I finally made time this weekend to do something I have wanted to do for years: visit the Navy UDT/SEAL museum in Fort Pierce. I called an old buddy I worked with a lot over on the East coast a few weeks back and told him I wanted to plan a trip to see it. He had expressed an interest in going years ago when we worked together and neither of us ever got around to it. Mike’s an old bosun who served in the USS Forrestal and USS Kitty Hawk during Vietnam. He just turned 76 and I really wanted to do this with him before it got too late.
The museum was really a lot more than I expected. We were both overwhelmed with the interactive and visual displays that really put you in the middle of the events. Every item there, from the PPE worn during battle to some science fiction gadgetry that would make Q jealous all came from actual battles. It seems like a lot of the staff there are probably ex-SF; actually I can’t think of a better job for an old retired SF guy than to help run a museum about your own history. To me, the museum seems put together like somebody got a group of senior SEALs together and told them to build it in the way they would want their history presented. It was a very moving and humbling experience for both of us. I’m glad I went and plan on going back to explore it more in depth. We only had two hours to closing, and I’d say allow a minimum of three hours to really see it all. Next week is the annual muster, and I’ve heard that is an event really worth seeing. We contemplated going then, but figured it would be too busy to properly enjoy the museum.
The museum was really a lot more than I expected. We were both overwhelmed with the interactive and visual displays that really put you in the middle of the events. Every item there, from the PPE worn during battle to some science fiction gadgetry that would make Q jealous all came from actual battles. It seems like a lot of the staff there are probably ex-SF; actually I can’t think of a better job for an old retired SF guy than to help run a museum about your own history. To me, the museum seems put together like somebody got a group of senior SEALs together and told them to build it in the way they would want their history presented. It was a very moving and humbling experience for both of us. I’m glad I went and plan on going back to explore it more in depth. We only had two hours to closing, and I’d say allow a minimum of three hours to really see it all. Next week is the annual muster, and I’ve heard that is an event really worth seeing. We contemplated going then, but figured it would be too busy to properly enjoy the museum.
