Veterans Memorial Center

VMC’s mission is to maintain and operate a premier facility to educate the public, and to provide a vibrant memorial to the service and sacrifice of all military veterans and their families through a museum, memorial plaza, library, and veterans’ park. In 1980, discussions focused on building a Veterans Center, and the Brevard Veterans Council (a 501(c)19) was chartered in 1990 for this purpose. Also in 1990, they were able to obtain the land at the current location on Merritt Island from the Brevard County Commissioners. The Veterans Memorial Park was dedicated on November 3, 1990, by representatives from 41 veteran’s organizations. The Veterans Memorial Center (a 501(c)3) was chartered in 1991 to assume responsibility for running the facilities, which included a U.S. military history museum and media center, meeting rooms and offices, a 140 seat auditorium and a raised wood walkway along Sykes Creek. In addition, there is outdoor space for large museum artifacts and a memorial plaza. The first artifact, a Vietnam-era UH-1H Huey helicopter was placed on display in 2003. The Veterans Memorial Garden Plaza was dedicated November 11, 2010. Since 1990 there has also been a Disabled American Veterans office at the Veterans Center providing free, professional assistance to veterans and their families in obtaining benefits and services earned through military service and provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other government agencies. In 2015, an appropriation was received from the State of Florida to expand the capabilities of the Veterans Memorial Center. The money was earmarked to build a new museum building, retrofit the existing building to better serve veterans, and provide additional jobs for veterans. The Grand Opening was held November 11, 2016. The Museum continues to thrive with over 4,000 artifacts as of 2021, and new exhibits added weekly.