It is called the only museum of its kind in the nation.
The museum that is part of the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Museum presents a full and balanced story about the Vietnam War, tells the stories of the men and women who fought in it and presents these stories in a comprehensive historical tapestry that puts the war into the context of its time.
The museum closed after Veterans Day 2023 for a six-month “facelift.”
About the memorial and museum
The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Museum is at 1 Memorial Lane in Holmdel. It is immediately off the Garden State Parkway at Exit 116 next to the PNC Bank Arts Center.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The memorial is open all day, every day.
Admission is $10 for adults and $7 for students or seniors. Active-duty military and veterans are admitted for free, as are children under 12.
“It was 30 years old, and it needed some work,” said Amy Osborn, the CEO of the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation. She was appointed to this position in January. “We concentrated first on the aesthetics and the infrastructure to improve the guest experience.”
The museum reopened April 1, and, while work continues, the improved lighting and the added room in the exhibit space has made the presentation of the stories more compelling.
Many more personal stories of those who participated in the war are included in the museum. One such story is that of Steve Warner, who answered the call when he was drafted in 1969, despite originally demonstrating against the war.
Warner wrote for the Stars and Stripes and other military publications while he was overseas, and he kept a photographic record of his experiences.
Warner was killed in an ambush just before he was to return to the U.S. His photos survived and now adorn the museum’s entrance foyer, giving guests an inside glimpse into the everyday life of an American soldier at war.
The museum is in the process of upgrading the visit experience so guests can use smartphones to take self-guided tours, or to find out more details about specific stories or exhibits.
Outside of the museum is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This impeccably maintained open-air pavilion boasts some new landscaping and signage.
The black granite walls encircling the pavilion contain the names of the 1,564 men and one woman from New Jersey who fell in Vietnam, and it still unfailingly elicits a quiet reverence from those who see it.
