New museum will tell stories of North Carolina warriors who changed the world
An unusual new museum is taking shape in eastern North Carolina, with artifacts ranging from a 1960s Huey helicopter to a WWII amphibious landing craft.
It’s called the Carolina Museum of the Marine, and its mission is to recount the role Carolinas-based Marines and Sailors have played in events that changed the world.
The nonprofit museum, which has been 25 years in the making, is scheduled to open June 8 at Lejeune Memorial Gardens, near the perimeter of Marine Base Camp Lejeune.
“As the Museum enters one of the most exciting phases of its journey — exhibit fabrication and installation — the stories of Carolina Marines and Sailors are taking physical shape inside,” according to Museum President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Shrader, Major General, USMC (Ret.).
“When visitors walk through these galleries, they won’t just read about history — they’ll feel the stories of courage, innovation, and commitment that began here in the Carolinas and carried across the globe.”
Nearly 200 wartime artifacts have rolled onto the property in recent weeks, some in small boxes and others so large they had to be carried on the backs of trailers.
A 26-foot-long, 18-ton amphibious landing craft, known as an LVT-4 Buffalo, represents the biggest piece in the collection.
But “the Mona Lisa” is a restored Huey helicopter, an “iconic symbol” of the Vietnam War that carried Marines into battlefield and rushed the wounded to hospitals, museum officials told The Charlotte Observer.
The 25,000-square-foot museum will cover all military operations involving Marines and Sailors from the Carolinas, including WWII, the Cold War, and the Global War on Terror that continues to claim lives.
In each case, history will be recounted through the story of a single Marine who participated in the campaign, such as North Carolina native Jack Lucas, “the youngest Medal of Honor recipient” to fight in WWII.
Lucas forged his mother’s signature to join the Marines at 14, and saved the lives of fellow Marines when he threw himself on a grenade (and survived) during combat in the Pacific, according to the National WWII Museum.
“His Medal of Honor will be on loan to the museum from his granddaughter,” Shrader said.
“The focus of the museum is really on Marines’ and Sailors’ individual stories. You are introduced to over 40 different stories of Marines and Sailors that have served here or lived here in the Carolinas. ... The idea is to meet the Marine and be inspired.”
Camp Lejeune is about a 140-mile drive southeast from downtown Raleigh.
This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 12:08 PM with the headline "New museum will tell stories of North Carolina warriors who changed the world."