Me and my buddy took a trip Friday to check this out.

There were some retro nuggets to be found.

Rubber duckies all over the place. The VN display was too dark for pictures and the museum does not allow flash photography.

Here is a duckie in the Weapons section.





Airsoft? You guys will be able to tell me what this is.




Here's a Montagnard crossbow.



Mostly a really cool experience but I DID see butt tons of reproduction knives and uniforms and patches etc.

The most egregious thing for me was a full size diorama of a local that won the CMH posthumously.

First Lieutenant Baldomero Lopez USMC was leading his Marines at the Inchon landings. He was wounded while attempting to lob a grenade and dropped it into his own position. He dove on the grenade to protect his Marines.

The diorama has his squad wearing Mitchell Pattern helmet covers.

There were assorted things like that like the WWII Marine with the flame thrower wearing a Imperial Knuckle Knife with the nail puller and M8A1 scabbard similar to this.







GREAT time and a GREAT PLACE!!

If you got money they have a tank simulator you can ride in with many different scenarios and you can even go for a ride in a real WWII M8 Scout car!

Here's the link to the website.

Here's the thing, only a small percentage of the population would even know the difference. So for the general public this is a great thing.  

And anytime the general public takes time to remember the sacrifices of our service men and women, I'm all for it. Even if they get a few things wrong..

My sister lives in Clearwater so next time I'm down that way, I'll be sure to check it out!

Awesome, is it just the picture or is that 603 sporting a round Forward Assist?

ETA - LMAO The ducky fooled me at first glance until I went back to read your post. I scanned the pics first and noticed the FA thinking it was real, went back read it and DOH!

EXACTLY!

There has been a LOT of love poured into the museum and it shows. I actually told my buddy that I wish I didn't collect so I wouldn't notice the lapses.

By all means check it out Nipster! WELL worth the admission and plan to spend 3 or 4 hours to see everything!

No food or beverage concessions on site but save your receipt and came back after lunch!





I wish the lights were better in the VN display. They had a squad "wading" through a stream chest deep and they had their duckies high.

Charlie was in the trees too!

I HIGHLY recommend this place to EVERYBODY!

Especially this time of your when yall are freezing up north!

We are so beyond freezing at this point, miserable? Nope that was 8 days without power 3 weeks ago. Stir crazy? Nope. Already reinacted Platoon in my house during a snowstorm.  

Well at LEAST you haven't lost your mind yet!

Is it spring yet?

Ya I went to the one in branson- the m79 was plastic, the m60
Had a cut up cast iron receiver , and all the m16s were rubber.
Disappointing . They did have a great collection of WW1 trench art

That's a M203 40mm Grenade Launcher which mounts on the bottom of M16s.  The round on top is a Training Practice (TP) round that on impact shatters the international orange dust payload.  Matches the ballistics of the HE/HEDP rounds.


CD

I'm in Tampa and never knew that was there.....may have to check it out......

The thump gun was in the VN area and dark as hell so I couldn't even SEE the thing.

I forgot to take pics of the Pig in the weapons section and I don't recall if it was a cut or cast receiver.

I DO remember seeing a few machine guns with cut side plates and such,






I KNOW what it's SUPPOSED to be I am just wondering if it is the real deal or Airsoft.

I have no desire for one so I don't know the dif.






Check it out VF! It's right off Ulmerton on 34th Way in Largo.