MUSEUM OF HISTORY IN GRANITE

 division of HFP,  Inc A 501-c-3 CORPORATION 

From a worthy but narrow concept to this universal and enduring mission:

"To Engrave in Granite 

Highlights 

of the 

Collective Memory of Humanity"

                     Thousands of debt free acres provide ample space for this vast enterprise; in this desert clime which preserves the trace of civilizations, and will represent our own in future millennia. Thus topics are endless, and monument construction should not cease. 

OUR HISTORY

" The act of parachuting, measured in seconds, and with mistakes punishable by death, sets a standard for education. In memory of past heroism, and in the spirit of educating each of us in courage and in discipline, now and in the future, we dedicate the Hall of Fame of Parachuting". Entire speech by Founding Trustee Jacques-André Istel 

.These thoughts led him to create the MUSEUM OF HISTORY IN GRANITE, as a World Commemorative Center ®, and design the granite museum-walls.. His belief that any lasting venture needs a spiritual dimension led to the construction of the "The Hill of Prayer", a 150,000 ton, highly visible reminder that the Church on the Hill at Felicity is a moral anchor.  Life long friend and fellow Trustee, Wolfgang Lieschke, (a relative of Goethe), sketched the early site Design and the stained glass window.  Vocatus atque, non vocatus, Deus aderit.

In 1997, outraged by reports of veterans spending two million dollars for a wall never built, the Trustees, with the immense co-operation of Headquarters, United States Marine Corps, built the granite  Marine Corps Korean War Memorial in precisely one year, engraving names of 4617 Marines and 107 Navy Corpsmen who died in the war. This is the first of the "historic granite museum-walls" conceived by the founder.

From 1999 to 2001, assisted by the Library of Congress, the Service Historique de l’Armèe de l’Air,  and noted historians, the HFP edited and engraved the  Quest for the Sky (Histoire de l'Aeronautique Francaise).  The monument, dedicated in 2002, received an  Air and Space medal in Europe in 2003.

  In 2002, the World Commemorative Center ® was presented to the Hall of Fame of Parachuting museum renamed Museum of History in Granite; and the universal mission, hitherto in the mind of the founder, was published and adopted: ."To Engrave in Granite Highlights of the Collective Memory of Humanity". 

In 2003 the monument History of the Foreign Legion, with its concept of redemption through danger and suffering, was dedicated.

In 2004 and 2005 the eight monument "History of Humanity"  was built.  Engraving the 416 granite panels will take some years. 2007 saw completion of  almost 20% of the text. The Histories of Arizona, California and of the United States, built in 2008 arel presently being engraved. 

 MEMORIES

[ Evolution of Parachutes ] [ Significant Moments in Parachuting History ] [ Leo Stevens Award ]

 Projects on the Agenda

The Museum of History in Granite computer will record the names and circumstances of persons engraved on the Granite Museum-Walls ™ as well as, in keeping with our original mission, those persons who made a parachute jump anywhere in the world (as much as can be researched). Visitors in generations to come may key their family name, view a granite inscription where applicable, discover facts about their ancestry and, in some cases, links with the sky.  This program is under study..

            In keeping with our roots, some pages of history record a social history of man and the sky. 

             An eternal flame will burn in memory of all  who lived and died in the service of their country, and of humanity.  This flame will remind all of us, now and in the future, of heroism, of decency, and of the need for the courage, dedication, and discipline which are the foundation of character.

 WELCOME to like minded allies

 The mission of the Museum of History in Granite admittedly lacks modesty. The more modest ambition of the Trustees is to leave everything in good order for our successors.