Less than a year after opening its doors, the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington has been voted the Best New Museum in America by USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards.
It’s an honor that museum leaders say reflects the power of the stories inside.
“Through personal artifacts and heart-stopping simulations, this shrine to valor drops you into the split-second decisions that defined extraordinary courage,” the publication said online. “Rather than glorifying war, the National Medal of Honor Museum focuses on the human capacity for sacrifice, with quiet spaces for reflection between galleries that chronicle acts of heroism from the Battle of New Market Heights (1864) to the Medal of Honor Ceremony that symbolically marked the defeat of Nazi Germany.”
Award caps a breakout year
The award caps a standout first year for the 31,000-square-foot, $200 million museum, which earned an expert-panel nomination before winning a nationwide public vote. Museum officials say the distinction highlights both the growing interest in the Medal of Honor and the strong response from early visitors…