Imagine yourself in the church where Dr. Mary Walker treated wounded soldiers, or inside a trench manning a machine gun during WWI or fighting in the forest with Charles Coolidge as he single-handedly took on a German Pazer tank.
Our permanent exhibits take our visitors from the actions that prompted the First Medals during the Civil War to the War on Terror conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Space Medal of Honor
Lt. Col. Dick Scobee’s story is both aspirational and inspirational. Beginning in the late 1950s, he worked his way up through the Air Force ranks from mechanic in San Antonio to combat pilot in Vietnam to test pilot at the famed Edwards Air Force Base and finally as one of the first candidates chosen for NASA’s space shuttle program.
The Theater
Your experience begins in our orientation theater, where you will see a short introductory video exploring the history of the Medal of Honor. The first Medals of Honor were awarded for valor during the Civil War.
Civil War
Be transported to the Civil War era and learn about the Andrew’s Raiders and the Great Locomotive Chase, then walk through the infamous Ringgold Tunnel and step into the Second Presbyterian Church where Dr. Mary Walker, the only female Medal of Honor recipient, treated wounded soldiers.
Character Kiosks
Pass through character kiosks where our Medals of Honor are displayed. Explore common traits that all Medal of Honor recipients exhibit: patriotism, courage, sacrifice, citizenship, integrity, and commitment. These contemplative areas encourage us to think about how such traits can help us in our own lives, whether our challenges are on the battlefield, in the boardroom or on the playground.
Middle Wars
Medal recipients featured include George Jordan, a former enslaved person from Williamson County, Tennessee. Jordan was a Buffalo Soldier who received his Medal of Honor for actions on two separate occasions. Jordan and the men under his command successfully repelled a much larger group of attackers, thus saving the town of Fort Tularosa, NM. On a separate occasion, his detachment of 19 men repelled around 40 combatants at Carrizo Canyon, NM.
World War I
Our WWI section features a trench and no man’s land, where you will be able to aim a German machine gun and get a glimpse of what trench life was like during that great conflict.
World War II
The WWII section features a parachuting Paul Huff, the first paratrooper Medal of Honor recipient and Desmond Doss’s Hacksaw Ridge. Desmond Doss, a conscientious objector who did not shoot a firearm, is famous for rescuing seventy-five men, lowering them one-by-one down the jagged cliffs of Hacksaw Ridge in Okinawa, Japan. You will see a re-creation of these cliffs and be able to tie Doss’s famous butterfly knot by which he saved each man.
Charles Coolidge Theater
Walk in Charles Coolidge’s shoes as you trace his WWII journey. He hiked over 1500 miles from Africa to Europe as he fought for our freedom. In the Coolidge Theater you will be able to take a stand with Charles Coolidge as the action that earned him the Medal of Honor breaks out around you in the forests of France and you watch Coolidge dodge tank fire. Interviews with Charles Coolidge will bring the story to life, and you will see actual objects that belonged to Charles Coolidge and Desmond Doss.
The “Living Room” War
The Korean and Vietnam War exhibits demonstrate how armed conflicts were increasingly brought into American homes via televised footage. You will be able to sit in a 1960s-era living room as you watch coverage of the Vietnam War and other special videos. On the other side of the living room wall is reality: a Vietnam bunker where you will feel the prop wash from a Huey Helicopter as it undertakes a critical mission.
Hall of Valor
Next to the main exhibit gallery is the Hall of Valor, a hallway that features the images and citations of all 32 Medal of Honor recipients from Tennessee.
Iraq and Afghanistan
The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan feature our most recent Medal of Honor heroes.
Rotating Exhibits
At the end of the permanent exhibit, you will visit the gallery that houses our rotating exhibits that change throughout the year. These displays will bring the sacrifices and journeys of our Medal of Honor recipients into a broader historical and cultural context through the years.
“Heart of Valor”
At the center of the Heritage Center is a statue of Arthur MacArthur, a Civil War Medal of Honor recipient and father of WWII’s Douglas MacArthur. We are calling his statue the “Heart of Valor,” and it is a focal point where you can contemplate the passion of our heroes and how the character traits of patriotism, sacrifice, courage, citizenship, integrity, and commitment can impact our own lives.
With awe, with remembrance – with respect for the past and hope for the future – it is our hope that every visitor to our Center leaves with a renewed sense of our heritage and a fresh commitment to the values common to our American experience.
