Every veteran's journey starts with a decision to serve. We're here to explore where the journey leads.

We emphasize the personal stories of individual veterans to communicate a timeless experience.

Our focus is conveying the responsibilities of citizenship while featuring ordinary and exceptional acts of service.

The museum represents advancements in science and technology, culture, and politics through the lens of veterans’ issues.

Our mission is to recognize and honor the experiences of veterans.

There are more than 20 million living veterans throughout the United States, from our Greatest Generation to our recent heroes coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq. And yet, there is no single monument or museum dedicated to the Veteran’s experience. There are institutions that focus on specific conflicts or branches of service, but there hasn’t been a place for us all to join together to celebrate and honor the sacrifice of all of our veterans, past and present... until now.

NVMM will be the only place where the stories of our veterans, their families and the Fallen – across all branches of service and all eras of conflict – will be told together. NVMM will bridge historical events to current concerns and strengthen understanding and respect between veterans and civilians. Artifacts and first-person testimonies will challenge visitors to confront the difficult history of topics such as colonialism and segregation and to begin a dialogue about the purpose, and ramifications, of military action. This cultural institution will stand as a place of inspiration for all visitors to come together as one people with a common bond and a shared pride in our veterans.

NVMM is neither a war memorial nor a military museum. NVMM will take visitors on a narrative journey telling individual stories and shared experiences of veterans throughout history. It will pay tribute to the sacrifices of servicemen and women and their families. History will be presented in a dynamic, participatory experience with photos, letters and personal effects, multi-media presentations, and interactive exhibits. Together, these elements will link our national story to the larger context of world events since our country’s earliest days, and will demonstrate the importance of individuals in shaping our history.