S.C. State Guard Foundation awards $12,500 to Patriots Point for Museum Study

By W. Thomas Smith Jr.

CHARLESTON, SC – The S.C. State Guard (SCSG), on behalf of the SCSG Foundation, presented a check for $12,500 to the Patriot’s Point Foundation to help re-image the famous Naval & Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, Sept. 19.

The presentation was made by Col. Frank Taylor, commander of the SCSG’s 3rd Brigade, to Patriots Point Foundation Pres. Bob Simons during a brief ceremony (pictured here) in the courtyard of The Citadel Alumni House.

Maj. Gen. James E. Livingston, USMC (Ret.) a Medal of Honor recipient, was in attendance.

It is important to ‘re-image’ – and I use that word ‘re-image’ – Patriots Point to get the community involved and make Patriots Point what it was intended to be, says Livingston.  We need to move beyond the past and make Patriots Point the place to be, and a study focused on the museum is the catalyst.

The Patriot’s Point Foundation is currently funding a study by PGAV Destinations (which has worked with the Biltmore Estate in N.C., Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, and Gettysburg National Park, Pennsylvania) to improve the depth, scope, and appearance of the museum and its close proximity to the National Medal of Honor Museum, according to a statement issued by Patriot’s Point.

The money was generated by the national Medal of Honor convention which was held in Charleston last fall. The S.C. State Guard Foundation and The Citadel co-hosted the convention.

This money is a direct result of the success of the 2010 Medal of Honor convention and the hard work of its co-sponsors, says SCSG Command Sergeant Major Edwin McGowan. We are glad to be able to use these funds to support the Patriots Point Foundation for this museum-specific study, because the museum is a magnet for all military people.

Brig. Gen. Joe Hudson, SCSG Foundation treasurer, agrees. The study is important not only for the Mount Pleasant–Charleston region, but for the entire state, he says.

Patriots Point is home to several retired warships, including the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, as well as the headquarters of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and the official Medal of Honor Museum.