MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – The Medal of Honor Museum aboard the USS Yorktown will soon undergo a major renovation thanks to a multimillion-dollar donation.

On Friday, the National Medal of Honor Leadership and Education Center announced at Patriots Point it is awarding $3.5 million to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society (CMOHS). The money will go towards expanding the museum to include more immersive exhibits.

“The visitors are really going to feel sucked in and really get the messaging well and I think when they leave its really going to resonate for a long time. And the exhibits themselves will be driven by, really history and the history that we have on file and the artifacts we have in our collections,” said Laura Jowdy, the Director of Archives, Collections, and Museum for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

The Medal of Honor is the United States’ highest award for military valor in action. It’s been given to more than 3,500 military members, including Ryan Pitts, who received his award for his actions in Afghanistan in July 2008.

“Short story, just fought while wounded for about an hour, hour and a half, just trying to keep up with the guys around me. Its really a team effort, it’s a collective award,” said Pitts, who now serves as the Board Secretary for CMOHS.

Its stories like his that can be learned about in the museum.

“They’re the people that were willing to give their life to this country. There’s no greater valor than what they represent,” said Tommy McQueeny, the Board Chairman for the National Medal of Honor Leadership and Education Center.

Officials said work is expected to begin late 2023 and will hopefully be complete in Spring 2024. They said the museum will be closed during the renovation process.