Press Releases | May, 24 2022
The LBJ Library offers free admission
to military personnel and their families in collaboration with
the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, and the Department of Defense.
AUSTIN (May 24, 2022) – The LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, honors the nation’s active duty military personnel, including National Guard and Reserves and their families, by offering free admission from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2022.
“We are thankful to our military service members and their families for their selfless service and sacrifice for our country,” said Mark Lawrence, Director, LBJ Presidential Library. “As Commander-in-Chief, President Lyndon Johnson was enormously proud of our men and women in uniform. We share his pride and are pleased to extend this small gesture as a token of our gratitude.”
In addition to providing free admission to Blue Star Families from Memorial Day to Labor Day, The LBJ Library welcomes Blue Star Families with free admission every day of the year and we join the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, and the Department of Defense, in publicly honoring those who protect our liberty.
Currently, the LBJ Library’s temporary exhibit is Lady Bird: Beyond the Wildflowers, celebrating the life and legacy of Lady Bird Johnson, wife of the 36th president of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson. It’s the first time the LBJ Library has curated a major exhibit about Lady Bird Johnson’s complete personal and political life.
The former first lady is often associated with promoting environmental conservation and the wildflowers that brighten the country’s landscape. This exhibit adds to that legacy by guiding visitors through a comprehensive story of Mrs. Johnson’s life featuring letters, photographs, clothing, and artifacts that will be seen by the public for the first time. Lady Bird: Beyond the Wildflowers gives visitors more context to Mrs. Johnson’s education, family, campaign efforts, work as a businesswoman, and her role as a philanthropist.
Additionally, visitors to the LBJ Library can step into a replica of the Oval Office, learn about the political and personal lives of Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson, and listen to telephone conversations as the President conducts business.
This special admissions policy at the LBJ Library is available to any bearer of a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), a DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card. This includes active duty U.S. military - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, as well as members of the National Guard and Reserves, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps - and up to five family members. A family member of active duty military may include a spouse or child, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.
The free admission benefit is called Blue Star Museums and is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums of all types in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa. The complete list of participating museums is available at arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.
