FRISCO, Texas – The National Medal of Honor Museum officially opens its doors to the public on Tuesday, March 25, inviting visitors to learn more about the courageous men and women who have served the United States' military and earned the highest decoration awarded by the U.S. government.
The Jones Family and the Dallas Cowboys are among the many founders of the museum and were on hand for the museum's grand opening on Saturday, March 22, alongside other notable guests such as former President George W. Bush, Texas governor Greg Abbott and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
The real spotlight was on the Medal of Honor recipients in attendance who ushered in the brand-new museum, which will lie in the backdrop of AT&T Stadium in Arlington for decades to come. Live music, speeches, drone shows and more celebrated the countless sacrifices made by those who were awarded the nation's highest honor.
Jalen Tolbert, Ryan Flournoy, Jalen Brooks, Terence Steele, Dakoda Shepley and Damone Clark joined some other members of the Cowboys organization on Monday at the museum for a tour of their own. They learned the stories behind the sacrifices men and women made to earn their Medals of Honor, participated in a VR simulation and heard from members of the military over the course of several hours.
"It's truly humbling just to see all these stories of those who served our country making the ultimate sacrifice," Cowboys offensive tackle Terence Steele said following the tour. "It's really just awesome to see them all being honored here."
The experience hits a little closer to home for Steele and Brooks, who both have members of the military in their families. Brooks' great uncle was a member of a Navy SEAL team, and Steele's father was an attack helicopter pilot and is part of the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit organization and charity that offers a variety of no-cost services and programs to wounded veterans and their families.
"It gets super emotional just because of what he's been through, he was in a helicopter crash and lost his leg, had multiple surgeries probably like 50 or 60," Steele said. "Just seeing some of these stories kind of just takes me back, puts everything into perspective of how far he's came, I get pretty emotional being here."
For all of those involved, the experience was one that put life into perspective and serves as a reminder of the lengths that brave men and women of the military go through to ensure the safety of their fellow soldiers, as well as the freedoms that the United States enjoys.
"I just share a whole lot of gratitude for their sacrifices that they have made for this country, but also for their team," Brooks said. "They go in there with a certain amount of guys on their team, I know they've got a saying that their mission is to all go in and all come out, but reality strikes sometimes and that's not the reality."
