By Nisqually Valley News staff
Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray demanded answers for the recent closure of the Lewis Army Museum at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in a recent email to U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll.
The Lewis Army Museum was one of 29 locations that were either closed or consolidated amid federal budget cuts. The local historical exhibition has been open for around 50 years. The Lewis Army Museum is the only U.S. Army Museum on the entire West Coast.
Murray began her letter to Driscoll by recounting the history of the soldiers honored inside of the museum, and stated JBLM is named after Meriwether Lewis, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, and was established in 1917 to train the 91st Wild West Division before a deployment to Germany in World War I.
“Educating our communities on the Army’s history is key to instilling national pride amongst servicemembers and the general public,” Murray wrote. “In fact, Secretary (Pete) Hegseth has been very vocal about preserving our military’s history for the sake of improving morale. In the dedication of his book, Modern Warriors, Hegseth said ‘the legacy of our warriors is worth of elevation — a reflection of what we should really value.’ By closing the Lewis Army Museum, you are doing the exact opposite by not honoring the incredible sacrifice and service the men and women who have been stationed at JBLM have provided. You have said that ‘telling that story [of the Army] will directly lead to a recruiting boom,’ and there seems to be no better way to continue to tell that story than to continue to keep these important museums open to the public.”
Murray concluded her letter by asking for answers and emphasizing that JBLM wasn’t consulted or allowed the opportunity to provide input if this decision was made to cut costs.
“According to the U.S. Army Center of Military Housing, the decision was made as a cost-cutting measure so the Army can direct more resources toward ‘readiness and lethality’ and will save $114 million over 10 years. Yet this decision comes at a time when President Trump is requesting a historically high defense budget of $1.01 trillion for fiscal year 2026, a 13.4 percent increase compared to fiscal year 2025,” Murray wrote. “If this decision was made for cost-saving measures, JBLM was never consulted or given the opportunity for input. Colonel Kent Park, the outgoing garrison commander, said he heard of the closure through the media, and the closure was never discussed with him.”
