Parris Island Museum — Attraction in Port Royal

It was a fun day taking my Son Cayden to Parris Island MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) There are two Marine Corps Recruit Depots in the Country for those that don't know. One on the West coast (San Diego) and one on the East coast (Parris Island). I have to give it to the museum on base - they did a wonderful job of presenting who the Marines are throughout history and what Marines did to earn their place in history. The Marines are the greatest fighting force in the world. There's no doubt about that. Marines are trained to be Warriors, plain and simple. I will have to say however, Parris Island is about what I pictured. The East Coast Marines used to call us 'Hollywood Marines'. We called them Sand Flea Marines. The terrain is fitting in SC. Flat, swampland, sand fleas, female Marines (WMs). Parris Island was the only MCRD that trained female Marines until 2021, now the WMs are also training at MCRD San Diego. In all reality, a Marine is a Marine - no matter where they are made. The jostling is something that Marines jokingly do amongst each other 🤔 The West Coast has mountains for their humps (Crucible/Camp Pendleton) and the East Coast has sand fleas 😁 and flat ground. It was a little bit strange how many civilians were on base. There were no graduations today. There were people walking around where platoons were marching. There were civilians taking pictures all over the place. I don't recall boot camp ever being like that. I'm pretty sure that civilians used to be and should be restricted to certain areas so that they are not in the middle of Marine Corps training operations. I spoke with one of my buddies that went to Parris Island and he said he didn't remember it being like that either. I mean, in all honesty the Marine Corps has changed a lot over the last 20 years. It has become a lot softer and there's a lot of different policies in place that weren't in place that we had when we went through 25 years ago. It almost makes me feel old....I thank the good Lord my mind reassures me that I am not old (my mind isn't all that great on reassurances).I've got no problem living as a 16-year-old in my mind 😁 where is my mind 🤔

In all reality, as stated above, it doesn't matter where a Marine is made. It made me proud to have my son watch what I did to become a Marine. They have a theater set up in the museum that shows all the steps in the making of a Marine. It made me recall some of the moments back in July of 2000. I was proud to be a Marine. Unfortunately I kind of got screwed by my recruiter out of Idaho Falls. He ended up filling a quota and putting me in open contract the night before I flew to boot camp. I ended up talking to a Lieutenant Colonel (today on base)....he was a pilot. He thought it was pretty humorous that my recruiter would actually go to the lengths that he did to fill an open quota and a waiver quota. Some people don't know that story and the pride I had to suck up in order to be at the Mercy of the Marine Corps. I joined with a friend from high school and we even asked him (Recruiter GySgt Revard) if he could just scratch us both into infantry and the same recruiter came back while we are sitting in our hotel room in Boise Idaho the night before flying to San Diego. He had the audacity to come back and tell us that the infantry was "locked out." As stated, I ended up in administration or 'death from within'. I actually emailed that recruiter after Marine Corps Combat training and told him that I was going to come home and beat his @$$. He threatened to have me court-martialed for that. Unfortunately, that's the recruiter that I got and that's the story that I got in the Marine Corps. Hindsight is 2020....I have plenty of friends that saw some stuff that I'm grateful I did not have to see. I had a lot of buddies who did several tours in Iraq and saw real battle as grunts. The reality of war is not pretty for anybody. It is...

This Museum is a must visit if you are visiting the low country. Very easy to get to from Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, Savannah and Charleston. You will need to have a Drivers License, Vehicle Registration and proof of insurance to show the Military Police/Marine Corps Police at the front gate of Parris Island. Everyone you will encounter is very professional and courteous. When at the gate you will be given directions. Having graduated from Parris Island in June of 1995. It was a very powerful experience for me to return. I was so impressed by the Museum that I felt it meets the same standards of what you might experience when visiting the Smithsonian up in Washington DC. The attention to detail is incredible on all the displays within the Museum. Not only will you learn about the History of Parris Island, but you will gain a wealth of knowledge on the surrounding areas. This Museum rates five stars and more. You will also get to experience Parris Island when visiting this amazing museum. Lots of great photo opportunities. I spent a whole day on Parris Island. As stated in the above it was such a powerful, spiritual experience for me returning. A must visit if you are visiting Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, Savannah and Charleston. Also I must add it is very easy to get...

Parris Island. The United States Marine Corp. They both ooze history. So why not make a museum to honor them both? Makes perfect sense.

The museum is broken into separate eras beginning with the birth of the Corps. It's a pretty typical museum setup with actual uniforms and weapons on display behind glass with lots of reading about events of the time. Lots of reading. There are two floors worth of Marine Corps history on display.

One wing of the building covers the history of the island. There's 500 years of history under the tall grass and marsh land. On display are finds from excavations done on the island over the years. Honestly, it's a nice break from the military overload you'll experience in the rest of the museum.

The other wing explains what Marine recruits experience on the island. It's a small section but it wraps up the display nicely.

This museum is one of the things you have to do when visiting here. And you'll appreciate the air conditioning, I...