Exploring the Legacy: Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego’s Command Museum

For more than a century — from the recent conflicts in the Middle East back through the wars in Vietnam, Korea, and the global conflagration that was World War II — the history of San Diego has been intertwined with the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, which sits adjacent to San Diego International Airport. Designed by architect Bertram Goodhue in the same Spanish Colonial Revival style he used for the 1915 Balboa Park Panama-California Exposition, the Marine base is clearly visible as one flies into San Diego, but barely visible from Interstate 5, blocked by a row of industrial buildings.

There was no Interstate 5 nor industrial buildings when, in 1923, two years after opening as the Marine Advanced Expeditionary Base San Diego, it became the official training site for all Marine recruits west of the Mississippi River. Since then, close to two million Marines have completed bootcamp in San Diego, and that remarkable and ongoing history is on display for all to see at the MCRD San Diego Command Museum.

Founded in 1987 and one of only three Marine command museums in the country, its mission is to train recruits and provide for the continuing education of Marines, support the recruiting effort, and serve as a bridge to the civilian community. “We want everyone, especially San Diegans, to experience the history,” says museum director Joan Schwarz-Wetter. Though open to all, a visit to the museum is mandatory for Marine recruits.

“The fundamental responsibility of the government is to provide for the common defense, and that defense depends on good young men and women deciding to compromise their personal freedoms for a greater cause,” says Rick Huenefeld, a retired Marine colonel who serves as president of the MCRD Museum Foundation board. “The tradition and hard-earned reputation of the Marines is something that needs to resonate, and the Command Museum plays a role in communicating that story.”

Featuring extensive exhibits on World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, the museum also highlights the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s in a gallery called Operation Forward Deployed that includes Operation Desert Storm and the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In addition to training all Marine recruits west of the Mississippi, MCRD is home to the Marine Drill Instructor School, which has its own exhibit.

There is also a recently updated Bootcamp gallery with pictures and objects from the intensive 13-week Marine training program designed to test a recruit’s physical, mental, and moral toughness.

Like the museum, the many graduations that take place at MCRD each year are open to the public, a day of celebration that often includes multiple family members and friends in addition to parents. It is a chance for newly minted Marines to share what they have accomplished, and the usually quiet museum is filled with thousands of visitors.

Though rarely as crowded as it is on graduation days, there was a time, prior to 9/11, when the museum saw considerably more traffic. “When I started, the Old Town trolley came through. There were always veterans and family members coming to see where they or someone they knew had trained,” says Barbara McCurtis, a retired Marine first sergeant, who served as museum director from 1998 to 2018. “Pulling up to the gate can be intimidating,” says McCurtis, who was director when the museum achieved Command status, and who continues to serve on the Foundation board.

The Command Museum is also limited in terms of fundraising. It is owned and operated by the U.S. Marine Corps, and cannot appeal for support on its own, which is the reason, almost simultaneous with the founding of the museum, the MCRD Museum Foundation was formed. The nonprofit serves as the driving force when it comes to raising the money needed to promote the legacy of the Marine Corps and maintain and expand the museum’s collections.

Geographically, the MCRD Command Museum is located between the Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial and the USS Midway Museum. “We want to be part of that conglomerate,” says Daren Erickson, a retired Marine colonel and the foundation’s executive director.

At the same time, Erickson understands the hesitation some people have coming on base, and emphasizes the fact that the museum is working to have more events for professional and school groups. “When it’s more than one or two visitors, we can facilitate entry, making things easier for everyone,” Erickson says.

Next year is the 250th anniversary of the Marines, which were established in 1775, even before the country itself. For the last century, that history has been intrinsic to San Diego, and there has never been a better time to learn about it than now. mcrdsd.marines.mil/Visitors/MCRDSD-Museum