Sunday March 28, 2021 was the last day that The Flying Leatherneck Museum at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego opened its door to the public.

As of April 1, 2021 the museum officially closed, and it seems like the bugler should have played TAPS. The permanent closure was not caused directly by the recent pandemic, yet it could just have provided the right conditions for it to happen.

The museum was a joint operation run by the United States Marine Corps and the Flying Leatherneck Historical Foundation.

You can see a detailed map of the museum and exhibits on the Flying Leatherneck's website.

Prior to the shutdowns of 2020, the museum had attracted 35,000 visitors annually and had about 60-70 volunteers, which was reduced to about 20 during 2020.

This museum was established in 1999 at its current location after its first home at the 3rd Marine Air Wing, Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in California, closed. The museum was originally founded in 1989 as the Jay W. Hubbard Aviation Museum.

The museum was named after the 1951 movie, "Flying Leathernecks", which starred John Wayne as the new commanding officer of a squadron of Marine pilots. Major Daniel Kirby is a stern and strict leader, who cannot believe the lack of discipline exhibited by the soldiers.

Brigadier General Jay W. Hubbard was a great fan of the movie, so the family of John Wayne were asked if they would allow the museum to be named after it.

The Flying Leatherneck Museum featured the largest collection of historical aircraft flown by the United States Marine Corps. Having 48 aircraft in the collection, and about 30,000 artifacts.

The museum also had a 27,000 square foot restoration hangar.

Open cockpit days were arranged to give the public an up close and personal chance to experience marine aviation. Visitors were allowed to strap into the ejection seats, try the helmets on, and speak with the pilots that flew these airplanes.

The Harrier AV-8B was made famous in the movie True Lies and was seen with Arnold Schwarzenegger at the controls.

The Boeing Sea Knight on display was used to evacuate the Ambassador Graham Martin from the US Embassy in Saigon, prior to its fall.

In a press release issued by Marine Corps Air Station Miramar the bases commanding officer Col. Charles Dockery said that the decision to close the museum had been made due to budget constraints in the recurring cost of $460,000 a year for staffing that the USMC had to cover.

Because the museum is owned and operated by the Unites States Marine Corps, it is not able to collect entry fees or parking, which obviously could have helped offset costs.

Both the Flying Leatherneck Foundation and the United States Marine Corps are hoping to come up with a solution in the near future.

Moving the displays and artifacts has been put on a temporary hold while they explore options.

San Diego has always had strong links with both the military (an estimated 25% of the regions gross economy is from direct military spending) and aviation. Lest we not forget the movie Top Gun for which Miramar was home (we still have the Kansas City BBQ in Downtown - the setting for those sleazy bar scenes). Love it or hate it, we have Top Gun: Maverick, the sequel, on its way this year as well. The closure of this museum truly is a loss of a connection point between the military and the general public.

However, we are still very fortunate to have the San Diego Air and Space Museum which operates facilities in both Balboa Park and Gillespie Field, as well as the USS Midway Museum. Both are outstanding facilities which both locals and visitors should take advantage of.

As the situation develops regarding the future of the Flying Leathernecks Museum, updates will be posted to their website. You can show your support and also sign up for their newsletter.