Parris Island Museum marks 50th anniversary as Marine Corps celebrates 250 years in 2025

By Edwina Hoyle

Contributor

In 2025, the United States Marine Corps will celebrate its 250th Anniversary and the 50th anniversary of the Parris Island Museum. Lowcountry residents and visitors are encouraged to visit the Marine Corps Depot at Parris Island to learn about its history and legacy.

The Parris Island Museum is housed in the War Memorial Building which was built in 1951 and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. According to Shellie West Hodges, executive director of the Parris Island Heritage Foundation, the Parris Island Museum is one of three command museums in the U.S. and serves recruits East of the Mississippi. The other is in San Diego for recruits West of the Mississippi, and the third is the National Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Va.

“Parris Island is special because of the history of the Marine Corps and the history of the Lowcountry,” Hodges said. A visit to the 10,000 square foot museum is free of charge and every artifact tells a story beginning from the history of Santa Elena in the 1500s to the present day. Hodges said the museum even houses a Paleo Indian canoe from the 1500s.

The museum displays range from Spanish and French settlements during the 16th century to the development of Parris Island as a training depot for U.S. Marines. There are exhibits about the American Revolution, the Civil War and Reconstruction era, the Spanish American War, World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and even Afghanistan. There is also a Recruit Training Gallery where you can see the training, discipline and transformation of young recruits into Marines in a movie. You will also learn about the Crucible – an intense 54-hour long test of their survival skills.

Hodges explained that once the recruits successfully return from the Crucible, they are met by officers who call out the names of historic battles along with the words, “You’re now a Marine.” Hodges said this return march is very motivational, especially as the recruits receive their Marine Corps emblem, the ‘Eagle, Globe and Anchor,’ the Marine Corps symbol.

The museum commemorates generations of Marines who have served our nation. Of note, in 1949, Parris Island welcomed the first female recruits following the passage of The Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948. Parris Island remains the only recruit depot to train enlisted female Marines. All female recruits joined the 4th Recruit Training Battalion and were segregated from male recruits until March 2023 when the battalion was deactivated, marking successful gender integration.

The Parris Island Heritage Foundation was established in 1990 under a Marine Corps order to establish non-profit foundations to support the command museums. The Parris Island Heritage Foundation supports the Parris Island Museum by providing for the preservation, publication and display of manuscripts, books, relics, pictures and other objects of historical significance. The foundation also conducts community outreach and educational programs; solicits donations to support these programs; operates the Gift Shop; and funds the Living History Detachment which provides classes to Marine recruits and the general public and travels across the country to perform battle re-enactments.

Since its inception, the Foundation has contributed to the legacy of the Marine Corps in meaningful ways. A recent donation to the University of South Carolina will fund an ongoing project to create a repository of old Marine Corps training videos, according to Hodges. Other support provided by the Foundation includes the purchase of new technology, renovation of displays, repairs to climate control systems; purchase of artifact storage systems; repairs and renovations to the historical trail; and the purchase of paintings, sculptures and artifacts.

Hodges encourages the public to visit the Parris Island Museum, where you will see carved names of important battles on the outside walls and enjoy a timeline presentation of history on the inside. Museum visitors will receive a Driving Tour Guide with a QR code to direct you through each historical site on the island where statues of Iron Mike are posted.

Hodges said, “People don’t realize that they can come into Parris Island with only a valid ID or driver’s license and car registration. They can visit the museum, the gift shop, have lunch and even shop at the MCX brand store, which is different from the commissary. It’s a great way to spend a rainy day.” To learn more, visit MCRDPI.marines.mil.

Edwina Hoyle is a freelance writer in Bluffton.