The National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum is located in Fort Pierce, FL. While having a national museum and memorial to such an elite force in a small sleepy beach town seems random, it is actually placed there for a reason.In June 1943 Lieutenant Commander Kauffman, “The Father of Naval Combat Demolition” set up a school for Naval Demolition and established NCDU (Naval Combat Demolition Units) training at Fort Pierce in preparation for D-Day. In April 1944, NCDU’s were deployed to England to ready for the amphibious landing at Normandy. The NCDU’s and UDT’s (Underwater Demolition Team) played a massive role in the success of D-Day, in the remainder of the World War II, and furthermore in Korea. Years later, faced with the unconventional guerrilla warfare style of the Viet Cong, the Navy needed to solidify their role within the special operations area and in March 1961 formally established the Navy SEAL’s as guerrilla and counter-guerrilla units. While the SEAL’s moved their home to Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in San Diego, their history is honored with the National UDT-SEAL museum in Fort Pierce, where it all began.The National UDT-SEAL Museum is split up into multiple rooms focusing on Modern Day, Vietnam/Korea, and WWII before heading outside to view the SEAL’s amphibious craft’s throughout history. While some museums rely on replica’s, you will find no replica’s here. In fact, there are an impressive number of combat retired pieces from famous events such as Black Hawk Down. And, if you’re looking to test your physicality, there is a replica SEAL obstacle course similar to the one used during SEAL training that is intense enough to require a signed waiver.