Patriot Spring Break Trips: The Best Military Museums in America
Posted:
April 20, 2018

FORT TICONDEROGA - TICONDEROGA, NEW YORK
A frontier post built sometime between 1755 and 1757 during the French and Indian War, Fort Ticonderoga is a unique star-shaped fort that was constructed by the French and played an important role in establishing America. The Fort's land acreage is just over 2,000 acres and sits conveniently between Canada and the Hudson River Valley of New York. It's one of the few historical museums that use live character interpretations to tell its story. Last year, the museum showcased the year 1757 when France controlled the strategic fortification known as Carillon (and was later named Ticonderoga). That year, they fought against the British for control of the Americas.
THE NATIONAL INFANTRY MUSEUM AND SOLDIER CENTER - COLUMBUS, GEORGIA
The U.S. Army requires that every infantry soldier train at this center, as well as visit the museum that tells the history of the soldiers who fought before them. Voted the Best Free Museum in 2016 by USA Today, the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center salutes our infantry Veterans in a 190,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility just outside the gates of Fort Benning. It is the only museum in the entire world that is dedicated to the American Infantryman. It preserves one of the greatest collections of military artifacts, tracing military history from the bloodied fields of the American Revolution to the hot sands of Iraq and Afghanistan. The $100-million museum is home to a fantastic display of priceless artifacts, numerous interactive multimedia exhibits and even sits on a lawn seeded with soil from American battle sites.
- Reality Combat Simulators
- A Fife and Drum Restaurant
- The Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall
- Heritage Walk
- World War II Company Street
- Memorial Walk of Honor
- Soldier Store Gift Shop
- Weekly Infantry School Graduations

THE AIRBORNE AND SPECIAL OPERATIONS MUSEUM - FAYETTEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
Near Fort Bragg, the Airborne and Special Operations Museum showcases the chronological history of the United States' Special Operations units. The museum allows an annual Field of Honor Opening Ceremony in May where friends and families can honor a loved one with a parade field flag at the museum. These flags remain displayed until the end of June. The museum honors National Airborne Day in August, which celebrates the anniversary of the first jump by the Test Platoon. The museum also features a 24-seat simulator that lets visitors experience what it was like flying into Normandy with the 101st Screaming Eagles on D-Day. The 1.5-hour ride physically moves the visitor's seating area at 18-degree angles in time to a film called, “Army on the Move.” The film focuses on airborne special operations and gives the rider a dose of what an Air Force aviation operator does.
CUSTER BATTLEFIELD MUSEUM - GARRYOWEN, MONTANA
In Big Horn County, Montana, inside the boundaries of the Crow Indian Reservation sits a small town named Garryowen with a population of two. The town was said to be named after an old Irish tune called "Garry Owen," which happened to be one of Custer's favorite marching songs. In that town sits a town hall attached to a gas station and convenience store, a post office, a sandwich shop, a trading post shop that deals mostly with arts and crafts — and the famed Custer Battlefield Museum. This undisclosed location is also where the famed Battle of the Little Big Horn started at Sitting Bull’s camp. The museum has rare Native American and U.S. Cavalry artifacts on display, like a lock of General Custer's hair, as well as the only known attested signature of Sitting Bull. The museum houses over 100 photographs by world-famous photographer David F. Barry, one of the largest displays on exhibit. Visitors can see some of the most recognizable images of American frontier history, like Sitting Bull, Low Dog, Tom Custer, Benteen and General George Armstrong Custer. The Custer Battlefield Museum is also home to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The remains of this unknown soldier were found in 1926 when workers began building U.S. Highway 87.GENERAL GEORGE PATTON MUSEUM – FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY
Those with interest in military vehicles should visit the General George Patton Museum, which includes the largest collection of armored jeeps, trucks and tanks showcased inside and outside the museum walls. In addition to focusing on the famous general, the museum examines the history and development of armored warfare.
THE GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK MUSEUM - GETTYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA
Sitting next to the battlefield where the famed Gettysburg's address was given, this museum has 12 different show galleries spanning the American Civil War. Beginning back in 1860 and ending with the Restoration, the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum features various artifacts and films describing all the different battles that occurred there.
THE NATIONAL WORLD WAR I MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL - KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
When you first walk into this museum, you must walk over a symbolic field of 9,000 red poppies. They say just one flower represents 1,000 combatant deaths in the Great War. It's a dramatic way of helping visitors to understand the severity of how many soldiers we lost in World War I. The museum is built underneath the Liberty Memorial, which is the first American monument dedicated to the war. Local citizens funded it in honor of courage, patriotism, sacrifice and honor. The National World War I Museum and Memorial is known as the only American museum exclusively dedicated to conserving the history, artifacts and experiences of our country's first World War. Congress deemed this distinct collection America's official World War I Museum. During Memorial Day Weekend, the museum provides free admission for active duty members of the military and veterans, and half-price entry to all guests.THE NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MUSEUM - NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

THE USS INTREPID SEA, AIR, AND SPACE MUSEUM- NEW YORK, NEW YORK
If you have ever traveled the span of the West Side Highway from the George Washington Bridge into the streets of New York City, surely you noticed the massive USS Intrepid United States aircraft carrier docked right off the highway. The decommissioned ship was converted into a museum after serving in the Cold War, Vietnam and World War II. It has been a fixture on the New York City shoreline since 1982. The USS Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors a year and is considered an American military and maritime history museum.