点评:It was a scorching day, the kind that could fry an egg on the sidewalk, and here I was, driving the family Conestoga to NMUSA. Despite the mind-numbing boredom of the drive to middle-of-nowhere Fort Belvoir along much maligned I-95, we arrived in record time.
Anyway, there we were, rolling past some empty guardhouse (probably manned for VIPS occasionally), up a winding driveway lined with not one single M-1 Abrams, Bradley Fighting Vehicle or 155mm Howitzer, ending up in a parking lot that seemed like a mile hike from the front of a freakin' metallic cube - a monstrosity that looked like it belonged to an alien civilization or an AT&T switching station. Thank goodness that same architect didn't have a hand in majestic West Point and historic Squid University in Annapolis. Even the Russkies devoted more grandeur to their military museums!
But hey, the entrance fee was zero dinero, so I shouldn't complain too much. After dealing with the friendliest security personnel I've ever met, we entered the quiet and cool edifice.
We were greeted by a colossal wall adorned with campaign ribbons stretching from the Revolution to the "War against Terrorism." A visual representation of the US HISTORY OF NEVER ENDING WAR right there, smack in our faces. Of course, what else did I expect? Across from it was an equally tall Wall of Sponsors featuring giant defense contractors (who decided to throw us taxpayers a bone by contributing a few shekels to the museum).
Clearly wishing to appeal to younger generations accustomed to video games and computer monitors, the dimly lit exhibits featured a preponderance of interactive screens and audio presentations, which truth be told, were hard to read with my old eyes.
Though the exhibits devoted to the Revolutionary War and Civil War were engaging, the rest of the US Army's history was given short-shrift in my opinion. Oddly enough, quite a bit of space was devoted to the Cold War or the "One That Got Away" (US vs. RUSSIA). Hell, George Patton pined for that one.
Most disappointing was the utter lack of space dedicated to the Army's historic use of fixed/rotary wing aircraft. Not a single B-17, P-38, P-51 or even a Warthog in sight, except for some miniature bomber models overhead in one section. The Army Air Corps got shafted big time here folks.
In short, NMUSA is a rather UNIMPRESSIVE B-SIDE COLLECTION OF THE US ARMY'S GREATEST HITS.
Trust me, there are better places to soak up military pride, like the USMC Museum in Quantico. Now that's a place where your chest will swell with good ol' American patriotism, enough to make you want to sign up on the spot.
翻译:那是一个炎热的天气,可以在人行道上煎鸡蛋的天气,而我却开车送康尼斯托加一家去 NMUSA。尽管沿着饱受诟病的 95 号州际公路驱车前往偏僻的贝尔沃堡,过程令人心旷神怡,但我们还是以创纪录的时间到达了目的地。
无论如何,我们就在那里,驶过一些空荡荡的警卫室(可能偶尔有人值班),沿着一条蜿蜒的车道行驶,车道上没有一辆 M-1 艾布拉姆斯、布拉德利战车或 155 毫米榴弹炮,最后停在一个停车场,看上去就像是一个停车场。从一个怪异的金属立方体前面徒步一英里——一个看起来像是属于外星文明或 AT&T 交换机的怪物。谢天谢地,同一位建筑师没有参与雄伟的西点军校和安纳波利斯历史悠久的鱿鱼大学的设计。就连俄罗斯人也为他们的军事博物馆投入了更多的宏伟!
但是,嘿,入场费是零第纳尔,所以我不应该抱怨太多。在与我见过的最友好的保安人员打交道后,我们进入了这座安静凉爽的大厦。
迎接我们的是一面巨大的墙,墙上装饰着从革命到“反恐战争”的竞选丝带。美国永无休止的战争史的视觉再现就在我们面前。当然,我还期待什么呢?对面是一堵同样高的赞助商墙,上面有大型国防承包商(他们决定向博物馆捐赠几谢克尔,从而向我们纳税人扔一块骨头)。
显然是为了吸引习惯了电子游戏和电脑显示器的年轻一代,灯光昏暗的展品以互动屏幕和音频演示为主,说实话,用我的老眼睛很难阅读。
尽管专门介绍独立战争和内战的展览很吸引人,但在我看来,美国陆军的其他历史却被忽视了。奇怪的是,相当多的篇幅专门讨论了冷战或“逃走的人”(美国与俄罗斯)。天哪,乔治·巴顿非常渴望那个。
最令人失望的是完全缺乏专门用于陆军历史上使用的固定/旋翼飞机的空间。除了头顶上空的一些微型轰炸机模型外,看不到一架 B-17、P-38、P-51 甚至疣猪飞机。陆军航空队在这里遭受了很大的打击,伙计们。
简而言之,《NMUSA》是美国陆军最热门歌曲的相当不起眼的 B 面合集。
相信我,还有更好的地方可以让您沉浸在军事自豪感中,例如位于匡蒂科的美国海军陆战队博物馆。现在,这是一个让你的胸膛充满美国爱国主义精神的地方,足以让你想当场报名。