Arlington鈥檚 Entertainment District is no stranger to spectacles. Super Bowls, World Series and mega concerts are standard procedure.
Presidential motorcades and Secret Service, however, are less common.
The fireworks that boomed over the city鈥檚 newest point of pride on March 22 flared extra bright, shedding red, white and blue sparks on the politicians, celebrities and community members who gathered to celebrate the ribbon cutting at the National Medal of Honor Museum.
Those in attendance included former President George W. Bush, Gov. Greg Abbott, U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and singer Lee Greenwood, but none of those big names owned the spotlight.
The night celebrated the more than 3,500 recipients of the Medal of Honor, America鈥檚 highest military decoration for valor in combat, whose names are engraved in the 100,000-square-foot museum.
鈥淚t鈥檚 as humbling as it gets tonight,鈥� said Capt. Florent 鈥淔low鈥� Groberg, a Medal recipient recognized for as a Task Force Mountain Warrior in Afghanistan in 2012. Groberg was one of the about 40 recipients attending the ceremony.
鈥淚 want this museum to be a clear reminder of what it took and continues to take to be this country,鈥� Groberg said. 鈥淭hese are storylines of ordinary, common Americans who rose to the question of: 鈥榃ill you serve?鈥欌��
The museum will open to the public March 25 鈥� National Medal of Honor Day 鈥� in a ceremony Arlington has anticipated since the museum鈥檚 location .
Former Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams was in office when the city was announced as the museum鈥檚 home in 2019. He took the charge seriously.
鈥淚t was an exciting day, but it also was a huge responsibility because we knew that this was our opportunity to build a national museum,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淢ost all (national museums) have been built 100 years ago, all in Washington, D.C., and here we are in Texas.鈥�
The museum stands out from the surrounding stadiums. The grey obelisk seems to float over the neighboring lake and AT&T Way, supported by five pillars representing the five branches of the military.
鈥淭hese five pillars, they鈥檙e (also) symbolizing the burden that each one of our soldiers has with each other 鈥� and what they are doing for us,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淲e want everyone to know there is a cost of freedom, too, and the stories here share that.鈥�
Also attending the ribbon cutting were U.S. Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, and Rep. Roger Williams, R-Willow Park, and Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana. New Dallas Cowboys head coach also walked the ribbon cutting鈥檚 red carpet.
Throughout the museum鈥檚 construction, officials were determined to make sure its focus was on .
are covered in photos of recipients and display cases filled with guns, Medals of Honor and letters. Exhibits feature journals, telegrams, knives, handguns, uniforms and trinkets belonging to recipients.
The museum鈥檚 largest artifact is a retired which U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady used to rescue soldiers in Vietnam.
In the museum鈥檚 interactive exhibits, visitors can sit down and speak with virtual versions of recipients, or wear virtual reality headsets that put them in a helicopter rescue mission, where they鈥檒l have to work together to make quick decisions under stress.
As Cruz entered the ribbon cutting, he told reporters that all Medal recipients he鈥檚 met during his time in politics have shared humility as a trait.
鈥淚n the face of machine gun fire, in the face of impossible odds, they risk everything to go and rescue and save someone else, to go and defeat the enemy, to go and defend your nation,鈥� Cruz said. 鈥淚f it doesn鈥檛 make your heart swell up with pride, then you鈥檙e just not paying attention.鈥�
Cornyn hopes every visitor walks away from the museum with a bigger appreciation for the country鈥檚 history and sacrifices that were made before they were born.
鈥淚鈥檓 delighted (the museum鈥檚) in Arlington, Texas,鈥� he said. 鈥淏elieve it or not, there鈥檚 a little competition to try to get to this other part of the country, but we worked together to make sure it was where it belonged, which is right here.鈥�
The museum鈥檚 price tag is about $270 million, including operations, staffing and the architect鈥檚 fee.
The institution has received funding from several high-profile donors, including $30 million from billionaire hedge fund head Ken Griffin and $20 million from Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Lockheed Martin; BNSF Railway; philanthropists and business leaders Alan and Bonnie Petsche; and real estate developer John Goff and his wife, Cami Goff, who serves as of the National Medal of Honor Museum board.
The museum is expected to attract over 800,000 visitors a year and will advertise itself as an event venue for national and local companies, said Chris Cassidy, president and CEO of the museum.
Each Medal of Honor story is unique and worthy of its own museum, novel and film, said Cassidy, a former Navy Seal and NASA astronaut. Over time, about 70 rotating, in-depth museum exhibits will explore each recipient鈥檚 life.
鈥淎s unique as each story is, they鈥檙e strikingly simple,鈥� Cassidy said. 鈥淭hese are stories of individuals who put others over self, who set aside fear to act with courage, and who were then given a tremendous responsibility to bear the weight of our nation鈥檚 highest recognition.鈥�
Drew Shaw is a local government accountability for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at
drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or .
James Hartley, 四虎影院 Arlington government accountability reporter, contributed to this article.
