Virginia Military Institute

Shenandoah Valley


You'll either be impressed or put off by the extreme discipline of the cadets at Virginia Military Institute, the only university to have sent its entire graduating class into combat (plaques to student war dead are touching and ubiquitous). The VMI Museum houses the stuffed carcass of Stonewall Jackson's horse among its 15,000 artifacts and the George C Marshall Museum honors the creator of the Marshall Plan for post-WWII European reconstruction.

Contact the museum for a free 45-minute cadet-guided tour of the campus, offered at noon during term time. A full-dress parade takes place most Fridays at 4pm during the school year.


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