

$657,833 for capitalized items such as the Minuteman Statue, Medal of Honor Gallery and the Montgomery Chambers;

* $35,942 for historical displays including flag panoplies;

and $160,000 for support activities including maintenance of artifacts and fund raising.

Please help us move ahead with the museum.

If you would like more information on the architectural work, contact Dave McGinnis at (202) 789-0031 or dmcginni@ngaus.org.

Retired Maj. Gen. Robert Ensslin Jr. is a former NGAUS executive director, NGAUS president and Florida adjutant