Teaching New Generations about Heroes


Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s famous 1951 retirement speech included this memorable line: “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.”


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n reality the famous World War II leader lives on today because he entrusted his memory and memorabilia – from his corn cob pipe to uniforms and docu- ments – to the City of Norfolk. His connection to the city was his mother, who was born in Norfolk. MacArthur died in 1964 just a month


before the official dedication of the new MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk’s old city hall building, which dates from 1850. Thousands of people lined city streets for a glimpse at MacArthur’s funeral cortege. More than 60,000 visitors filed through the rotunda to pay respects to the general before he was buried there. Two years later a $5,000 grant


from what is now the Hampton Roads Community Foundation helped build a library for MacArthur’s documents. That was the first of four community foundation grants to the General Douglas MacArthur Foundation. The $130,000 in grants has helped the MacArthur Memorial keep pace with changing times. Today the MacArthur Memorial anchors a bustling


quadrant of downtown Norfolk with an adjacent shopping mall and light rail stop that bear the general’s name. Under


Soldiers and sailors honor General MacArthur at his 1964 burial.


construction next to the museum is a new $6 million visitor center that will “give the memorial an improved presence to preserve MacArthur’s story,” says Bill Davis, executive director. A $50,000 Foundation grant is helping double the memorial’s size.


The new 16,140-square-foot building will include a multi- media theater, a gallery for changing exhibits and a welcome center. The building will house MacArthur’s 1950 Chrysler Crown Imperial limousine as well as a1944 Willys Jeep and a World War II Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The front of the building will feature nine giant glass panels showing Douglas MacArthur at key stages of his career.


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Flag Day is a special occasion at the MacArthur Memorial. 6 H A M P T O N R O A D S C O M M U N I T Y F O U N D A T I O N


Marine veteran Harvey Lindsay, who was a platoon leader in the Korean War, heads the fundraising for the memorial’s expansion. The Norfolk resident believes MacArthur’s story is one that needs to be preserved. “The memorial tells young people of the great sacrifices made by people during World War II and the Korean War. Younger generations sometimes don’t understand that.” s


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Learn more about the MacArthur Memorial at macarthurmemorial.org or (757) 441-2965.


P H O T O S C O U R T E S Y O F T H E MA C A R T H U R ME M O R I A L


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