National Infantry Museum reaches visitor milestone after 10 years

Ten years ago, the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center (NIM) first opened its doors. On Tuesday, the museum reached a milestone.

The museum welcomed its three-millionth visitor Tuesday. Tim Lordan, from Leominister, Massachusetts, received the honor. He visited the museum with his family — wife Arlene, daughter Paula and son-in-law Brian. He was in town for his grandson Andrew Curran’s graduation from the Infantry School, according to a release from the NIM.

Curran and his parents had visited before, but Tuesday marked Lordan’s first time at the museum.

“I was totally shocked,” Lordan said in the release. “I didn’t know what was going on. I thought it was all for my grandson, because he (was) already having such a great day. … (The museum) is very impressive, a perfect representation of the Army.”

National Infantry Museum Foundation President Brig. Gen. Pete Jones presented the family with a gift bag containing museum merchandise and gift certificates to the Fife and Drum Restaurant, Giant Screen Theater and DownRange combat simulators. He also presented them with a certificate and a limited edition Infantry Silver Dollar, released by the U.S. Mint in 2012, according to the release.

The museum celebrated its 10th anniversary last week and has welcomed approximately 300,000 visitors per year since its opening. It was named the Best Free Museum in America by readers of USA TODAY in 2016.

“When you average 300k a year for 10 years … this has really become a popular attraction for folks to visit,” Jones told the Ledger-Enquirer. “It’s great that you have local folks visiting, but also people from Alabama, Florida, all kinds of places.”