Coast Guard museum set to open in August 2027

The National Coast Guard Museum will open in one year on Coast Guard Day and the service’s 237th anniversary, Adm. Kevin Lunday, commandant of the Coast Guard, announced Tuesday.

The 83,000-square-foot museum will open to the public in New London, Conn., on Aug. 4, 2027, with events planned throughout the week, according to a service news release.

“The Coast Guard has always stood as a military service and a vital instrument of national power,” Lunday said during the service’s 236th anniversary celebration in New York City. “This museum is a permanent tribute to the Long Blue Line — the generations of crews who have saved lives, defended our borders and maritime approaches, facilitated vital commerce and responded to crises with little or no warning.”

Once construction is complete along the Thames River, it will be the only national military museum dedicated to one of the service branches located in the Northeast. The Army and Marine Corps museums are in Virginia; the Navy museum is in Washington, D.C.; and the Air Force museum is in Ohio.

“The National Coast Guard Museum represents incredible dedication, vision and partnership,” said Wes Pulver, president of the National Coast Guard Museum Association and a retired Coast Guard captain. “We are deeply grateful for the Coast Guard’s steadfast support throughout this journey and look forward to continuing our collaboration as we build a museum worthy of the remarkable men and women who have served our nation.”

The museum will feature stand-out displays such as an MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter suspended in the atrium, as well as exhibits showcasing more than 5,000 images and 600 artifacts highlighting the Coast Guard’s history and missions, according to the museum’s website.

It will also be home to the Medal of Honor awarded to Signalman 1st Class Douglas Munro, the Coast Guard’s only recipient of the medal.

“This will be far more than a building of artifacts; it will illuminate the hard-earned lessons of the sea,” Lunday said. “By bridging our rich history with the challenges of tomorrow, we are creating a dynamic foundation to inspire the next generation of leaders ready to answer our nation’s call.”