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The
vision of a rural The
The
A
World War II vintage P-51 Mustang fighter sits above the parking lot of
the museum, a small sample of what waits inside to educate and awe
visitors. The Each
hall features dramatic and thought provoking exhibits. Sculptures,
murals, historical artifacts, works of art, and thousands of pieces of
memorabilia honor all branches of the military service, major
battlefronts, and campaigns. The names of the men and women killed in
action in American
military equipment on display in the museum brings back both fond and
bittersweet memories for those who served in uniform. Something as
simple as a Vietnamese phrase book issued to American GIs or a display
of M-1 carbines can take one back to a faraway place and time. Captured
enemy equipment in the museum is accompanied by a sign stating that
their display is for historical purposes only, and that artifacts of a
repugnant nature, such as a Nazi flag or a uniform worn by a
concentration camp prisoner, are displayed as tangible symbols of our
triumph over evil. The
World War I hall includes a handsome statue of a doughboy and a deadly
looking water cooled machinegun, along with displays of uniforms, gas
masks, weapons, and equipment used by American troops and our enemies. The
famed 10th Mountain Division, which served with great
distinction, is honored in the World War II gallery, where weapons from
the battlefield and posters from the home front are displayed. The hall
also has displays on the Navajo Code Talkers, who befuddled Japanese
intelligence; Kilroy, the graffiti character who showed up on
battlefields across the nation; and the servicemen awarded the
Congressional Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest military award.
President George Bush Sr., who served as a combat pilot during World War
II, is honored. The
displays cover an amazing range of artifacts, from a 1943 Indian
motorcycle painted olive drab and equipped with a scabbard for a rifle,
to a Cushman scooter dropped by parachute on D Day, to a stuffed homing
pigeon like those that carried messages over battlefields and across
enemy lines. In
the Vietnam War Hall a bronze statue of three grunts on patrol stands
guard over a collection of artifacts that include a crude rusted bicycle
the Viet Cong used to transport equipment down the Ho Chi Minh trail, a
conical straw hat worn by the indigenous people of Vietnam, weapons used
by both sides in the conflict, and photographs and posters from the war
years. Every
hall has many, many more displays and memories than we have room here to
describe. It is something you have to see to appreciate. To see the
artwork on display alone is worth more than the price of admission to
the museum. Paintings and sculptures portray the many conflicts in which
American’s have fought and died to protect our nation from the tyrants
of the world. Along with dozens of bronze sculptures, special murals are
featured in the museum, including the recent addition of the Tuskegee
Airmen painting Red-Tails Strike
Again by artist Mike Hagel. The
museum’s founder, Fred Hoppe, is an internationally renowned bronze
sculptor. Hoppe did years of research and traveled the world collecting
over 2,000 exhibits to be displayed in the 18,000 square foot museum.
Many of the exhibits have been compiled with the help of veterans and
their families and include these veterans' personal stories. From the
jungles of The
centerpiece of the The
human cost of war is brought to life in real terms when you stand before
the long list of names of Americans killed in action in World War II.
They cover over 150 feet of wall space ten feet high. A wall with the
names of the twelve million human beings killed in Nazi concentration
camps would be over eighteen city blocks long, a distance of one and a
half miles. If it were possible to list the estimated 60 million people
killed in World War II the list would stretch over seven miles. Fred
Hoppe was inspired by the stories and sacrifices he heard about from his
father and the men that fought alongside his father during some of World
War II’s bloodiest battles. Fred Hoppe Sr. is honored with a mural and
a special exhibit in the museum depicting his heroic rescue of a wounded
comrade. Fred Hoppe's vision in creating the museum was enhanced by his
desire to perpetuate and honor the memory of the men and women and their
descendants who were and are forever and profoundly affected by Hoppe
is a hands-on type of person who cannot be deterred when he sees a job
that needs doing. After spending four years trying to raise money for a
memorial to honor the veterans of the 20th Century, and with over 36
foundations turning him down, Hoppe says, "It became apparent that
I would have to take things into my own hands. The experts kept telling
me that it would take six years to complete a project of this magnitude,
however with our veterans dying at a rate of over one thousand per day,
I was driven to finish this project quickly." He worked eighteen
hour days, seven days a week, living up to his pledge to complete the
project in just ten months. The museum officially opened on November 11,
2000. Along with designing, funding, and building the Designing
and participating in the construction of the building, Hoppe even cut up
70 tons of logs in a homemade sawmill in his backyard to provide siding
and lumber for the museum's 18,000 square feet building. "Along
with saving money, this allowed me to personally make sure that every
aspect of the building reflected the quality our veterans deserve,"
said Hoppe. Hoppe
states, "Along with the The
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